Time spent shopping vs. number of items purchased - YouLookFab Forum

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Time spent shopping vs. number of items purchased

yellowgirl

I'm really curious about this...Does anyone else seem to spend a lot of time shopping and end up purchasing only one or two things?

Yesterday was my birthday and I got to go to a nearby city and spend the day in the mall. It was so much fun, but I only came home with a few things, which honestly surprised me. I am in the process of re-building my wardrobe from scratch, as several other members are, and I am really surprised at how long it's taking me to do so. It is so much easier to shop now that I know my shape and which types of clothes work for me, but even still, I find myself sifting through a ton of stuff to find a few gems.

Is this normal? Anybody else find they are more picky since finding YLF? I'm so thankful for that, b/c I LOVE everything I came home with, I just honestly expected to come home with more than I did. (My husband wasn't complaining, though. He, too, thought I'd spend a lot more than I did. lol)

Shopping

25 replies

Latest reply was from Aida

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I find it is very hit and miss. I will sometimes go and find everything I wanted in a few hours. Other times, I will spend hours and find nothing. It is the luck of the draw. Knowing the colors and shapes that work for you helps though since it reduced the amount of time in the fitting rooms.

Debora

Veteran

I've gotten more picky since discovering YLF. More often than not, I'll come home empty-handed. I am much more conscious now about quality and fit, and am less willing to settle for something that does not make the grade.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

That's a good sign, yellowgirl. Be discerning about what you purchase and do NOT be swayed by low prices.

I shop for a living so I can't really answer your question

yellowgirl

Angie, I was actually thinking about you yesterday while I was in Nordstrom (my first shopping trip there, ever!) I was wondering what it would be like to shop for a living - I can only imagine how much you enjoy what you do!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

It's nice to be thought of, yellowgirl :). I LOVE what I do. The passion and energy for the job ooze from every fibre of my being. The best part of my fashion stylist job are the "aha" moments of my clients and the energy that *they* derive from having fun with their style.

I was with a client last week, who under duress, tried on a pair of black cropped silky slouchy trousers. I told her to "trust me". She tried them on in the fitting room and said "Angie, there is just NO WAY". I looked up at her, smiled and said, "Wait". I pulled up the slouchy trousers to a flattering leg length, added a cropped button through patterned cardigan and peep toe nude heels. My client looked in the mirror and said, "Hah! Now I love this!". I said, "I knew you would!". We laughed and laughed. She loved that outfit so much, that she wore it to see her own client that afternoon, and sealed a big deal. It was a great day

I hope we see your new loot! Did you find more dresses (for hubby :))

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I often drive an hour, spend a couple of hours shopping, and drive another hour home with nothing to show for my efforts. Of course, I also often run to Target for cat food, toilet paper, etc- and end up with something great.

yellowgirl

Thanks, all! Glad I'm not alone in this - and at least the shopping is fun!

Angie - what a great story! It made me smile. And, yes, I'm the proud new owner of 4 dresses now!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I'm definitely becoming choosier. And I've always been choosy, or at least hesitant to spend money!

One thing I notice is that it can be very tough to find the right combination of good cut/good fit and flattering colour.

But there is certainly a lot of luck involved as well.

Marley

Veteran

I used to be an impulse buyer - I still am - but now, my impulses are much wiser than what they used to be!

Jyoti

(website)

Veteran

I do shop for a long time with relatively few items purchased, but the main reason is budget constraints. I shop A LOT and am really into trends, so I almost always find stuff I like, but if I bought everything I liked I would have no money and a whole lot of loan. I shop more for the fun of it and buy a few things when I can.

Kate

Veteran

If you include online shopping/research, I probably buy one item for every 10-15 hours spent shopping. It's absurd. I try to do a lot more online research so that when I actually go into the stores I know exactly what I'm looking for, and even if I come away empty-handed it means that I can cross some things off of my list.

krishnidoux

Veteran

I find I return so many more things now! Which is a good thing. I used to feel bad about returning... now I ask for return policy before I purchase, and even if I feel confident about my purchase, when there are no return or exchange only, I refrain from buying.

I also often come home empty handed . I find buying clothes is not the quick easy fix we are made to think it is.

When I find a store where I successfully buy a couple of items that end up in "killer" outfits or that I tend to wear all of the time, and where the return policy is decent, I go there first on my next shopping trip.

I need to try things on. I am not skilled enough to buy online yet. Trying things on make it longer and more tiresome. I try to be wearing simple clothing when shopping.

Now to be quicker I try to shop with a goal in mind and not let myself stray from it. I wear the footwear and color scheme that I will intend to wear with the missing item.

Cilleena

Veteran

Yellowgirl, yes it's definitely a good sign that you didn't come home with much, especially in the beginning. I just started this winter with overhauling my wardrobe. I shopped a lot and bought things that I thought would work. However, I was just beginning to learn the right things to look for in my garments for my body type. I tended to miss a couple of things that would have made the item fab. I was so excited that I pulled the tags and wore the items only to discover a month or so later as I learned more at YLF that the items weren't quite right or really didn't fit my fashion style.

So, my point is...be very, very discerning and go slowwwwww. I know it's exciting and you probably want to buy your whole wardrobe as quickly as possible, but try not to because unless you are a much, much faster learner than I, (that's possible, too, hehe)you will find that what you thought was great, a month later isn't as great as you had hoped.

