Overload

mrsblonde

I have been combing the blog and forum since I found it a few days ago. I thought I was all set to go shopping yesterday. Well to my surprise my mind just froze. I had so much information I wasn't sure what to try on or what would look good on me! Any tips for starting out with all this information?

15 years ago

General

10 replies

Latest reply was from mrsblonde

catgirl

Veteran

I would start with what you are drawn to naturally - if you don't like something, you won't wear it. So what do you like? Start with a category, like casual tops. Or cardigans. Also, what budget range? Don't be too quick to snap up the first thing you like - I've made many mistakes that way. When you dress in the morning, where do you find "holes" in your wardrobe? Like, do you put on a pair of pants and then struggle with a top? Or hate all of your jeans? Then you can build from there.

At least that's what I'm struggling to do! Angie's "wardrobe capsule" ideas helped me IMMENSELY. Especially in carving out areas of my life and what I really need. I have this fantasy that I will spend my life going to fancy cocktail parties, when the reality is I need more presentatble casual outfits.

Tell us more about you, and we can help make suggestions!

15 years ago

Aida

Veteran

Did you bring a list with you? My brain freezes when shopping sometimes as well (especially if you're shopping for a lot of items), and having a list of the pieces I'm looking for AND the colors/cuts they should be really helps.

15 years ago

mrsblonde

Active Member

Aida: No but that is a great idea. I need to write down the tips that Angie gave for my body type.

Since the birth of my last child(2 1/2 years ago) I have been active and working out 4 to 5 days a week. So I am a lot smaller now then I used to be. It effected my closet a lot. Lots of tops were too big in the bust area to say the least! As well as my pants. So I went through my closet a couple months ago and gave a ton of stuff away that I couldn't fill anymore.

I have 1 pair of dark skinny jeans, 1 pair of black jeggings, 1 pair of bootcut jeans and 2 pairs of skinny cargos. I have one dress and it is a shirt dress. Most of my tops are more fitted because when I was smaller I got into the whole fitted look. Tanks and whatnot. But now reading through things those should be my bottom layering pieces. I have a ton of flip flops living in Texas and all. I have a pair of black flats and a pair of brown flats. I have a pair of black and a pair of brown ankle leggings. So I guess I need the items to layer over all of the base clothing. Oh! I do have a black skinny belt and a brown braided belt.

I am very eclectic in my style. One day I like the military style, the next ruffles etc. I am a mom of 3 and a preschool teacher. So I want to be comfortable but still have style. I only work 2 days a week at the preschool so my husband is the only full time paid person. So our budget is smaller. I like to shop at Gap, Old Navy, Forever 21, Express. I always head to the clearance racks first.

I guess I need some key pieces that I can interchange with other outfits like mad, to save on money.

15 years ago

Aida

Veteran

It sounds like you have a great base set of pieces to work around; to complete the "bottoms", if you like skirts I'd suggest picking up at least 2. To get started, I'd suggest looking for a few tops and jackets, then on to shoes, then decide from there. Once you get those pieces in you'll start to have an idea of what you feel you need more of; without knowing this you may end up with pieces you don't wear often and this certainly doesn't help save money.

For tops I'd suggest 1-2 each: tunic type tops (to wear with jeggings/leggings), light sweaters (to wear with skinnies/bootcuts/cargoes), blouses (to wear with skinnies/bootcuts/cargoes). From there you can start to get a feel for the types of tops you like and what's missing.

For jackets I'd suggest a blazer and a fitted military style that suits your shape and fancy. Jackets are tricky, everyone likes different types. You'll want to have 2 or 3 to start working with and then you can go from there.

Once you've got a few new tops and jackets you'll probably start to get a feel for shoes that are missing. And once you've gotten a pair or two of new shoes, you'll have a pretty good basic wardrobe set up

I'm sure you can get lots of good suggestions on pieces by the members here! Since your style is eclectic (as is mine) I'd suggest writing down a handful of details that you're particularly drawn to and see if you can think of how you can match them up so your pieces play nicely together. E.g. military, ruffles, stripes, bold jewelry: a striped top with a military jacket over black skinny jeans; a ruffled top with a long necklace over skinny cargoes; 2 layered tanks with a bold necklace and a blazer over bootcut jeans. Good luck!

15 years ago

mrsblonde

Active Member

Wow, that is awesome Aida! I have copied and pasted this for my shopping list. Thanks so much for taking the time to type all of this out. Seeing it all out in black and white makes my brain take a rest. Thanks again.

15 years ago

Aida

Veteran

My pleasure! If you're someone who can browse without purchasing (sometimes hard!) I'd suggest hitting the websites of the stores you like that you mentioned above and checking their lookbooks, and the pieces they sell, then make notes of what you like and dislike. Or even clipping images. Then view your list/images and you'll start to really get an idea of what you're drawn to and what you're not drawn to. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with

15 years ago

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I would add to that (fantastic) list, that it sounds like a couple of jersey casual dresses would do well in your life...

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

I do best when I devote a shopping trip to one or two items at a time. It sounds like it will take longer to complete but when I have less pressure to find items, I tend to find them faster and often pick up one or two "extra" items I know are on my list, but not the two item list of the day. Double reward, crossing more off the list with less stress.

15 years ago

Refugee

Veteran

I would second Aida and Lisa's advice. Do an online pre-shop and have a plan before you head to the stores. Without a plan, I can suddenly be struck by ferret's disease (oh look, something shiny!) and then I'm trying things on that I don't need and regret or get frustrated because I'm overwhelmed with all of the fun things I see.

15 years ago

mrsblonde

Active Member

Thanks ladies for all the advice. All great strategies. With lots of holiday/family time coming up it may be easy for me to do a pre-shop and not buy anything yet. I need to get a little notebook for my purse.

15 years ago

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