What rule most helps you "eliminate" possible purchases? - YouLookFab Forum

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What rule most helps you "eliminate" possible purchases?

catgirl

Veteran

Leaving aside and style and fit, which are obvious... what do you use MOST to help narrow down all the possibilities out there? There are SO MANY factors, and as I struggle between feeling stuck and having a signature style, I am trying to figure out what factors I can vary without going off the grid, as I am wont to do.

My biggest rule these days is having a limited color palette. I will no longer buy or try colors just because they are trendy (mustard and all the other autumn shades do nothing for me) or because I can't find the color I want in a particular style. Browns, white, pastels, and whatever category colors like sage and lavender fall into are all off the table. At this point, I can pass whole racks of clothing in stores if none of the colors appeal, or search by color.

After fit, I'd say I factor in seasonal use, cost, maintenance, and materials, in that order. None are prohibitive other than seasonal use, but maybe some should be. And finally, it has to pass the elusive "do I LOVE it?" test, because there isn't much I need at this point.

I'd love to know your broadest rule for eliminating possible purchases. Others I can think of are: materials (how they feel, what type of maintenance is involved), cost, ethical manufacturing, brand... But I know there are many more!

General

66 replies

Latest reply was from molly221

Anonymous

For me, it has to be color. If something's not the right color, I won't even consider it.

Anonymous

Quality of the fabric. It has to feel luxurious, pleasing to the touch and not be high-maintenance. I'm a fabric freak I guess, and I always read the content and care labels before I buy something.

I also ask myself, do I need this or just want it? (Not that there's anything wrong with "want," but asking myself that does help keep the budget under control!)

Stephanie

Sticking to a more narrow color palette definitely helps. I like colorful jewelry and footwear for experimentation and pops of color, so I'm open to going color crazy there the love it test is also golden! When I feel impulse strike, I add an item to a wish list on Amazon. If I'm still visualizing looks in my head and thinking about the item days later, then I feel like it's a good buy. A lot of times, the "oh look shiny new thing!!" Feeling wears off for me after a few days so I save lots of money (and closet space) doing this.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

This is my short-list

1. Is this item a duplicate of something I already have? If it is, do I love it more than what I already have? I have a gazillion black skirts that I love., and I can only realistically wear so many of them in any given week. So if I want another black skirt, one will have to leave my closet.

2. Does this fit into my capsule wardrobe, as it currently stands? Can it roll forward into the next capsule? I am on week 5 of a 12-week capsule experiment, and it has given me a pickier eye about what I want to bring into my closet.

I also question whether this moves my style forward in the direction I want, or if it's a distraction.

3. Is this something I can wear for 12+ hours at a stretch? I already have plenty of things I am ready to rip off after 3, 4, 5 hours (special event stuff).

A sub-category of this question is "The Paris Test". If I can't imagine wearing it all day for sight-seeing and walking around, I don't need it.

4. What is the time commitment for the care? Most of the more delicate stuff in my everyday wardrobe can be washed on a 15-minute gentle cycle and dried on a rack in the dryer in under an hour. Dry-clean only means an item is out of commission for 3-14 days, depending on my schedule. And I hate ironing.

Murph11

Veteran

My life does not require an extensive wardrobe (I can work in pajamas), and and I'm open to a wide range of colors, so my rules are pretty straight-forward questions: Rule #1: "When will I wear it?" My "wants" seem to be event-driven. When I answer honestly, I walk away 95% of the time. Rule #2: "How will I wear it?" Does it require additional purchases to style it? What's the fuss-factor? I used to be able to justify anything. Now, for whatever reason, I talk myself out of everything. Maybe just happy enough with what I have.

catgirl

Veteran

I forgot COMFORT! I guess that's part of fit, but it has become non-negotiable to me these days.

rachylou

Veteran

Good good question. Probably my biggest impact self-check is 'where are you going to go in that?' A little different from 'is it appropriate' and 'will it work?' But I shop a little more purposefully now a days. Think more about day in and day out direction before I go seeking.

catgirl

Veteran

I am making a checklist of these mental tools people use to pre-cull before purchasing so I can keep it in my phone!

Diana

Veteran

I have to say that online shopping has made me a lot less impulsive with buying... because I can see something shiny, stick it in my cart, go away, come to my senses the next day, and remove it.

