I can remember pretty vividly being a teenager and shopping at Target with my friends. I pretty much bought any item that would fit me in the junior’s section because I just wanted to be able to purchase items from the same place as my friends. This continued in college, too, when I started working at Gap Outlet. The outlet carried up to XXL, so there were items that I liked that also fit, but I still found myself buying almost every item that fit me correctly. Those items worked with “my style” but my style was dictated strictly by items that were loose fitting enough to fit on my body. (Not to mention if a rare item at Banana Republic fit me then I bought it in all colors–many of them sat in my closet because they didn’t truly fit)

So where am I going with this? Well even after being introduced to so many new-to-me retailers, I still feel panicked about shopping. If I see a dress, I still feel the need to purchase it incase I never find one like it again. With certain brands (like ASOS) who are more popular with the bloggers but don’t carry my size, I feel this need to keep every item that fits me, even if it’s not a great item. It’s like I don’t feel “legit” until I’m wearing a brand that others recognize, and that’s just silly when I really think about it, but it’s still really affected by my previous feelings about clothing.

The most recent “But It Fits!” dress–that I WILL return!

So how do I get past the years of conditioning my shopping habits to the “But It Fits!” mentality? Partly I think I need to start recognizing when I’m holding onto an item because I kind of like it or whether it’s more emotionally driven by my shopping hang ups. I also think finding all of these new stores has led me from shopping seasonally to shopping continuously, and I really, really just don’t need to do that since I’m not thinking about what I truly need.

Am I alone in trying to break old or new not-so-helpful shopping habits? Do you ever have to deal with the “But It Fits!” mentality?