Shop Smarter, Not Harder
Congratulations,
you’re in your 30’s now, time to shop smarter
not harder!
AKA: “Mistakes to stop making when you buy clothes”
One of the biggest
mistakes I made in my 20’s was too much shopping. Granted, I had
enough of a conscience not to go to the mall and max out my card and overdraw
my account all for the sake of having every cute designer dress at some
department store, but I still overspent. When I had part-time jobs in college
and after, the money should have been getting saved up for the “real world”.
But hey, I couldn’t go into the real world naked, right? Often when I had a
little money in the bank, a portion would go to a shopping trip. There’s
nothing wrong with building a nice wardrobe, but there’s everything wrong with
impulse buying. It wasn’t until my later 20’s that I would learn how to plan
ahead by reading a fashion magazine, browsing the magazine’s website or later
consulting Pinterest BEFORE going shopping, to give me a guideline about what I
“should” be wearing and how.
But that still wasn’t enough. Though they were small
increments, usually under $50, money was getting shelled out too often for just
trying a new look.
After I got married and my husband and I went through a
chapter 7,
I finally got smart
and made a few rules, which I kept in my head.
Now they are here on my blog.
STEP 1: Planning Ahead
1)
Start
with a capsule wardrobe for inspiration, and build out from there.
A capsule wardrobe is basically a
minimalist concept that gives you a small handful of pants, tops, skirts and/or
dresses, shoes and a few accessories to work with that can inter-mix well to
create 10, 20, even 50 different outfits over the course of a season. Most of
the time, they are predominantly neutral, white and dark colors. These types of
wardrobes seldom have anything in them that is highly trendy, bold or exotic
because it is not as versatile. Ideas
for these can be found on Pinterest.com.
2)
After
selecting your capsule wardrobe, it’s time to identify what you ALREADY have
that matches the descriptions so you don’t buy duplicate items.
There’s no sense in spending even $5 on a
basic grey v-neck t-shirt when you already have one or maybe two of them in the
closet.
3)
After
setting aside your versatile capsule clothes, it’s time to clean out the rest.
The rules to cleaning out the closet can
vary. Somewhere in my mid-20’s, I realized I had clothes overflowing out of two
closets and many weren’t getting worn anymore because they were not trending,
didn’t fit properly or very worn out. I at that point made a rule: To bring
home one new item, 4-5 others had to be purged. I would take huge baskets of
clothes I didn’t want or need and try to sell them at Plato’s Closet and later
Uptown Cheapskate. Both of these stores pay cash on the spot for gently used
young adult apparel that fits a certain criteria. I might present them with 30
items and at best, they would buy 5. I would get $10 in store credit and bring
home one “new” (to me) pair of jeans. The rest would later be donated to
charity and with the new-found space in my closet, I would bring home three new
tops to go with the jeans.
I have kept modifying this rule over and
over again.
One rule I have read several times in blogs
and magazines was that it’s best to donate anything you haven’t worn in six
months to a year. If you can’t keep track of your clothes because there are too
many, a life hack can be to turn the hangers backwards on the ones hanging in
the closet, then turn them around after you wear the item. The ones still
hanging backwards after a year are the ones you don’t need.
*Learning
where to draw the line on sentimental value can be tough but it is necessary. For
several years, I wouldn’t clear out some items because my mom gave them to me
for my birthday six years earlier. Or I had bought them for a special event.
I’ve learned to let go. I had to ask my mom if it was okay. Not because she
told me to. She sounded a bit baffled why I was asking. I asked because her
“sure, go ahead, I got those on a clearance sale.” gave me permission in my
heart. These items were not basics like plain jeans or plain tank tops. They
were sweaters with some pattern or graphic tees that didn’t mesh with what I
was currently trying to accomplish.
Part 2: Filling in the gaps
1)
Buy the
basics. At this point, you’ve already established a capsule wardrobe idea
that will work well for you. You’ve identified items in your closet that match
the list. You’ve purged most of the other items. Now it’s time to fill in the
missing pieces.
Consider downloading an application for your internet browser called
Honey. When you proceed to checkout on a site, Honey will run dozens of
possible discount codes to see if it can save you money.
2)
Test
it all out. The clothes in the Pinterest articles might look good layered
together but depending on how differently your particular finds are cut or
colored from the examples, they may not layer well or inter-mix easily. Try
these combos on at the store first, to save some time. If you opted for online
shopping and have no time for going to stores, try on the clothes before
discarding the return labels that came in the packaging
Also keep in mind that it is not wise to buy “final sale” items if you
can’t try them on and don’t know what your exact size is.
Part Three: Customizing the wardrobe (The mistakes to avoid)
1) Don’t blindly jump on the bandwagon with new trends. Instead, take time to explore what makes YOU
feel pretty. I’ve seen this happen too often: a goofy new style comes out
like full-body rompers or Harlem pants (yuck, it looks like you’re sporting a
diaper underneath!). People rush out and buy it, try to make it work, and it
fails. Since it’s so odd and trendy, it can’t really be re-sold or
re-circulated into their style later on. Newsflash! We aren’t living in Hollywood!