Also, I've found it helps, especially in the beginning of building a wardrobe, to think of each piece that you purchase as "trying" it out, not really commiting to it. Save all receipts and don't pull tags until you've got pictures of yourself in it and made sure it's what you really want. I like to make sure to post a picture wearing it for YLF members to critique.

Be careful of buying things to wear later too. I did that then found that my body shape had changed or it wasn't my style for the season. For example, I bought spring/summer pieces in February and then when it finally warmed up enough to wear them, I realized they were too dressy for our uber, casual summers. I live in "vacation land" and I have no need to anything too dressy in the summer.

HTH!

rosee

Veteran

I probably have weird shopping habits. Like Kate, I spend lots of time online searching for things /researching before I set foot into an actual store. Whenever I am downtown or another shopping area nearby on appointments or errands, I will always spend some time looking in the stores, even if I have no money to spend. I try things on and then "stalk" them until I purchase them later.
I shop thrift a lot at places like Value Village, and I will fill up my cart to overflowing, then spend over an hour in the dressing room trying things on, ending up with only a small handful of items to purchase.
I do sometimes do impulse buys but I am very particular about what the impulse buy will be -- usually it's when I found something that has been on my "list" for awhile already. With retail purchases, I sometimes leave the tags on for over a month in case I want to return it -- I like having plenty of time to think about whether I'm keeping it or not.
A recent purchase tripped me up though: I bought a taupe messenger bag (not leather) that I decided I won't keep, but returns are only allowed for 14 days which have passed. I will exchange for a store credit, but I don't shop a lot in that store so I'll see if anything suits me in the next year or so.

Lisa

Veteran

I've become more and more selective and therefore come home with far less since joining YLF. In the past, if I didn't come home with at least a bag full I felt like it was an unproductive use of my time. Now there are days when I come home with nothing, and it's frustrating. But there are still other times, such as this past weekend, when I was looking for very specific items and finally found my "gems." My more selective shopping style means when I do find something I like, I'm much happier with my new purchases than I ever used to be.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I'm not sure, sometimes I will search and search on line and find nothing and then the urge will take me to buy something and I inevitable return to an item I had previously viewed and been unable to forget.

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

Before I learned about my body type or even when I was just learning about it-- this was me. I would spend a ton of time going into stores, trying things on and leaving empty handed because they didn't look good on me or they were boring and made me want to fall asleep.

Now that I know what works on my body as well as the styles I love it's a lot easier. I know the stores that I love (not to say that I'm not open to finding new ones!) so it's pretty rare I leave empty handed but if it does happen I'm ok with it.

yellowgirl

Good to know I'm not alone in this! I'm glad that there's wisdom in being so deliberative and selective. I stay in my color palette 99% of the time, which definitely makes things easier.

Louise

Veteran

I rarely shop for anything in particualr but I'm a social shopper and spend most Saturday mornings in my local town centre with my Mum and 1 day of most of the school holidays me and 1 of my friends catch up and shop. I am quite happy to browse and come home with nothing x

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I shop mostly online and maybe every week or two head down to the little outlet store down the street. 90% of the time I end up with nothing but I do spend a great amount of time researching, so it ends up I get at least 3 or 4 things a month on average. I'm really trying to think quality over quantity these days, but old habits are hard to break!

rae

(website)

Veteran

Oh dear... if you count online research, it can take months or years to find the perfect item. I can almost always pop into a store and find something that I would love, but I'm trying to act on that less and just get the things that will increase functionality.

catgirl

Veteran

Since I've made the commitment to revamp my wardrobe and shopping habits, I spend a ridiculous amount of time considering, buying, and returning items. I have become more goal-oriented and pickier, but at the same time once I SEE a wardrobe hole, I can't stand having it there. Right now it's tops for my orphan skirts. I like being DONE with tasks, and it has been a journey recognizing that style is never done.

anne

Veteran

Before YLF I was more perfectionistic and would frequently return empty handed and frustrated. I am less fussy now. I also have a lot less time to (physically) shop and try to do most of it in trips to the city 21/2 hours away. I would be dissappointed if I didn't come away with something!

After 3 years on YLF a lot of my bases are covered and I am getting increasingly fussy again about what I buy if it is a big ticket item.

Prior to 6 years ago I worked in a city and enjoyed browsing in some of my lunchbreaks.

Charmian

Veteran

It takes me hours per item, easily. Hasn't changed much since joining YLF.

In the past, when I thought less about what looked good on me and what I felt good to be in, price was the determining factor. I'd see something that looked good on a model in a photo, and stalk it online until the price dropped.

I'm trying to understand better my own style, which has shifted the hand-wringing from "can I get it cheaply?" to a combination of "does it fit me well?" and "does this fit the image I want to project and can I OWN this look?".

Although the amount of time remains the same, the agonizing has moved from the computer to in-person stores, and from being externally-driven (store-determined prices) to internally-driven (will I allow myself to try this look?). Because of this, my ability to deal with the agonizing has gone up, because I feel in control of the "no".

Aida

Veteran

The pickier I get, and the more deeply I understand my style, the longer it's taking me to find items. In fact, when I started my wardrobe makeover I bought a bunch of stuff quickly and found I didn't like/wear a lot of it, continued to experiment making fewer and fewer purchases, finally figured out where I want to go with my style several months ago, and have only bought a handful of items since. I know it's good to be picky, so when I feel unmotivated to hunt stuff down when I know that I'll turn down 95% of what I try, I just remind myself that shopping and trying stuff on is like playing dress up in a huge closet where I can have fun, but not necessarily buy everything that fits me