When I first started to make a conscious effort to shift my approach to shopping, dressing rooms were always my downfall. I would enter a store with a clear idea of what I needed to buy and every intention to spend money only on things that truly fit my style, my body, and my wardrobe. But once I had tried on a couple of things and it came to making a final decision, I would slip up and forget all about my good intentions.
Sometimes, if I really loved a novel detail, the overall style, or the colour of a piece, I’d get so excited that I would just head straight to the cash till, ignoring all practical considerations or the fact that I already had several other pieces just like it hanging in my closet. Sometimes, if the store had a sale going on, I would convince myself that, in exchange for a 20 per cent discount, it’s okay if that top feels a little scratchy or the straps dig into my shoulders. And sometimes, I would also just be so exhausted after a long day of shopping that I would simply settle for a piece that I knew wasn’t ideal, just to be able to cross it off my list.
At first I felt really discouraged by my apparent inability to stick to my shopping resolutions, but then I remembered something I had learned in a social psychology class: humans are pretty terrible at making decisions under pressure. We ignore crucial pieces of information, get hung up on irrelevant details, and over-emphasise certain things just to reach a conclusion.
Having to make a decision while stuck in a tiny compartment in various states of undress definitely classifies as an under-pressure situation. And I’m not just talking about time pressure (not wanting to be rude by taking up the room for too long), but also an internal pressure not to leave empty-handed. Because after you‘ve already invested all that time and effort to come to the store and try everything on, of course you’d rather not leave without having anything to show for it.
Automating the process
The hands-down best way to escape that feeling of being under pressure and improve your decision making when it comes to buying pieces for your wardrobe is to simply automate the entire process.
Put together a little checklist of everything you want to consider before buying something new, from the overall style to its quality and price point, and then just run through it point by point.
Working with a checklist like that has two major advantages:
1. It helps you make sure you have really considered a piece from all angles. Under pressure, it’s so easy to cut corners and focus exclusively on the visual characteristics of a piece and ignore things like the fit, fabric or quality, all of which could be potential deal breakers.
2. It helps take some of the emotion out of the decision and makes it more objective and thereby less susceptible to outside pressure or your random mood.
In this chapter, you’ll find a blueprint for such a process that you can tweak to your own needs or use as is. The process consists of thirteen questions in total that will help you assess a potential new wardrobe addition from the following five different perspectives.
STYLE
How well does this piece reflect your personal style?
FUNCTION
How well does this piece fit into the structure of your wardrobe, and how versatile is it?
QUALITY
What’s its quality like, from both a subjective (fit and comfort level) and objective point (construction, fabric and durability) of view?
BUDGET
Is this the best use of your budget right now?
GUT
Do you really love this piece and are you excited to wear it?
Yes, going through all these questions takes a little more effort than just making a rash decision, but remember that being thorough before you buy something and spending a few extra minutes is still a lot easier and less stressful than having to deal with the various frustrations of bad buys later on.
Style
DOES THIS PIECE REFLECT MY PERSONAL STYLE?
As a very first step, give any garment you spot online or on a rack while out shopping a quick glance over to check whether it fits in with the overall direction you have in mind for your wardrobe. Ask yourself: Would this piece help you create that aesthetic or distract from it? Would it fit into the mood board you created to summarise your style or would it stick out like a sore thumb? What about its individual components, like the fabric, details, cut and colours: are they in line with the style preferences you included in your style profile?
DO I LIKE HOW IT LOOKS ON MY BODY?
There will always be some pieces that you love in theory or on other people, but not so much on yourself. And that’s okay. If an item looks gorgeous on the rack or the model but somehow ‘off’ on you, just move on and find a better alternative.
Function
CAN I THINK OF A CLEAR ROLE FOR THIS ITEM WITHIN MY WARDROBE?
To be functional and give you lots of outfit options to choose from, your wardrobe needs to be more than just a random collection of stand-alone pieces. Every new piece you add should be a part of an overall strategy and you should be able to clearly pinpoint what role a new garment would play within your wardrobe.
Would you wear it as a key piece, a statement piece or a basic? And would it actually work with the clothes you already have in your closet that you usually pair with those items? Run through a few different outfits in your head. For example, if you’re thinking about buying an embellished statement top that you would want to pair with your basics, imagine how it would look with the dark-wash jeans and simple skirts you already own.
If you get a feeling the garment wouldn’t work well in the role you had in mind for it, chances are it wouldn’t fit in well with the rest of your wardrobe and you would have to work around it more than anything.
DOES IT WORK WITH MY LIFESTYLE?
There’s no point in wasting money on clothes you would rarely, if ever, get the opportunity to wear. Your wardrobe should support your life as is. So, make sure you know exactly what types of activities or occasions for which you would wear a potential new wardrobe addition. Would you wear it during the day, for work, or to go out at night?