That said, I try to ask myself:
--Will it be comfortable? Although more and more the things that will obviously be uncomfortable, either physically or psychologically, don't even make it onto my radar anymore.
--a corollary to this is the fuss factor.
--What will I wear it with? Does it actually go with my wardrobe?
--Where will I wear it? This takes into account my lifestyle and the weather.
--Does it look just like something else I already own? (I have this problem a lot because I'm attracted to the same types of things over and over again, LOL. Like, I have midcalf moto boots that I love, I don't need the 3 other pairs in my amazon cart.)
--Will I get my money's worth from it?

Alassë

Veteran

Personal colour palette, material (polyester, sheer, wool: step away), care (dry clean: no unless it's a skirt), love vs. pretty good, comfortable vs. fussy, cost (personal thresholds for different items). After that I list out how many outfits I could make with the piece and see how many years it would take to achieve $1 CPW.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Time of year.

Now that I have a working closet (more or less), I seem to have reverted to my old shopping patterns. In other words, I spend a day or two shopping in preparation for each upcoming season, to refresh my style, and to replace worn essentials -- and that's it. Once I have the key pieces I stop looking and stop thinking about buying. Instead I think about how to make outfits from what's there. That rules out a whole lot.

Apart from only shop when I actively NEED something (i.e. "I need winter boots. Must shop." Or, "Trip to very hot climate and not enough hot weather clothing. Must shop.")

kellygirl

Veteran

I agree with Diana. I rarely go to the mall except to return something that I ordered on line. For me, just having a day to mull it over while it sits in my cart helps me figure out if it is something I really "need" or not. The next question besides color, comfort, fit is "where will I wear it." Work has narrowed down my clothing choices. I have more than enough weekend clothes already. Another deciding factor is the care label. I won't dry clean but I don't mind "lay flat to dry."

Ginger

Veteran

Color is a big thing. Once I realized I had four brown skirts, none of which I wore, and even more brown shoes, ditto, that put the kibosh on brown for me. I've also decided to not rely on gray as a neutral, either. For me, it's black or navy (or white). It's amazing how much that alone has kept me from buying. It's cut out not only the actual brown or gray items, but also items that would need brown or gray to work.

unfrumped

Veteran

I would say color palette helps a lot in being able to blow by lots of items, as you say, and not get sucked in, and not get orphans.

The other most important thing is fit, but even more, and it's related to figure flattery, but is different in that it can be JFE rather than being conventionally flattering, and is what I will call, does it give me "body confidence" ? I have found that virtually all of the items I pass over have got some element of making me feel self-conscious--I could make a list but that would be my own personal bugaboo's and it'd be somewhat different for each person. Sort of the test of, if I took off my coat....
The outfits I keep reaching for --and outfit (0r ensemble!) is the key word, because tops& bottoms may be specific for each other and not all universal mix & match--just let me relax about all of those issues. Yes, there is a larger proportion of loose-fit or longer tops involved but tucked, belted or defined waist is totally in there with the right bottoms.

Hence I tend to over-buy tops, because they can look good in isolation and because I'll fall for color, but then, whoops, do not make an acceptable outfit with the available bottoms.

Peri

Veteran

Definitely color, that's the first thing I scan a store for. I don't consider my color palette limited because I love many different shades of several colors...purple, pink, blue, green, red, black, white...but anything out of that range doesn't even get considered. And that is more limiting than it sounds, because a lot of times the colors I like aren't available in the thing I want. Whole seasons can go by (two summers ago, pastel, ugh!!!) with super slim pickings in the colors I love.

The other thing, I'm with you, is comfort. I will never wear anything uncomfortable, even to dress up.

KikiG

Veteran

Is it a 10? On a 10 point scale.

My closet is full of 8s that don't get love, because they were almost right, or I settled out of fear of not finding something, or just shopping fatigue and convinced myself that adequate was good enough.

If it is a 10, it is so awesome and magical, I don't really care how much it costs, because it will be worth it in terms of cost per wear. The fabric is nice, the cut is wonderful, it feels like butter on, it makes me look and feel great, it isn't fussy, and it doesn't Mouse Cookie into multiple more purchases to make it "work." A 10 is the garment I plot and justify to wear more than once a week. My new AT poncho was an instant 10: it exceeded expectations and generated value. I bought some booties last year at an insanely cheap price that turned out to be 10s, and now I know I want another pair of booties. But, they have to be 10s.

I recently had a shopping trip and bought four items, each of which was a 10. One of the items isn't quite seasonal yet, but the others have already proven their value. It was great to have that experience, because it gives me a touchstone for further shopping.

