What I Bought (and donated to) in June
If you’ll remember from What I Bought in May, “I came to the decision that in June, I won’t buy any new clothing. Instead, I’ll take the money I save by not buying clothes and donate it instead to groups supporting black people and causes.” It’s hard to say what I didn’t spend as I don’t actually have a clothing budget…I just sort of use what’s leftover after bills/savings/investment/life and anything I can eke out of the grocery budget.
So, the good news is, I did not buy any new clothing for the entire month EXCEPT two new bras just yesterday when my last functional everyday bra snapped an underwire. I replaced the one exactly, as I always do, and then I bought an underwireless bra for work-from-home days to not tax the wired one anymore than necessary and hopefully it will keep me more comfortable, too.
So here’s what I DID buy, and we’ll get to the donation part at the end. The first three items were purchased on Juneteenth, also known as Black Friday (not THAT Black Friday, a different one), when it’s encouraged to support black businesses by purchasing from them – just like on Small Business Saturday it’s encouraged to purchase from, uhm, small businesses 🙂
BADASS BLACK ICON MATTE LIPSTICK by uoma
I was influenced by @WhatKateFinds, who had purchased and was loving this lipstick in the shade Sade. That was sold out by the time I got there (damn you, WhatKateFinds!) but Diana looks just a tinch deeper…and I’ve been looking for a real red red lipstick like I saw in those pictures of my mother from the 50s. I feel like I’m talking about my mother a lot lately, hmm. Anyway, everything was 30% off that weekend…so while I felt kinda like I was cheat shopping, I’m still supporting a black-owned business, so…I’m going to let it slide. So, this lipstick is supposed to have the long-lastingness of a matte all-day lipstick, but feel creamy and like it “moves,” unlike a lot of those long-lasting lipsticks. It should be here any day now. I don’t normally post my purchases until they actually get here, but…there’d be practically nothing to post of I waited this time! I’ll definitely give you an update when I get it.
THE VANISHING HALF: A NOVEL
The Vanishing Half: A Novel by Britt Bennett. I also don’t usually put books in my “what I bought” posts, but this and the one below were more Juneteenth purchases, supporting black authors. I’ll give a review after I’ve read it.
Between the World and Me
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, I just realized I bought an English and French edition, ha ha. It seemed to be sold out everywhere when I was looking for it and I was so excited to find a copy I guess I missed that detail! Another black author. From his biography, “Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for The Atlantic and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Between the World and Me, a finalist for the National Book Award. A MacArthur “Genius Grant” fellow, Coates has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic cover story “The Case for Reparations.”
Vanity Fair Women’s Beauty Back Full-Figure Underwire Bra
Yup. It’s a bra. The same one I always buy. Slightly different color this time cuz my normal color was out of stock.
Hanes Women’s Cozy Seamless Wire-Free Bra
This item is a wild card for me. No wires?? HA HA HA HA HA like that’s gonna work! I’m not planning on wearing it Out in the World really, just home and local. I’m already thinking that 2″ish band area below the cups are gonna roll right up BUT I’m trying to keep an open mind and we’ll see what happens when it gets here.
DONATIONS
So in the end, the only clothing items I really thought about wanting to buy this month were a pair of sturdier (and cleaner!) Keds (I returned the d’orsay ones from May) and Birkenstock sandals and they would come to about $150 so that was the donation amount I had in mind.
I gave a lot of thought to what to donate to – there are so many areas that need support. And to be totally transparent, I’ve only made the first three donations so far; the next three have to wait til payday on Friday.
- $10 to Petition Signing and Promotion for Adams County District Attorney: Justice for Elijah McClain through Change.org
- $10 to Nicole Cardoza/Anti-Racism Daily Newsletter. It’s a free daily newsletter but if it helps you have a better understanding of racism and how to dismantle it, donations are accepted.
- $10 Monique Melton is an anti-racism educator who offers insight/podcasts on steps to take towards anti-racism. I have been listening and made a small donation in appreciation.
- $25 NAACP Legal & Education Fund fights to win landmark legal battles, protect voters across the nation, and advance the cause of racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.
- $25 NAACP Empowerment Programs engage primarily in training, education, and advocacy at the national and local levels. They are working toward ensuring the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
- $75 Black Lives Matter, an over-arching organization fighting to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever.
Alrighty then. I will report back on all my new purchases when they get here.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if you buy something as a result of clicking that link, at no extra cost to you. I appreciate you shopping through my links.
julia
Thank you Bettye for putting your money where your heart is. There is sooo many organizations to give to that are changing the world. I’m glad of that. I too gave to the NAACP legal fund because I know they have been fighting the good fight for a long time. I have a converse sports bra that has no wires that I wear at home. I can just pull it on and off since it doesn’t have any clasps and it’s just enough support to answer the door in or go for a walk in but still comfortable to wear all day. Plus, I just rinse it in the shower and hang it to dry and it’s ready to go. I seriously have had this one bra for ten years. So, if your no wire one doesn’t work out, look into sports bras.
bettyewp
As I was considering where to donate this month…and it’s not like I have a ton of money but I want what little I have to give go to someplace I think it’ll make the biggest difference…but then I start hearing all these other things that are going on in the world…people starving in Yemen, there are COVID charities for people who are out of work and really struggling, there are diseases that need to be cured, animals that need to be saved, children that need to be protected…the list, unfortunately, is endless. Now that I have a little more discretionary money than I have in the past I need to make a plan of more giving.
And speaking of support (oh no, she’s not….), onto sports bras! Heh heh. I would like to get a sports bra also, for, you know, all the sporting I do 🙂 They always looks so tight to me which I understand is the point so they keep you from bouncing around as you’re sporting… for home (zoom) and local I just wanted something friendly and cozy. I don’t really know that I’ll like it but I figure it’s worth a try. Right now I’m down to a 10-year-old, rarely wear, balcon, like push up bra? It was my sexy date bra (haha) for many years But now it’s sort of worn and stretched out and certainly not comfortable… i’ve only hung onto it to be my laundromat day bra when I want to wash bras I actually wear so I have to wear this crappy one on that day. ugh.