Too often you find items hanging in your closet that seemed like a good idea but turned into a one hit wonder, or even worse a never worn wonder! Use these tips the next time you go shopping to ensure what you buy will be things you love to wear again and again.
Even the best shoppers have occasional slip ups. To get the most out of the items you buy, you need to properly integrate them into your existing wardrobe. It’s not uncommon to find wardrobe pieces that have been hanging in the closet for months with the tags still on. Even for the most disciplined shopper there are steps you should take after you complete your shopping. When you return home from shopping get the most out of what you buy with these simple tricks.
1. Try on everything you buy again. Make sure you can still answer yes to all of your shopping guidelines once you are at home. If you bought shoes, give them a practice run. Wear them around the house to ensure they are as comfortable as they felt in the store.
2. Save and keep your receipts in one place. This way if you need to return something you can get a full refund. Just as a precaution, leave the tags on until you actually wear something out of the house.
3. Create a new items section within your closet. As you wear each new item, integrate it into the proper wardrobe section of your closet.
4. Assess your new items section every 30 days. If an item is still in the new section after an extended time period, you may consider returning it for a refund or a more useful item.
5. Schedule a time to play dress up in your closet. Come up with outfits you’ve never worn. Take pictures of outfits you create to reference on days you are lacking dressing brain power.
For additional tips on how to shop smart visit www.charlestonstyleconcierge.com and sign up for our free monthly ezine.
This is the season for shopping! Follow these shopping rules for a more successful shopping experience.
1. A deal isn’t always a deal.
You only wear 20% of the clothing you own. For a second go back and think about the 80% of your clothing that you don’t wear. How much of that did you buy because it seemed like a great deal? Deals can often get you into trouble. Based on price alone you often end up buying items you don’t really need. You’re seduced by the price tag, not the way they can serve you and your style. Be disciplined about what you need. If you know that you desperately need shoes that are appropriate for work and only have a certain budget, a designer dress no matter how great of a deal, isn’t going to help you figure out what shoes to wear on Monday morning.
2. You should be able to think of more than one way to wear something before purchasing.
The second rule of shopping is that you shouldn’t buy something unless it can be worn multiple times or in multiple ways. When you are shopping for new items think about how they can mix in with the clothing you already own. If you’re considering buying a great jacket, think about whether or not it will be versatile enough to wear to work and also casually on the weekend with a pair of jeans. Or is it a jacket that you don’t have anything to wear with. There are lots of pieces that make up that 80% of your clothing that you don’t wear that were bought because you figured you would find something to wear with them later, but never did. Be disciplined about what you need and how it can work for you.
3. Your body is not the enemy.
The third shopping rule is to remember that your body is not the enemy. That may sound funny, but what’s not funny is that for many of you shopping is really frustrating. We end up taking out our frustration of not finding something on ourselves. It is not your fault when something doesn’t fit you quite right. The challenge is that we are all totally different sizes and proportions. Some brands and cuts simply might not work for your body shape, but others will.
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