As I was sitting in my room the other day I began thinking about one of my hobbies, which is shopping. After scrolling mindlessly through tons and tons of fashion posts on Instagram I began to think about how much money could potentially be spent when shopping for clothes (if that’s your thing). Anyways, I had a brief flashback to many years ago when I thought that the only way to look “presentable” was to spend loads and loads of money. Nowadays I realize that is not the case! You can shop consciously without breaking the bank and still keep up with switching up your style very often. So, for today’s blogpost I’m going to write about my strategy for shopping- that will save you money!
Although shopping is fun there is definitely a strategy to it. One which I was unaware of hence, my many shopping finds which have no use in my life today and just sit in my closet ?
The first steps in my shopping smart advice go hand in hand so I’m going to stick them together and those are to look at what you already have in your closet and consider what season you are shopping for.
Ok first, let’s talk about analyzing your closet. I recently did this and it made a world of a difference in my shopping. What I mean by this is that you should first think of the season you are shopping for so, for example right now, as I’m writing this, it is September 2020. I live in Southern California so, in reality we only kind of get two types of weather: warm and cold. Right now we are sort of in an in-between phase where it’s still pretty warm but I can tell the mornings and evenings are going to start to get cool. What this means for me is that I’m going to have to start incorporating more pant bottoms instead of shorts and dresses and I’ll also have to start thinking of wearing light sweaters and cardigans.
In terms of analyzing what is already in my closet I have started to group together what I consider warm clothes and counting how many jeans and different types of pants I have. By doing this I know what I need to look for when I go shopping as opposed to just buying random pieces of clothing that I think are cute but in reality will probably never wear.
Ok, so once you analyze what is in your closet and what season you are shopping for it is time to identify what stores you like shopping at and what you budget is.
Budget is very important because it ensures you only spend what you intend to and that you get the most bang for your buck. When I think of budget in terms of shopping I like to associate it with pieces of clothing. What I mean by this is that I have an amount that I’m willing to spend for a shirt, for jeans, for pants, for workout clothes etc. This ensures that if I see a shirt that is cute but way to expensive then I know I’m not going to buy it.
This leads me to my next point, which is that of sales.
Sales are so important! I NEVER buy something that is not on sale! The trick to sales though is that you need to get familiar with prices of clothing at the stores you like! For example, one of my favorite stores is American Eagle Outfitters. Because this is one of my favorite stores, I have gotten familiar with what their clothing is priced at and I know when something is too expensive and when I get a really good deal. I can give you a recent example of this. Recently I was shopping for a sweater that I saw a girl I follow wearing on Instagram. When I clicked on the link it said it was $40. To me, that is just too expensive (my personal budget for this type of casual sweater is no more than $20). Anyways, I kept an eye on it and it eventually went down to $25 but when I went in-store I ended up getting it for $16. So, yes, it took time for me to take it home lol but I was very proud of the deal I got.
Speaking of sales, not only do I shop sales but, I also shop clearance! I LOVE the clearance section. This one is a bit trickier and takes effort. Another one of my favorite stores is Kohls. I visit this store often because my mom and I like going for fun LOL. Anyways, the other day as I was shopping I took some time to really go through the racks and let me tell you, I got 2 sweaters and a work shirt for $30. That is $10 each and each of these items was originally like $30! NEVER underestimate the clearance section ?
Moving on, another tip that I recently picked up has to do with outfits! When you are shopping make sure to think of how you are going to wear the piece (whether it be a shirt, shoes, or jeans) with the rest of the outfit. What I mean by this is that if you see a cute pair of jeans that you want to purchase make sure you already know what you are going to pair them with! This is a wonderful tactic that will help you avoid just buying things because they are cute! One way I do this is by going on Pinterest for inspiration.
For example: If I wanted to recreate the outfit below I know that all I need is an athletic looking shirt (because I already have similar pieces for the rest of the outfit in my closet)
Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/534450680784940871/?nic_v2=1a3Qt04y0
My Fashion Board: https://www.pinterest.com/MarisolLovess/fashion/
So, there you go. These are my tips to keep in mind when you are shopping. I honestly didn’t know there was a strategy to shopping but this is what I have found works for me. I don’t want to think that I spend thousands of dollars on basic clothing when I could’ve saved that money ?
Shopping is fun and should not be stressful or that expensive.
Hope these inspired you to go out and buy some cute clothing but within a healthy budget.
Until next time.
XOXO
Marisol
