I enjoy the challenge of staying trendy with items i find in the thrift stores. But on that same note my brain thinks because i'm saving so much on a regular basis, when i see something i really love and "have to have" i'm allowed to splurge a little more than i would of allowed myself in the past before i started thrifting.

I also get bored of wearing the same thing over and over. I don't think a blouse would of lasted 5 years in my closet and have been worn regularly but that's just how i am!

"That's probably another reason I'm not as involved on here as some people are....I just don't have the means to buy things every week."

I have wondered a bit about that too. We're doing OK financially (I don't think Vancouver was as hard hit by the recession as elsewhere), but I don't buy clothing all that often, except to replace camisoles and that sort of thing. I go out shopping for actual fashion items maybe once a season. It feels like a lot of you guys shop all the time! But maybe my perception is skewed because there are so many people writing in to show off new garments, and there are probably a lot more of you than I think there are.

I love fashion and clothing, but I could never go shopping that often. For me it's finding the time as much as finding the money. So I'm sort of living vicariously through everyone else.

There are a lot of posts about new clothes...who doesn't like showing off something new! But there are also a lot of WIW posts that don't include new items. I think one benefit of a site like this with such an involved and helpful (and tactful!) community is getting the inspiration to try something new with what you already own and then getting feedback on whether or not it worked. Someone else's post might give you the idea to try a combination that you never would have come up with on your own and - BAM! - you have a "new to you" outfit! That's what makes it fun!

I don't think I have seen anyone else on this board who shops the way I do. If I really love something, I buy it at full price. Then I let it sit in my closet with the receipt for awhile--sometimes months. I stalk it online to see if it goes on sale. If it does, I repurchase at the lower price and return the original item (assuming that the store has a generous return policy). If it doesn't go on sale (or is not available in my size), then I have had the item in my closet for long enough to decide if I really, really want it. I don't have a need to rip the tags off a wear something immediately, so the wait doesn't bother me.

Since I am so patient with waiting, when I DO feel the need to wear an item before it goes on sale, I rarely regret it once it does go on sale. For me to wear it before the sale, it must mean that I really needed to wear it.

(For me, shoes is a whole other story. I most often buy high end designer shoes at huge discounts from Yoox, so those are almost always out of season.)

I am also a person who doesn't shop that often. I literally go months (sometimes six months or more) without purchasing a thing. Then there are times when I purchase a bunch of things in spurts. I have a pretty full wardrobe, so I pretty much only buy things when they truly tickle my fancy.

I have bought and cycled through a closet full of mistakes from discount and thrift stores over the last year, spending hundreds and wasting most of it. I'm not sure why, after so much time on the forum, I still have trouble picking things out.

On the other side of the coin, I have 5 pairs of pants that I've been wearing for a minimum of 5-7 years that still look good. I'm going to try focusing on quality basics now. It seems like that is what I stick with, whether they were bought on sale or not.

The only exception is knits. I will not spend full price on sweaters, they all end up looking bad after a season.

I do a bit of both. Like so many of you, when it is shoes I am willing to pay full price.

with a lot of other things it comes partly down to timing. Like Elisabeth, I don't shop often - Like Steph I can go 6 months without buying anything. And I am not so in love with thrifting since it works better with frequent careful visiting.

I definitely tend towards minimalism, and working out exactly what I want and just buying that. I do however leave a little in the budget for impulse buys which are often bargains.

When it comes to my twice yearly shopping trips to the city, I pretty much buy what I c can get in that time. Last summer (Australian) it was in January and there were many after Christmas sales so almost nothing was full price. And some things were impulse buys. But there was nothing I was really hanging out to get specifically (just general stuff like "casual dress").

This winter is a different matter. After 3 years of YLF I have some specific holes. I am buying some good heels, and a good coat if I can find one that is better than my current one. I expect at least 5 years out of these items and am willing to pay full price. That said, sometimes I mull over them for so long that the price comes down in the meantime, and that can help tip the balance into my buying them.

When it comes to shopping in my home town, there is basically a Country target, a few chain stores and some boutiques and surf shops ( too expensive for me). I don't shop often, but will be more likely to go into the Target if there is a sale - and it is worth waiting for most items since they have sales really often.