What's your "shopping style"? - YouLookFab Forum

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Shopping

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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

What's your "shopping style"?

Cilleena

Veteran

I would love to hear more about how YLFers shop for clothes. Do you tend to find a fabulous piece and work it into your wardrobe? Do you have an outfit in mind that you saw somewhere ( ie. a favorite fashion blog or something you saw here on YLF? How do you figure out how to "style" your pieces? I have seen some seriously creative and gorgeous outfits since coming to this forum. Also, if you have a favorite fashion blog, would you link me to it? I'm really enjoying some of the fashion blogs of the YLFers.

I've never been a very good shopper. My DH and I joke that I am missing that female shopping gene that makes shopping fun. I am finding that I DO enjoy shopping, but I don't know what I'm doing. I tend to stay very neutral and when I find a certain style of top or bottom, I buy a lot of it. For example, I just bought about 10 LS scoopneck Tees in a rainbow of colors because they were a great price before Christmas and they fit me really well. Now that I have them, I am thinking why did I buy all of these? Do I really want to wear the same thing every day except just a different color? I guess it's not such a good thing to buy multiples.

What are your thoughts on shopping and styling clothes?

Shopping

19 replies

Latest reply was from Kristine

Dawn

(website)

I shop in a variety of ways. There are some items which I know I need, e.g. until yesterday, a pair of black leather shoes with a 2 inch heel and almond toe or a pair of dark-wash navy bootcut jeans, which I will keep looking for every single time I go shopping.

The reason I know that I need these is by asking myself every morning about the other ways I could wear my outfit and what would make dressing easier every day. I have no immediate need for the black shoes but I know I need a pair for interviews or working in an office, and therefore they fulfill a practical need within my wardrobe. The bootcut jeans on the other hand will help extend my wardrobe by giving me a different silhouette to skinny jeans and will perhaps add a touch of 1970s glamour to my style.

I also am happy to browse and see what catches my eye. I found the pieces which are the cornerstones of my personal style that way because they made me think creatively about how I would wear them.

I do duplicate certain items in different colours but only if they are very basic items like camisoles or something so special that I have to have it in two different colours.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I am a hunter usually. Like this morning, I am hunting down a longer inseam premium denim short. But occasionally I will pick up those things that just catch my eye. It's a good balance, actually, because those pieces end up being the 'show' pieces and the hunted ones usually are the workhorses.
My biggest shopping trouble is getting loured by the sale. Either to a similar item that's not quite what I want, but I get it anyway because "it's close enough and so cheap!" Or the biggest mistake, which is getting it even if it's really too big or too small because "it's so cheap!" lol

LeahJanes

My shopping practices are usually pretty impulsive. I don't give huge amounts of thought to holes in my wardrobe past "I need tops".

But when I want something, I have a specific set of criteria and I stalk items obsessively. At the moment it's a pair of shoes I can wear to a wedding and they have to fit about 10 different criteria.

I am bad at buying basics, they bore me. But I feel happy when I wear them so I should remember that when the next fur jacket or patterned shift tempts me.

rute

Veteran

It depends.. sometimes I'm hunting for a piece to do a certain outfit, sometimes I'm just wondering the store and buy something that I had not in mind but I loved and fitted so well. In both cases I alwyas think if the piece has a place in my wardrobe and if it goes with other pieces I already have.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Rute said. I have a very established and functional wardrobe - but I love to update with workable trends. So I'm always looking for special pieces that infuse newness, while I wear my stand by wardrobe work horses.

neatnic

I maintain a very specific list of things that I need/want and refer to it when I go shopping to keep myself on track. I also like to browse my favorite stores from time-to-time to see if anything special jumps out at me.

Beth

Veteran

I'm often drawn in by pieces that catch my eye and then I have to go home and think about how to work it in my wardrobe. Since finding YLF, I also keep a running list of pieces I'd like to have so I can keep an eye out for these wardrobe fillers.

So I'm a bit of a hunter and a gatherer:)

Kristine

Veteran

I don't really have the shopping gene either. That's why my wardrobe was so bad for most of my life. Now I shop for items that will fill specific holes. What is the thing I always reach for but don't have? I also instituted a monthly budget and it's about not underspending as much as not overspending.

If you're starting from scratch I think the first year (give or take) is the hardest. Once you have a working wardrobe and get a sense of your style it'll be easier. You'll start to just know which necklines and cuts work on you. Watch out, you might find you have a touch of the shopping gene. I know in the past year I've come to enjoy shopping more than ever before. I still break out in hives after about 45 minutes though.

There's a book by Isaac Mizrahi about style and he says it really is work. Some people enjoy shopping, some people don't. But if you want to look stylish it doesn't just happen, you have to put the effort in. So when I'm in the dressing room wanting to run, I just try to remember that I'm investing in my appearance.

cloud9

Veteran

I've never bought an outfit. I'm a bargain hunter by nature. Need to break this habit!

Typically I like to buy interesting pieces that I don't already have, may be style, color, fabric, pattern, texture, details, whatever sings to me at the moment. I don't buy things just because low price anymore though.