The Paparazzi are NOT waiting outside your door to make your style choice an
example of “best and worst dressed on
the Red Carpet” It’s okay to be a little trendy, but it’s not peer pressure.
Crop tops don’t work for everyone. Rompers don’t work for everyone. Skin-tight
pants don’t work for everyone. 80’s Hipster clothes don’t work for everyone. Be
yourself. If YOU love 50’s inspired frilly dresses with collars in a community
where everyone else is wearing miniskirts, that’s OK. If YOU would rather be
basic and wear a simple tee shirt when everyone else is going glam, that’s
FINE. If you put it on and it’s SUPPOSED to make you feel pretty and it
DOESN’T, that’s NOT a problem with YOU. Don’t force it.
2)
Don’t
buy pieces that don’t go with anything in your closet. Obviously, an
exception can be made for special occasion dresses. Other than that, for
everyday wear, never buy something that won’t combine nicely with anything else
you own.
3) Don’t buy
pieces that you have to buy other pieces for, just to make it work. This goes hand-in-hand with rule number 2. If you buy a trendy new blouse and the
only way to wear it is if you also buy a certain style of jeans and shoes to
with it, those individual pieces should be able to intermix with everything
else. If they can’t, it’s not really a good investment.
4)
Don’t
switch drastically from one style to a completely different one if it requires
a full overhaul of your closet. If you are tired of wearing what you’ve
been wearing and you want to venture boldly into some new fashion territory, do
it slowly with pieces that can integrate into what you have until you gradually
weed your old pieces out. Don’t just dump everything and start over with
something you’re not sure will work for you in the long run. (This kind of also
sounds like relationship advice).
5)
Don’t buy
clothes that you don’t love or that don’t fit right. If you’re betting on
losing weight and getting in shape, your too-small “goal jeans” might work, but
if your body changes shape with the weight loss, they might not look flattering
at all. If the shoes are half a size too small and they’re the last pair, oh
well. Don’t buy them, they will just squeeze your feet when you walk and make
you angry. If you love a little red dress that’s pricey, and you found a little
yellow dress for half that cost but yellow just doesn’t look flattering on you,
don’t settle. If you do, you will wind up with a closet full of clothes that
you never wear that you will try to sell later for a fraction of what you
spent...or just donate and it’s like you bought clothes for someone else. It’s
a nice thought, but not if you’re working with a minimalist budget.
6)
Don’t sacrifice
quality to save a buck. Discount stores can be excellent for basic finds
like cotton tees, tanks, cardigans and simple jeans, but when it comes to the
nicer things that are meant to last, crossing into “made in China” territory
can be a big mistake. If you choose to splurge on a dress or you need some nice
work clothes that can be worn for a long time, it’s better to opt for the
higher quality materials and craftsmanship. This may mean paying a little more. At the same time,
it may not. Brand names can be bought at gently used clothing stores in some cities, and on
consignment just about anywhere else. For a large selection of finer clothes
that can be browsed from anywhere, check out Thredup.com.
I have made the mistake a few
times of going to a discount teen fashion store (i.e.: Forever 21, Rue 21,
Charlotte Russe) to buy a dress or other dressy outfit because I wanted to
spend $30 instead of $130 at a department store like Nordstrom. I “paid” for my
mistake, figuratively speaking, when the lower quality dress (possibly
manufactured in a sweatshop) didn’t fit quite right, faded quickly, snagged or
tore or just plain looked cheap because of the grade of material used. Forever
21 has been good for me when it came to basic items, but formal and work
clothes are best found at stores that specialize in them. Charlotte Russe and
Rue 21 have gone through bankruptcies or gone defunct in the past couple of
years, not surprisingly.
7)
Don’t
spend even 99 cents on something you don’t need. This rule actually applies
to ANY shopping, not just replenishing a closet. Did you know that stores often
issue coupons to get you to spend MORE money? You weren’t planning to buy jell-o
pops when you entered the grocery store, but now that they’re 75 cents off, you
add them to your cart. This used to happen to me with shopping for clothing and
accessories in past years. There was a clearance bin at the back of the store
full of odd clothing items with the allure of “70% off” on the sign. I walked
away with underwear that was really not comfortable and t-shirts that were
tacky colors but I was proud of myself for acquiring all of this for only $7. Though
this hasn’t been the largest source of waste in my clothes shopping “career”,
it has certainly generated about a small bin’s worth of pointless items that
were worn once and donated because of how uncomfortable or odd they were.
·
Formal attire
·
Cocktail dress accessorizing
·
Mixing patterns
·
Dressing for the office
·
Trendy pants, shorts and skirt styles
·
Trendy shoes and boots
·
Different bralette styles
·
Trendy Jackets
·
Very low-cut or cropped tops
·
Layering
·
Statement pieces
Good luck with your new wardrobe! I hope this helps you find
your best fit and save some money.
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