How many hundreds of even thousand of dollars worth of shopping mistakes do you have hanging in your closet?
I was in Nordstrom Rack yesterday and I just wanted to cry. So many people all around me, men and women, young and old, were buying things that were not going to flatter them. Both guys and girls buy things for wrong reasons, in the wrong colors, shapes, and styles. We women sometimes think we need something for a particular occasion, or for work or weekends.
Unless you know some simple guidelines for shopping, you will keep making the same mistakes over and over.
Before you buy one more piece of clothing:
- Know what styles you like. Find pictures in magazines, catalogues, and advertisements, of outfits and looks that you love. Cut the pictures out and put them up on a bulletin board in or near your closet so you see them everyday. Use those photos to inspire you to buy what you love and put together outfits that you love.
- Choose colors that flatter you. Do not even pull clothes off the rack that are in drab colors that do nothing for you.
- Versatility equals value. You should be able to wear each piece of clothing with at least three other pieces of clothing in your wardrobe.
- When you see someone in something that you just love, ask that person where they got it. Certain stores carry certain styles. Are you more of an Anthropologie type, or a Coldwater Creek type? See what styles those stores carry. Shop at stores that carry styles you love.
- Ask for help when trying to find different sizes or styles. Sometimes things are kept in the back room where only employees can go.
- Trust your instinct weather something looks good or not. Do not rely on salespeople. Most of them are on commission. They just want you to buy. They don’t care what you look like. I do.
- Don’t buy sale items just because they are on sale. How much money have you wasted like that?
- If you’re about to spend a hunk of cash, ask when is the next big sale, or pre-sale? Ask if that item is going on sale soon.
- Ask what is their return policy.
- Put impulse buys on Hold. See if you still want the piece in a day or two. You just may not.
- Don’t necessarily rely on the size marked on the label. Different manufacturers use different sizing. You absolutely have to try everything on.
- 3 Questions to ask yourself before you decide weather or not to buy: Does it fit? Does it flatter? Do you love it?
And finally, “Personal Shoppers” employed by the stores like Nordstrom are there to sell, sell, sell. They get commission on whatever you buy. Independent Stylists or Wardrobe Consultants like myself work for their clients with no commission from the store. I want you to only buy things that flatter you and that you love.
Fall is approaching! Call me to arrange your personal shopping trip so you can learn first hand how to avoid shopping mistakes, save money, and only buy what you love and looks terrific on you.
Marian Rothschild, Personal Stylist, Wardrobe Consultant, Look Good Now Image Consulting, Boulder, Denver, Longmont, CO. 720-933-9247. Call now!
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