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How To Shop – Part 1

Treat buying new threads as adding to your art portfolio and piece together a work of art on your body. After all, expression of style through fashion is personal and subjective, just like art.

 

In three parts I will be introducing steps to successful shopping. Including the outfit's urgency, whether it's needed for a specific occasion and its necessity, the value of companionship, sizing rules, colour choices for your skin tone, bargain hunting, versatility with your current wardrobe and longevity. 

 

Urgency  

How soon you need the garment will play largely into what you spend and your willingness to negotiate on perfection. If you have a wedding to attend and you've left shopping until the last minute, impulsiveness could be your downfall.

Do some research before hitting the stores; a good rule of thumb regardless of urgency. Browse the internet for styles that suit your body shape and colours for your skin tone (more on this next time) and narrow down your desired outfit.

Impulse buys are largely tagged with regret, and the last thing you want is a fashion faux pas at a wedding. But if you do blow your budget on a regrettable impulse buy: someone else is guaranteed to love it!
 

Source: VogueUK

 

Occasional

Most women have a posh dress in the back of their wardrobe, but how many times has it been worn? Unless you’re a major socialite then possession simply doesn’t equal the necessity. While having an occasion to shop for can be a fantastic excuse for a new outfit, it can lead to wastage unless you're clever about it. It’s better to look for something that can be paired with other items in your wardrobe, rather than splurging on something you'll wear once. Save that for your wedding day!

However, I know from experience this is easier said than done. So, let's say you have a rich friend hosting a posh party. Instead of heading to a one-stop, stay curb-side and gather items to build a look. Grab a plain dress that has a small amount of detail and use this as your starting point. Then go and buy up some jewels to stack on the dress. Get a pair of heels that will enhance the look and a fur jacket or shawl depending on the season and location. Now you have a dress you can wear to dinner with the in-laws, screeds of new jewels, a new pair of heels and a versatile jacket. Isn't that better than a dress that will sit, lonely and forgotten, at the back of your wardrobe after its simultaneous maiden and final voyage?
  

Necessity

Surely every new wardrobe addition is a necessity? And those flatforms are going to be on trend for year’s right? Whatever the case, when spending your hard earned dollars, make sure you know what your wardrobe needs, not wants.

I’m a shocker for getting distracted with pretty things on my most wanted but not my most needed list. Thank goodness I don't have huge wardrobe budget or I'd have tons of gorgeous dresses and sky-high heels and no tees or flats.

Combat this, as I do, by bringing someone with you.

 

More on this in the next post!
 

Part two will include thoughts on companionship, sizing issues and introduce you to colours that match your skin tone. Part three will cover the importance of versatility, bargain hunting and longevity.
 

– Sarah Smith

The Rational Dresser