4 ways to shop smarter online (from a professional personal shopper)
If online shopping is zapping your energy pause hitting purchase because ordering online doesn’t have to hurt.
Use the insider online shopping secrets I crafted while working as a personal shopper for luxury e-commerce retailer NET-A-PORTER, as well as Theory, Bloomingdales and J.Crew.
Plan out your shopping
Make a list: Need/Try/Must-Have
Did you know the most expensive clothing item you own is the one you never wear?
Keep a list for when you want to shop. Do this each season or when you feel the urge. Break it down by three categories.
Why do this? You’ll experience less guilt about being unsustainable (shipping, etc), have less clothes with tags still on, and gone will be the fashion dreams that never were.
Use these three categories:
Need
What: Practicality first. Replenish with your favorites to maintain a wardrobe foundation.
Also: Try new timeless styles in brands you trust and focus on filling gaps of items you know you need.
Why: You’ll say goodbye to ‘I have nothing to wear’ because you can build any kind of outfit off chic capsule pieces. Fab go-to’s make you feel successful because putting outfits together is easier.
Try
What: A list of trends, new shapes or designers you are curious about that are still realistic for your lifestyle, budget and body shape.
Also: The key is sticking to what is realistic for you while considering emerging trends and designers to go outside your comfort zone enough to stay relevant.
Why: New brands and modern styles injects creativity without the ‘will it fit’ anxiety struggle when buying basics. You’re low pressure trying new things, it’s okay if they don’t work.
Must-have
What: Impractical or budget-bursting fashion purchases you’re dying to have but know you’ll wear because you love it. Everything from a teeny designer bag, uncomfortable shoes or a ridiculous tulle, oversized t-shirt you have been obsessed with.
Also: Without your NEED list completed you’ll have a wardrobe of must-have fun things with no outfits.
Why: It’s the candy of fashion. Sweet and indulgent! Don’t deprive yourself.
Decide on a budget (even if there’s no budget)
Budgets are like daily calories.
Sure you can exceed your limits, but best to know what you’re working with before it’s blown in one shot.
Buy many sizes and styles at once
Buying more in one shot reduces the time managing unboxing, processing returns and exchanges and trying on.
2. Don’t buy repeat offenders
You know what hasn’t worked in the past.
Stay clear of it.
The trendy, boxy tees that make you feel frumpy? Delete from cart. The long pants you buy and then never hem? Delete from cart. The rigid mom jeans that completely flatten your butt? Delete from cart.
Instead do this: buy what already works in updated styles, colors and variations.
3. Use your body to your advantage
Emphasizing your favorite body parts naturally deemphasizes your least favorite and improves our self image.
Understanding how to interpret (and therefore dress) the shape of your body makes online shopping easy-breezy because you understand better how an item will look and fit on YOU.
Body shape competency becomes armor against poorly shot photos, forgettable fabrics and unfriendly fashion designs.
If you struggle to feel like a babe or have go-to outfits that you love, let’s get you shopping successfully by understanding your body better.
4. Shop for the next 3 months OR the next 3 years
Raise your hand if you’ve evolved beyond sweatpants daily and are figuring out how to dress the ‘new normal’ without trying too hard or dressing sloppy?
With COVID-19, quarantine, WFH lifestyles, changes in childcare, the shutdown of international travel and activism at an all-time high, our lives are continually changing.
Plus, it’s hard to care about fashion when it feels like the world is on fire.
Whew. 2020 is A LOT.
With all of that going on, how do you shop joyfully when you can’t imagine wearing outfits again?
TWO good options:
Buy items (trendy or basic) you KNOW you’ll wear in the next few months. Shop by climate or seasonality or lifestyle needs like pregnancy or working from home outfits.
OR
Buy timeless (classic basics or long-term investments) items you plan to keep for years no matter what. Indulge in forever luxuries - fine jewelry, beautiful outerwear, and accessories (wallet or laptop case).
Two examples below of a trendy item you can wear now (left) and a timeless basic (right).
Click the image to shop them.
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