Here are 8 tips on how to avoid bad purchases and shop intentionally to curate a mix-and-match closet full of pieces that fit your personal style. Don’t just show up to the mall and buy whatever catches your eye. Instead, use Stylebook to create a shopping plan that will help you maintain a wardrobe that fits your style. In the end, you’ll wind up with a more cohesive closet and you’ll save money by avoiding bad clothing purchases! You don’t have to do much to find what’s right for you. As you record what you wear, Stylebook automatically generates statistics on your wardrobe, which will help you determine which purchases will benefit your wardrobe the most. Here’s how to shop to enhance the wardrobe you already own.
1. Use a Wishlist
Stylebook offers both text and link-based wishlists in the Shopping feature. If you have a specific item in mind, load the product in the Shop feature and tap the star to add it to your link wishlist. If you just have a general idea like “ankle boots,” save it to the text wishlist (found on the main screen of the Shop feature). Keeping a wishlist will help you stay on track when you go out shopping. Develop “shopping tunnel vision” and stick to your wishlist! This is also a good way to take time to decide if you really want something. Waiting a day or two takes some of the pressure off buying it immediately and you may discover you didn’t really want it at all.
2. Use The Three Outfit Rule
If you’re shopping online, try potential purchases with your wardrobe in Stylebook and only buy items that pair well with the clothes you already have. You can clip a photo from the store website using the Paste import option and then use it to create outfits in the Looks feature. Make sure you can create at least 3 outfits using the new item. I made a custom folder called “Just Trying These” to save potential purchases in my closet.
Bonus Tip: The clipper automatically saves the URL of items saved from stores so you can go back and purchase it easily if you decide to buy it. Just look at the notes page for the link!
3. "Cart Check" Yourself
Before I checkout, I review my potential purchases by opening Stylebook to see if I already own a similar piece of clothing. I have a few “fashion blind spots” - items I would buy over and over because I like them so much. For example, I was in love with a tote bag I saw in a catalog and wanted to buy it, but Stylebook brought me back down to earth when I realized I already own 7 similar totes. Just avoiding one purchase like this makes Stylebook pay for itself.
4. Use Sales to Upgrade Your Most Loved Pieces
Look at your Most Worn Statistic and create a wishlist of items you’d love to upgrade to a better quality version. If you’ve worn the same grey Target cardigan a million times, maybe you can find a wool or cashmere version on sale! Use the text wishlist in the shopping section to save what you’re looking for before you go to the mall. This is an especially great tactic for semi-annual sales, Black Friday and sample sales. You might as well take advantage of huge sales to build a better quality wardrobe.
5. Track and Replace Worn Out Items
If you notice that an item is starting to look a little worn while you’re getting dressed, mark it with the “Should Replace” status on the item’s notes. Then the next time you go shopping, open up the Style Stats feature and check the “Should Replace” section. You may not want to replace them right away, but you can check the list occasionally when you see a great sale.
6. Buy Pieces To Create a Four-Season Wardrobe
Look at your “Least Worn” list and see if there is anything that you could add to get more wears out of what is there. For example, if a quality pair of tights could help you wear your skirts more in the winter, note that idea in your wishlist. Accessories like scarves, hats, cardigan and socks can help. The idea is to shop for items that will help you to wear what you already own year-round.
7. Maximize Your Most Worn
When you’re looking for a new style to add to your closet, try to pick something that will complement some of the pieces in the Most Worn statistic. This will guarantee that the new item AND your most loved pieces will be worn even more! I find this technique especially useful if I’m not sure about a purchase. I open my “Most Worn” and filter it by the last 6 months to get an up-to-date view of my wardrobe. If the clothing item doesn’t fit in with the items on that page, I skip the purchase.
8. If You Need a Shopping Break
If you find yourself going crazy with the desire to purchase everything in sight (no judgement - it happens to me every time I go in Anthropologie), then open up Style Stats and look at your total closet value. This number will probably horrify you, and you’ll put your wallet back in your bag, haha!
I hope these tips will help you build the perfect wardrobe for you and avoid shopping mistakes by focusing on purchases that fit in with your wardrobe as a whole. Stylebook has all the tools you need to shop intentionally and stop the cycle of over-consumption. Impulse buying clothes is a fast way to waste money and end up with a closet full of clothes you don’t like. Thankfully, you’re not doomed to this fate because wardrobe tracking can help. One great purchase that mixes and matches well with what you have is way more valuable than an entire haul of random clothes that don’t fit your style.
NOTE: Posts in the Style Guides series include affiliate links to some of the products discussed. Stylebook receives compensation for purchases made through links to affiliates.
