Do you find yourself buying way too many things for your closet when you’re shopping online or when you shopped in the store? There are so many different styles out there and options, it’s easy to buy pieces that are very similar or something that you’re one the fence about wearing. I’m always refining my closet, honing my personal style, seeing what I like and don’t like to wear. Nevertheless, there are still times when I’m indecisive about an outfit, but over time I’ve learned a few things that help me deal with it so I’m sharing tips that I use when clothes shopping,
Remember you don’t have to follow fashion trends if they don’t fit with your style. One of my favorite fashion quotes by Lauren Hutton is “Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year by designers. And style is what you choose.” There may be certain trends in magazines, on social media, and wherever else you get your fashion inspiration from that you can’t wear for one reason or another, but if you can’t or don’t wear certain trends or does that mean you don’t have style? No, because no matter what the clothes that you buy and how you choose to put those pieces together is up to you.
4 Tips When Clothes Shopping
Tip #1 Make A List:
When I decided to work on my personal style last year, before I even started shopping for clothes I made a list and it actually helped make the process easier for me. I realized that when shopping after you have an idea what your style is, a list helps because you can write down what kind of fashion pieces you are looking for. This can be anything that you like, looks you see in-store or online, on social media earthworms like Instagram or Pinterest, or even in magazines. Creating a list will help you narrow down the ideas of the clothes you want to buy and stay focused when you go into the store so you actually get what you need/want.
Tip 2: When picking out pieces that match the items on your fashion wishlist, Ask yourself the following questions:
- Can I Create At Least Two Outfits With This Piece
- Do I Like The Color, Pattern Of This Piece
I love pieces that are versatile for one thing, you can create multiple outfits based on one think for example a mini dress. By doing this you can ensure you get your money’s worth and you won’t need to buy pieces with similar patterns and styles because you will be able to recreate the outfits with the first piece.
When you find a piece on your wishlist what is it that you like about it? Is it the color, the style, the pattern? Identifying what you like about the piece can help you decide why you should definitely buy it or why you should put it back and find something that matches your wishlist item better.
Tip #3 Shop Around.
I learned from my mom as a teen to not buy the first item that I like. This kind of goes back to my previous tip. You should pay attention to what it is you like about and the price. I once saw a dress that I really liked in a store for $80 then I want to another store and saw a dress with the exact color yet different pattern for $20. I didn’t end up buying either dress that day, but I would have definitely bought the $20 one.
When you are shopping around, don’t just go to your favorite stores, try somewhere new. If you’ve found fashion inspiration on Instagram, click on the posts and check out the websites of stores that are tagged, talk to your friends, or check out haul videos on Youtube. These methods are how I found out about ASOS, Missguided, BooHoo, and Red Dress. I now have a new favorite spring top from ASOS, I got last fall and a great winter sweater I bought from Red Dress last year, all thanks to shopping around. I found a few new places to shop and more great pieces for my closet.
#4 Know The Return Policy
Read the return policy if you’re shopping online or ask about if you are shopping in the store, this way you can return an item if you don’t like it once you try it on. I used to hate returning items, it was just such a hassle, but ever since I put more effort into my style, one of the things I had to get comfortable with was, returning things. If something didn’t fit my style, I’d just leave in my closet. However, after the last time I did that I realized I ended up wearing outfits I hated and my closet definitely needed to be decluttered
Shopping for your style is supposed to be fun, don’t worry about trends if you don’t want to, just own your style. Do you have any in-store or online shopping tips that you think I need to add to this list? Let me know in the comments