And would the individual components of the piece (the fabric, heel height, or silhouette) actually work well for those activities? Try to come up with a few real-life scenarios, like ‘drinks with friends’ or ‘running errands on the weekend’, to help you spot any obvious mismatches between the qualities of your piece and an activity.
IS IT MIXABLE?
If you want a versatile wardrobe that will give you a ton of different options, each piece should be as mixable as possible. If during any of the previous questions you notice that your piece really works only as part of one or two outfits, it might not be a good investment, especially if you had planned on using it as a basic or a key piece.
You can also evaluate the mixability of a piece by comparing it to your outfit formulas and colour palette. As you already know, the goal isn’t to wear only shades from your colour palette, just like not everything in your wardrobe needs to be a part of one of your outfit formulas. But every piece you buy should at least work with some of the colours in your palette, so you’ll have something to wear it with. And if a piece fits right into one of your go-to looks, that’s a good indicator you’ll get a lot of wear out of it.
Quality
DOES IT FIT WELL AND IS IT COMFORTABLE?
No matter whether you are buying a blazer, a pair of trousers or a basic tank top, a great fit is a non-negotiable. Garments should follow the natural curves of your body and allow you to move freely. Nothing should bulge, pucker, billow or wrinkle. Whether a piece ticks all these boxes really isn’t something you can accurately assess by looking at a picture online. So if you haven’t done so yet, now is the time to order the item in question or try it on at a store. Use the essential two-step fit check described here to evaluate your piece from all angles. Be ruthless here: an item that’s an inch outside of your style concept is something you can work with, but a bad fit is a deal breaker.
IS THE GARMENT WEL
L-CONSTRUCTED AND MADE FROM A HIGH-QUALITY MATERIAL?
A great fit and high comfort level are usually already good indicators for the overall quality of the piece. But to make sure your garment is durable and won’t fall apart after a couple of washes, take a minute to also check out the construction and craftsmanship of the piece: Do the seams look neat and sturdy? Does the fabric look tightly woven and strong or flimsy and see-through? Can you see any pills, stray threads or loose stitches? For more info on how to assess the quality of a piece, refer to chapter 19: Assessing garment quality (here).
AM I PREPARED TO PROPERLY TAKE CARE OF THIS ITEM?
Never forget to look at the care label of a potential new wardrobe addition. Will you be able to just throw it in with the rest of your laundry or does it need special treatment? Are you willing to have the piece dry cleaned regularly? Do you hate to iron things? Nothing ruins the look and lifespan of a garment faster than improper care, so make sure you are willing and realistically able to give your item what it needs in the long run, whether that means handwashing, ironing or taking it to the dry cleaner.
Budget
WILL THIS PIECE FILL A GAP IN MY WARDROBE OR ONLY ADD TO AN ALREADY OVERREPRESENTED AREA?
Unless you have an unlimited budget and endless closet space, you have to prioritise certain purchases over others, at least in the short-term. A quick first way to check whether a piece would be a good use of your budget is to simply think about how well-represented that category of items currently is in your wardrobe.
Not even the most gorgeous, high-quality maxi dress is worth buying if you already have ten similar ones hanging in your closet. If you have already built up a solid foundation of wardrobe essentials, feel free to spend your money on things you love but don’t technically ‘need’. But until then, focus on closing any gaps in your wardrobe first.
IS BUYING THIS PIECE THE BEST USE OF MY BUDGET, OR WOULD A DIFFERENT ITEM MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT ON MY WARDROBE RIGHT NOW?
If your closet needs a lot of work and you have several pieces on your shopping list that all fill crucial gaps in your wardrobe, try to prioritise pieces that will have the biggest immediate impact on your ability to build outfits that reflect your style. For example, instead of buying a gorgeous pair of strappy heels that you would get to wear only twice a month, spend that money on a great jacket that you can wear several times a week and that would tie your whole look together.
DO I WANT TO BUY THIS BECAUSE IT’S ON SALE OR I NEED A PICK-ME-UP, WANT TO CELEBRATE, OR AM JUST PLAIN BORED?
If you are prone to overspending and impulse buys, take a moment to double-check that the sole reason you want to buy this piece is because it will help you express your personal style and fill a gap in your wardrobe. If you even have an inkling that you might just be bored or stressed, put the item on hold and walk away. If you still want the piece once those feelings have passed, you can always go back for it later.
Gut
CAN I THINK OF AT LEAST THREE CONCRETE OUTFITS I COULD CREATE WITH THIS PIECE THAT I WOULD BE EXCITED TO WEAR?
If your piece has made it this far, it would definitely be a great addition to your wardrobe from a practical standpoint. Now, make sure your heart’s in it too. If you can come up with at least three outfit combos for the piece that you would put on right now if you could, that’s a good sign!
