Fashion magazines. Commercials. Retailer catalogs. Special seasonal offers. The temptation to buy new clothes and accessories is everywhere. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to stay on top of the latest trends, bringing home the wrong pieces that end up on the back of the closet is never a pleasant experience and feelings of guilt can quickly wear off the initial excitement. To avoid style mistakes, a good shopping strategy is in order. Consider your poor clothing choices a learning experience and implement some of the following tips for your next shopping sessions:
Select your favorite, most frequently used pieces
We all have pieces that brighten our mood and are a natural choice for our outfits on a regular basis. These pieces tend to be the most flattering ones, so keeping an inventory of the choices that work well for us from jeans to skirts and blouses is a quick way to make practical choices that will fill us with joy. Analyze things like fit, fabric, comfort, tailoring or projected image to determine what you should look for.
Take a good look at your wrong choices
Like we said, your mistakes can be a stepping stone towards better choices. That’s why it’s important to have your less than perfect choices lined in front of you to be able to spot the things they have in common. It might be that they were super affordable and the price was irresistible so things like fit or pattern were largely ignored.
It might be that the fabric was poor or the tone is unflattering. Similarly, purchasing in a hurry for a big event or focusing exclusively on the trendy look factor can also lead to regrets. Analyze your mistakes down to the smallest details and make your own ‘do not buy’ list with criteria to look out for.
Determine what’s missing from your closet
It’s easy to focus really hard on selecting fabulous pieces and forgetting about pieces that are a starting base for a myriad of fabulous outfits. Or we might be faced with having the ‘nothing to wear reaction’ on a series of occasions. Seeing such patterns in your own wardrobe is a clear indication of the things you need to add to your wardrobe. Keep in mind Michael Kors’ rule for ensuring you don’t overspend on the wrong things: “70 percent of the clothes you own should be meat and potatoes. 30 percent should be icing and fluff— that’s colour, pattern, shine, accessories.”
Go for quality
It’s no secret that a cheap garment that falls apart after a couple of wears is a worse choice than an item that you spend a small fortune on but that lasts forever. But, since high price isn’t always an indicator of quality, make sure to look for some of these factors: small, straight stitches, flat lining, well set buttons, fit and fabric. Make sure not to go for something overly trendy for items you don’t plan on keeping in your wardrobe for too long.
Put it all together
With flattering pieces that define your style, costly mistakes and missing items all in front of you, a smarter shopping strategy should be well contoured. Keep in mind the style insights you gained and consider your lifestyle and how well an item would fit with the rest of your clothes before shelling out money on new pieces that tempt you.
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