Outfit: Cape Sleeves + Shopping Tips!

Hi guys!

This outfit features the pink-green color combo again!  To keep warm, I wore a long sleeve under the billowy cardigan.

       

Forever 21 cardigan and boots, JC Penney jeans, China shirt

I’m wearing boots again because outside is super gloomy and cloudy.  It’s raining on and off so the ground is covered with mud and worms 😦

To combat the gloomy weather, I will write about one of the things that always makes me happy: SHOPPING!  In the outfit above, I got my boots and cardigan for only $10 each and my jeans for only $9.  Needless to say, I love shopping and finding deals.  This will be just a short blurb, but I will post more later 🙂  Without further ado…

CAROLYN’S GUIDE TO SHOPPING Pt. 1:

• Before shopping, evaluate your closet (What is your personal style?  What is the color palette of your closet?  What colors/styles would coordinate well with the clothes you already have?  What DO you already have?  What are you missing?  What do you wear most often?  Which items get almost no wear?  Why do they not get any wear?)

              

• Know the nuances of your favorite stores (i.e. Love Culture often has buy-one-get-one-free events on sale items in stores but not online, Forever 21 and H&M have the same event around 2-3 times each year during holidays/Black Friday, GAP clothes are always cheaper in stores, J Crew clothes have greater selection and often are even cheaper online, Target has a much larger shoe selection online but often has a cheaper clearance section in stores, etc.)

              

• Take advantage of new customer privileges (i.e. Tobi gives 50% of your first purchase, Dorothy Perkins gives you 15% off for signing up for their newsletter, H&M gives you a 20% coupon for one item for signing up, etc.)
• Read blogs and forums to keep updated on sales (i.e. the(chloe)conspiracy, sales-aholic, soompi forums, etc.)
• Try on your clothes!  The items that I bought but never wear are mostly items that fit awkwardly, so FIT IS MOST IMPORTANT!  If you aren’t sure about your size, you can bring different sizes into the changing room or order different sizes online to consider at home (it they are returnable)
• Find the most flattering styles for your body shape and stick to it (i.e. I love skinny jeans and have lots of old bootcut/flare jeans that I never wear and should not have bought)
• Compare the same item at different retailers (i.e. I found Windsorstore dresses cheaper on Amazon and Von Maur, I found Etsy iPhone cases cheaper on Amazon, etc.) and don’t be afraid to request price matching
• DON’T BUY ITEMS JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE CHEAP!  If you have second thoughts, you will probably not wear it often.  The value of a piece of clothing involves not only its tag price, but also its number of wears and importance of wears

I will probably have part 2 up later this week!

Until next time,

Carolyn