CAN I SEE MYSELF WEARING THIS FOR MANY SEASONS?
To build a great wardrobe, you need a long-term focus. If you can already tell you’ll be over the piece by the end of the year, don’t waste your money on it. A piece that truly reflects your personal style will be something you’ll want to keep and cherish for a long time.
When to buy and when to keep looking cheat sheet
Make a copy of this page (or take a picture of it with your phone) and take it with you the next time you go shopping.
STYLE
1. Does this piece reflect my personal style?
2. Do I like how it looks on my body?
FUNCTION
3. Can I think of a clear role for this item within my wardrobe?
4. Does it work with my lifestyle, and do I know exactly which type of activities I could wear it for?
5. Is it mixable?
QUALITY
6. Does it fit well and is it comfortable?
7. Is the garment well-constructed and made from a high-quality material?
8. Am I prepared to properly take care of this item?
BUDGET
9. Will this piece fill a gap in my wardrobe or only add to an already overrepresented area?
10. Is buying this piece a good use of my budget, or would a different item make a bigger impact on my wardrobe right now?
11. Do I want to buy this because it’s on sale or I need a pick-me-up, want to celebrate or am just plain bored?
GUT
12. Can I think of at least three concrete outfits I could create with this piece that I would be excited to wear?
13. Can I see myself wearing this for many seasons?
Don’t let your spending habits keep you from building your dream wardrobe! Instead, identify your personal triggers for overspending and rethink your approach to shopping the sale section.
How do you spend your money? Do you like to weigh the pros and cons of everything, no matter how tiny the purchase? Do you have a tendency to shop on impulse or when you are stressed or bored? Are you all about finding the best bargains and as a rule won’t buy anything that’s not on sale? Do you shop for fun or to reward yourself?
Just like your eating habits, your approach to shopping is something you have been cultivating your whole life. And that’s why changing it usually requires a good deal of effort and introspection. But it can be done!
This chapter is all about how to make the most of your budget. But by that I do not mean how to hunt down the best deals. I’m not much of a fan of bargain hunting, as you probably know by now, and I’ll talk more about why that is here. Here’s what making the most out of your budget means to me instead:
• Using whatever money you have to spend wisely by prioritising pieces that will have a big impact on your wardrobe
• Not blowing money on random pieces because you are stressed, sad, bored or want to celebrate
You’ve already learned how to set priorities and write clear, detailed shopping lists in chapters 16 and 17. Now let’s tackle the thoughtful shopper’s enemy number one: overspending.
Why we overspend
TO RELIEVE STRESS OR REWARD OURSELVES
Many of us use shopping as a way to manage our emotions: to reduce negative ones and amplify good ones. We reward ourselves with a trip to our favourite store after a big presentation. We shop online after a stressful day at work to relax. We buy stuff we don’t need when we’re anxious, sad or frustrated. We use shopping to self-soothe and self-pamper.
We do this because our body has accepted shopping as an efficient way to trigger the release of dopamine in our brain’s reward system. We may feel stressed out, but then we enter a shop, browse through all the racks on the lookout for something we like, and when we find it: boom, we feel better, at least for the moment. Over time, that association between buying new stuff and the emotional reward becomes stronger and stronger, until it’s turned into a full-blown habit, and we start craving a ‘fix’ whenever we feel particularly bad or good.
Try this instead
If you have a tendency to overspend when you’re sad, anxious or super happy, try these two steps:
1. Analyse your individual triggers for wanting to buy stuff.
2. Figure out a replacement strategy, such as activities you can do instead of shopping.
For example, if you tend to shop online at night after a long day at work, make a list of things you could do instead in the evenings to relax, like taking a bubble bath, calling a friend, curling up on the sofa with a book, cuddling your cat, and so on. The key is to make the decision to do something other than shopping before the trigger happens an
d have everything prepared for that activity, to make it super easy not to shop once you are in the habit cycle.
TO HAVE FUN AND PASS THE TIME
For many people, shopping is also just another fun way to spend the afternoon, evening or weekend – walking through the city (perhaps with a friend or two), browsing through racks and shelves of stuff, the thrill of finding something you love, building outfits in your head, and the anticipation of wearing a new piece for the first time. If you love clothes and see fashion as a way to be creative and express yourself, all these things are fun for you, just like watching a game live at a stadium is fun for a football fan or going to the movies is fun for a cinephile.
Try this instead
If you love fashion but tend to overspend your budget because of it, try to find ways to have fun with fashion and be creative that doesn’t involve buying something. Keep honing your personal style, experiment, find different ways to wear your old favourites. Get into fashion illustration, photography, or any other creative medium. Swap clothes with friends. Or start a blog (on fashion, not shopping)!
The Curated Closet Page 13