Stretching Your Clothing Budget

Every day I hear something about the downturn in the economy. I hear fear about spending money on what may be considered frivolous items such as clothing. But, at the same time I see women spending money on clothing every day. What I see is women are making choices about shopping differently instead of giving it up completely.

So, this is what I am sharing with my clients so that they can continue to enjoy the shopping experience. Make better choices, go for places that make you feel good about the purchase and really consider how your purchase will make a difference in your life. That may seem kind of big for a casual shopping trip, but instead of looking in your closet and seeing guilt and wasted money, you will look in your closet and see a wardrobe that works for you.

Before you can make better choices you have to understand what it is that you are choosing. For example, if you are in a store and see a top that you think is fantastic, before you make a purchase there are questions that you need to ask yourself.

1. Does the top reflect who I am?
2. Does the top fit my body shape perfectly?
3. Does the top go with anything else in my wardrobe?

What I mean by a piece of clothing reflecting who you are is that it should be your style. If you are a classic woman then you will not want a ruffled and lacy top that is fussy. If you are a sporty woman you will not want a stiff, buttoned up look. You can visit www.anatomyofstyle.com to take a simple style quiz and determine what you should look for in specific pieces of clothing.

Fit is one of the things that we talk to women about on a regular basis. If you are fidgeting or continually tugging on something that you are trying on then it doesn’t fit you correctly. The worse thing you can do for your appearance is to wear something that doesn’t fit well. You lose the confident look of a person who is wearing their clothes instead of their clothes wearing them. Make sure that if the item doesn’t fit perfectly in length (sleeves, hems or body length) that you have alterations made prior to wearing the piece. If alterations are not possible or not worth the extra money then walk away from that item.

If the piece that you are looking at doesn’t go with anything else in your wardrobe then you really have to consider whether it is a smart purchase or not. Can you afford to buy something to go with this piece? If not, it is better to put your resources (money) into something that will work with other things already in your wardrobe. If you can afford to purchase something to go with the item is it realistic that you will find just the right thing? I always recommend to women that if they have not dedicated the time and energy into finding just the right thing to go with that piece within a couple of weeks then take it back. Odds are you are never going to find the right thing and that piece will just be money hanging in your closet.

Psychologically speaking women enjoy shopping as therapy. It makes us feel good to get something new that makes us feel pretty. However, the downside of emotional shopping is that we make spontaneous decisions that can haunt us later. If you are an emotional shopper then you probably have items hanging in your closet with tags on them or that you have never worn. This tends to cause us a certain amount of guilt every time we look in our closet and see things we are not wearing that we spent hard earned money on. The solution to this is to be more diligent in making our shopping decisions.

There is nothing wrong with shopping as therapy. We have been trained to love a bargain. But, there is no such thing as a deal if you don’t wear what you bought. Think about something that you would love to have…that makes you feel amazing when you put it on. Would you buy it for full price? Could you trade in a couple of those inexpensive, “mistake” purchases to get what makes you feel fabulous? If you can step back and start to change your mindset from “any purchase makes me happy” to “the right purchase brings me real joy” then you will be able to stretch your wardrobe budget and keep shopping in any economic environment.

Gini Swancy formed her image consulting business in 2003 but has been consulting with individuals on a part-time basis since1992. Gini maintains that image is about a feeling that you invoke in others through appearance. Image is not about fashion or trends. Image is the client’s message to the world and messages are exactly what Gini is trained to deliver.

Gini has a BA in Communications from Texas State University. Gini’s focus was on the impact of verbal and non-verbal communications within all types of organizations and groups. In addition to her university education she trained with the internationally acclaimed London Image Institute and Lynne Marks. Lynne is President of London Image Institute and has an unparalleled background in the arena of image and is among the most experienced in the world. Additionally, Gini did her color training with Dominique Isbecque of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

In 2006 Gini took all that she had learned working with individual clients and launched Anatomy of Style. The idea is to help women make more intelligent choices when building their wardrobe so that they feel good about their purchases, their appearance and are more confident. She runs a successful online store http://www.anatomyofstyle.com and retail store in St. Louis, MO.