How to Change Your Shopping Habits
Buy Less But Buy Better to Get You the Wardrobe You Want
There is no telling when it will happen; that light-bulb moment, when a woman finally realizes, although she has a closet full of clothes, she still has nothing to wear!
For a lucky some this happens in their late 20s or early 30s— but for many it happens around our 40s when it dawns on us that we can no longer get away with a lot of wacky seasonal trends and carrying off much of today’s cheap, disposable fashion.
That light bulb moment, when it comes, is a realization that looking good is less about fashion and more about style and glamor. It is about looking at our overstuffed wardrobe, and discovering that by spending money on badly made and ethically dubious clothing, many of our garments have a short-life span, are not particularly versatile, and don’t give us the wardrobe we really want.
Why We Shop
Many women shop to make themselves feel good, the thrill of buying something new, and the tingles of excitement it brings when you get it home. However, the excitement is often short-lived, and so the cycle continues. Psychologically it is very easy to justify another trip to a shopping mall with “I don’t have anything to wear” or "I don’t have the right shoes."
Buy Less But By Better
Perversely though, if you buy less but buy better, you get a sense of excitement and pride every time you open the wardrobe door. Finding the right thing to wear suddenly becomes so much easier, as classic, quality items are pretty much go-anywhere pieces, if accessorized correctly; and you have fun trying out new looks. A wide belt here, a headscarf there, or a cacophony of layered chains or cuffs.
How to Change Your Shopping Habits
- The biggest single change you can make, both to your wardrobe and self-confidence, is to start investing in better fabrics, better cuts and more classic lines. This does not necessarily mean buying high-end designer labels; but means investing in fabrics that fall well, and feel comfortable, and finding cuts that flatter your silhouette, accentuating the positive aspects of your figure; whether that be slim legs, a curvy figure, or your décolletage. It’s amazing how many women try to hide a fuller, curvy figure, rather than wear cuts that embrace it. Instead by trying to camouflage an ample bust or waist; voluminous garments, like sloppy T-shirts or baggy pants actually accentuate it. Neither does it mean wearing clingy outfits which make you look like an overstuffed sausage, with body contouring in all the wrong places. It means looking for styles which skim your figure rather than squeeze it.
- The second biggest change is to resist trend traps. Give a nod to a trend,b by cleverly integrating it into your wardrobe but avoid being overpowered by it. “Don’t go mad with leopard print and metallics, says She magazine January 2007, in Learn to Follow Fashion Rules, focus one item and wear it well”
- Spend money on classic good quality pieces and less on trendy items that will date quickly. A stylish woman has learnt to balance her wardrobe by accentuating her outfits with some on-trend accessories, mixing timeless pieces with some up-to-the-minute ones, and adding new season colors to ensure that she doesn’t look stuffy or overdressed.
- Resist the urge to impulse buy, on a reduced item or something that jumps off the shelves at you as you walk past. Take time, think about any prospective purchase, and make sure you feel good about it.
- Buying better may mean changing your shopping habits to fit around seasonal designer sales. Instead of buying year-round, cheap throwaway fashion, save your dollars and wait for the reductions during sale time, to buy some of the better quality labels.
By buying less but buying better you are working towards getting the wardrobe you want rather than the wardrobe you have. For more tips on upgrading your wardrobe, click on this link.