Anonymous

I FINALLY have a decently functioning wardrobe so at this point I shop to fill holes when things die OR I grab cute things that catch my eye. I used to shop as a hobby but now I am more focused. I do have a wish list that I keep in my head but those are things that I would pick up if I happened to find them by some sort of universal intervention. And I shop so rarely now that it would indeed need to have some sort of outside force to bring it to me.

Cilleena

Veteran

Wow! Thanks for the great replies. It really helps me to see where I am. I tend to go on a shopping binge for wardrobe staples. I especially love to buy jeans, cords (yes, I like cords, but didn't know they weren't fab), and comfy, flattering, solid colored tees. I typically do this every season because I haven't been the same size for more than a year in 5 years...I have been pregnant, losing, pregnant, and now losing again. The shoes have stayed the same...that's a serious wardrobe hole, but so expensive and difficult for me to fill because of the lack of decent shoe stores locally. I have been shopping for a pair of boots for 2 months now.

I know I need to focus on rounding out my wardrobe with fashionable touches like blazers, cardigans, scarves, belts and other accessories. But, I am afraid of adding "blah" pieces or "cheap" pieces that don't hold up to my abuse with a 1 year old and a 3 year old. I feel like I need some flare, but not too much as a MOTG. So, I need the aforementioned items to be: stylish, comfortable, appropriate for a MOTG, versatile, sturdy, machine washable, and warm. Wow, that's a lot to ask of an article of clothing...no wonder I'm finding the task to be challenging.

Louise

Veteran

Those of you missing the shopping gene I think I got yours as well as my own!!!!
I love shopping though can be an impulse shopper, I'm finding I am more focused if I shop online and less prone to snap decisions. I very often see a piece of clothing I want to try (particularly on here) then I go mad looking for it. Sadly I usually end up making a snap decision which in the long run isn't always the best. I am trying to be more focused on getting the perfect item rather than making do. I don't have any major wardrobe holes so am at the point of just buying what I like as opposed to anything that I need x

Becky

Veteran

Cilleena, give zappos.com a try for shoe shopping! Shipping and returns are free, so you're out nothing if the shoes don't work. I also live in an area where there are few good shoe stores, plus wear a specialty size, and this is the only way to go!

mamaKate

Veteran

Hi Cilleena,
It sounds like you're about to have a ton of fun!
I posted a discussion similar to this a couple of weeks ago, with many interesting responses:

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....hat-to-buy

Also, as geeky as it may sound, I started keeping a "look book" - literally, pages torn out of magazines or catalogs, or printed from the internet, where I liked the look - either an outfit, combination, or a single item. I made a few notes about what I liked and didn't about that look. When I reached about 25 "looks," I wrote some quick "summary" notes of things / trends / looks that I consistently liked, and those notes served as my "Cliff Notes" for when I went shopping. It really helped clarify my thinking!
(Of course an electronic version might be easier and faster to populate.)

Enjoy!

Lynne

Veteran

oooh, I wish I lived nearby - I loooove shopping with others and often hold back from offering an opinion to everyone else in the changing area !

Have you thought of having on online consultation with Angie to get some pointers?

The only tip I could possibly add is "love it madly, need it badly, or don't buy it" - except that I don't always follow it myself!

wilson

Buying multiple items (tees especially) in different colors used to be my shopping habit too! Over the past couple of years I've been reading YLF that has stopped, but not intentionally; it just phased out naturally on its own. In fact, I don't think I had even thought about it until now! I am a very calculated shopper when buying new items and I like to take my time and really think about it. There are many times I go shopping with girlfriends and don't buy a single item only to return a week later to buy something I saw then. When I'm at the thrift stores it is a whole different story. Thrifting is like an exciting surprise for me and if I see something that speaks to me I pounce on it immediately and think about it later. But only about one in five times I go thrifting do I actually see something "pounce worthy".

Cilleena

Veteran

Becky-yep, I've been using Zappos. So far, I've tried on about 5or 6 pairs of boots, my UPS guy is going to hate me, but I've still not found the perfect pair.

Kate-Good idea on the Look book! I'll check out your post.

Lynne-I didn't know Angie did online consultations. That might be a great solution. I've been putting a lot of time into trying to upgrade my look and just figuring out what I want my look to be. I'm getting nervous about making costly mistakes with higher end items from stores like Jcrew, Nordstrom, and Anthropologie. I can't tell if it's a good, quality purchase. I hold back because of the price tag and then the item is gone or the sale is over. So frustrating.

Wilson-I can see how buying multiples will phase out naturally as I get better at this fashion thing. It has to, I'm getting really bored with wearing the same jeans and solid tee look. I may send back the 6 solid tees because I've had them for 2 weeks and haven't touched them.

kimlee

Veteran

Historically, I have been an impulse shopper - buying either because the item caught my eye or it was on sale. Now, I am moving away from that type of shopping and more into the mode of calculated shopping. I have created a list of wardrobe gaps that I need to fill, penciled in items from various retailers that I think could fill the gap, and am methodically moving my way thru the list. At the same time, I am giving a hard look to each item in my closest and letting go of those things that either do not fit properly or have never gotten worn.

Kristine

Veteran

I'd send them back Cilleena! Even at $5 a piece you'd have $30 towards something different, maybe a new scarf or necklace, even a light sweater. When I found YLF I had a drawer full of ribbed tank tops in every color!