Did you know that (according to recent research) the average woman spends between $1800 – $4000 per year on clothing and accessories yet wears less than half of that?
So that’s 50% of your clothing budget wasted.
A minimum of $900 per year.
Add that up over a few years and it adds up to a lot (in fact if you add that up over a lifetime (given inflation) I’ve read that women will waste between $150 000 – $200 000+ on clothes she doesn’t wear!
Now that’s a scary statistic.
So how can you shop smarter and not be a part of that statistic?
Retailers have a lot of dirty tricks up their sleeves to make you buy. They want you to buy and they also want you to be disappointed and not love your wardrobe, so you’l have to come back and buy more and more. That’s how they stay in business.
Of course, clothes wear out over time and need to be replaced. Your lifestyle will change too and clothing requirements change so you’ll also need to shop for that. Plus bodies change too as do tastes. There’s no reason to give up shopping completely, but what I’m passionate about is arming you with the information you need to make the best choices for you.
Now you’re lucky because you are here and I’ve got the knowledge to help you and I love sharing my wisdom with you to empower you to be a more conscious and discerning shopper as you develop your own signature style.
1. Create or Update Your Style Recipe
If you don’t have a clear picture of your personal style, it’s easy to be swayed by a helpful sales assistant into buying something that’s not quite you. Just because a garment is the latest trend doesn’t mean it fits with your style recipe. When you have your style recipe nailed down you can use this as one of your important criteria to run every potential purchase past, and if it doesn’t make the grade, it doesn’t come home with you. It becomes an easy “no”.
2. Know Your Personal Style Criteria
Just like you need a style recipe, you also need to know your other personal style criteria, from the shapes and silhouettes that harmonise with your body, to your best color palette and signature colours so that you don’t get swayed into purchasing something that won’t go with other items in your existing wardrobe. This is where getting a style education (before you shop) comes in as it will help you define your personal style criteria and give you the tools to be an empowered shopper.
3. Audit Your Wardrobe First
Before you head to the stores, make sure you’ve audited your wardrobe so you know what you actually have and what you need. What’s worn out and needs replacing, and your wardrobe gaps that need filling. Check out my post here on decluttering your wardrobe.
4. Make a List
Just like you probably don’t go to the supermarket without a shopping list, you shouldn’t go clothes shopping without a list of what you actually need. This helps you to not waste money on repeats of clothes you already own and don’t need, or end up feeling pressured into buying something to make the salesperson happy (because they’ve been soooo helpful to you and you don’t want to disappoint them). To know what should be on that list you need to have done an audit of your wardrobe (tips to help you do this here) so that you can figure out what your wardrobe gaps are. Think about your favorite outfits, do you need a layer that goes over the top so you can wear it when it gets colder? Do you have orphan garments that need another garment to go with so you can actually wear them? Having a list helps you set a clear intention for what you’re looking for and having this plan in place helps you stay focused and avoid random purchases.
5. Avoid the Overwhelm
Because retailers are doing their darndest to make you purchase, and this can easily be overwhelming (as the environment is so stimulating) practice the power pause if you have a habit of buying things you never wear. Ask the sales assistant to hold the item you’re considering purchasing and leave the store and grab a drink or snack (you can’t make good decisions when your blood sugar is low or you’re dehydrated), this gives you some time and space to figure out if you really love the item (you just can’t stop thinking about it) or if you were buying it just so that you could take something home (because it feels like a waste of time and energy to go shopping and not purchase anything – it’s the hunter/gatherer buried inside us). If the lure of the garment diminishes the further away you get from the store, it’s a great decision not to buy.
6. Rate it an 8 or More
When you’re trying garments on, rate how they fit and feel and how much you love them out of 10. If a garment doesn’t rate an 8/10 or more, then it’s a hard “no” as it’s never going to be better once you bring it home (in fact it’ll end up as one of those unworn garments in your wardrobe). You deserve to have all your garments making you feel greater than “so so”.
If you ever hear yourself thinking “it’ll do” when you are trying on clothes, this too is a sign to leave it in the store.
7. Reframe Shopping Success
For many of us, we feel successful when we make a purchase (and get that dopamine hit for finishing the task of shopping), but in fact, if the garment isn’t great, when you get it home you’ll likely have buyers remorse and more work to do returning it, if you can. Instead, reframe success to mean that coming home empty handed is not a failure, and in fact is the sign of a successful shopping expedition, because it means that if you didn’t buy anything, it’s because the right garments weren’t available to you this time, and that’s completely OK because it means that you are discerning and empowered because you have the right criteria and knowledge to make the best decisions for you.
8. Get Your Style Education
If you want to feel empowered and have the knowledge you need to shop smarter (not harder) and become that discerning shopper, then it’s time to invest in a high quality style education program that will give you the tools and resources to make the best decisions for you (without boxing you into a set of criteria that are not personalised to you). I’d love to invite you to join my 7 Steps to Style program which is the key to unlocking your style so you can stop wasting half of your yearly wardrobe budget on clothes you don’t wear. The investment in the program will repay you many times over, not only in the dollars you save but also giving you a sense of ease and peace when shopping for clothes as you have your personal style criteria nailed.
