The Three Rules of Shopping

One of the most frightening things a person can experience is hearing a loud bang coming from your closet in the middle of the night. I was in high school when I experienced this. It was a shelf falling from the wall because of the weight of all the jeans on it. The funny thing is, half the jeans didn’t even fit me anymore. So the next day, my dad got to repairing the shelf in the closet and I got to getting rid of all the clothes I had been hoarding. Once I was done, I realized that I was always rewearing a small handful of clothes. After that incident, I created a 3-step system to figure out if something is worth buying.

Step 1: Do you like this item or is it just trendy?

Figuring out if an item is truly “you” can stop you from making unnecessary purchases. Many people wear trendy items for a few months and then dump them in the corner of their room. This isn’t to say that you should never buy trendy clothes, but ask yourself this: Can I see myself wearing this five years from now? Asking yourself this question might stop you from wasting money on an item that you don’t truly love while also helping you figure out your personal style.

Step 2: Can I make an outfit with this item?

Sometimes, we shop with our emotions. We fall in love with an item and can’t think clearly about it. Then we go home and realize we have nothing to wear with the item. When deciding if you should purchase an item of clothing, try to think of at least two outfits you could wear with it using only things you have in your closet already. The only exception I make to this rule is undergarments and socks–that is the most you can buy to style the new item of clothing.

Step 3: Is it comfortable?

Everyone has different comfort levels. Some people can wear heels all day and be comfortable and some people wear exclusively sneakers. That being said, before you buy something, make sure you would actually wear it without being uncomfortable all day. Comfort is confidence and confidence is style.

This system isn’t 100% proven to work, but it helps me make conscious decisions, something we should all strive for.