Gail

Veteran

My biggest rule which I have finally figured out, is comfort. I have purchased many items that are orphans because I last about 10 minutes in them before I change for comfort reasons. Example, I hate 3/4 sleeves on sweaters, my arms get cold and it took me forever to get to that point of realization.
I am also asking myself prior to a purchase, will this work with my lifestyle. I love many items that I would never wear in my real day to day life.
Another thing is, do I really like it , seems strange but I have bought many things in the past that are just ok, not doing that anymore.
Shoes have to be comfortable in the store and I try to steer clear of items that will be worn a lot that are dry clean only.

catgirl

Veteran

Unfrumped, good point - I no longer want to buy items that require a work-around (like a cami) or require me to buy more stuff to create an outfit.

JAileen

Veteran

It must go with something I already have. So no skirt that requires a new top, for example.

My new rule is it must be in my new color scheme: grey, blue or olive. I've pretty much stayed with this.

I think comfort goes without saying.

abc

Veteran

Are you inside my head AG? Bc I want to figure this out too - and like you, I wanna have it at my fingertips.

Would you share the condensed list when you have it? Pretty please??

Anonymous

Well assuming I'm already attracted to it because of colour, style, item fabric etc - my new thing , thanks to a comment unfrumped made yesterday, is " is it adding anything of value to my wardrobe?". Not monetary value, but overall importance. I plan to ask this question of everything I buy.

Isabel

Veteran

Color. There are so many things and colors that I love that just don't look good on me.

IRL wear. It needs to be something that fits my lifestyle.

Washability and wearability Is it machine or hand washable ? Will it stand up to wear and tear ?

Will it fit into my "color" story ? I have become pretty tight about a core group of colors.

Bonnie

Veteran

This is a great read for me because I'm in the process of assembling a wardrobe. I started out buying what ever I liked and soon discovered that I could only make a few outfits and needed a lot of clothes. Making informed choices will give me more outfits and that means reining in my shopping. I needed guidelines and love yours and the ones others members have added. Sharing a condensed list like abc suggested would be very helpful to me and other newish members.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

VAWI -- the "value-added wardrobe item." New YLF acronym.

Anonymous

I know, right!?

kkards

Veteran

when i 1st started working, i used to ask myself if i loved it enough to work XX hours for it. as i started earning more, i got away from that, but I've started to ask myself that again....its amazing how many things aren't worth it when viewed thru that filter.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

So many things, most of which are nearly unconscious at this point. Colors that flatter me and that work with the rest of my wardrobe. A style that should (!) look decent on my shape. Decent construction and feel of fabric, as well as the care instructions. Then if I'm in person, I try on and let the fit be my biggest guide. If that's ok, I sanity check myself about whether the cost is reasonable for what I'm getting (i.e. sales goggles or the flip side, falling in love with something pricey I don't really need and selling it to myself as a splurge I deserve), and try to think through a few outfits I could wear it in before I buy it. Sometimes I am only partway sure and take it home to try with other things and make a final decision to keep or return later; this is also nice because the rush of finding a bargain, getting out of a crowded mall, whatever it may be, has faded and often I realize that I was making a primarily emotional purchase.

If I'm buying online I tend to stick with brands that I have worn and I know how they fit, and stores that allow returns (preferably free, but balanced with other store costs). I try to make sure I'm not wearing sales goggles here too. The big difference with online is that you can't try on first, and often I see things in person or try them on and they are an automatic nope, return. And several days have elapsed since I ordered so I tend to be able to judge things more dispassionately than right after I ordered.

I think I just rambled there instead of really answering the question. I use color and style to decide whether I even want to try something; then it's all about fabric and how it fits. If that passes then I'll start thinking about how I could wear it. Honestly, if it fits well and fits in my budget I tend to buy it without figuring out the outfit thing, which is why I have a lot of clothes!

Anonymous

It has to fit perfectly and succinctly into an existing capsule. I am not building new capsules, only expanding the ones I currently have. If something doesn't fit seamlessly in an existing capsule, I don't bother with it (today). Who knows what 2016 will bring.

plonkee

I'm another one that has colours that they like, and then brown-related colours. I don't buy the 'wrong' colours.

And I also don't buy uncomfortable clothes. Heels must be fit for purpose, for example.

I too rarely buy non-machine-washable things.

That's all the ruling out at the rack. I won't buy clothes whose shape doesn't suit, and if I can establish that without trying on so much the better. I'm trying to extend the different types of things I buy so I'm trying not to rule all the things out at this stage.

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