Preparing a Fall/Winter Wardrobe - Develop a Budget and a Plan

Not all of us are able to buy a new wardrobe for every season.  Let's be honest - very few women are able to do that!  At best, we can hope to embrace a new trend or two and also add a few solid, functional pieces to our wardrobes.  At worst, we can rush out to each and every sale (oh, the Black Friday to New Years sale season!) and buy all kinds of cheap pieces that may or may not work with what we currently have.  Today I want to look briefly at Step 4 in my plan to prepare your fall/winter wardrobe:

Decide on a budget and/or shopping strategy to fill these holes in your wardrobe.

Remember that list of "needs" and "wants" you  wrote down after thinking about your current wardrobe?  Well, now is the time to decide how much you will choose to spend filling out those wardrobe needs and laying out a strategy to shop for them.  I'm not saying you have to have a Hannibal-ala-The A Team-type plan.  Follow my thinking for a bit!

You need to take a realistic view of your clothing budget.  This will vary widely by your household income, how much you enjoy shopping, whether or not you thrift vs. retail shopping and many other factors.  I know some people don't have a budget. They just find it and buy it.  However, for those of us trying to save money for retirement, pay off our mortgage and save for a better car (and who enjoy shopping a heck of a lot)....a budget is kind of a necessity!  Especially when you factor in the fact that your husband might need new clothes, your kids will definitely need new clothes due to growth and unexpected things crop up to impinge on your normal household budget.  Decide how much you can reasonably spend on updating your wardrobe.  Keep that figure in the back of your mind when shopping and/or planning future purchases.  Some people like to use a cash system where you are allotted so much money per pay period or per month and you only shop with that amount of cash.  Find a system that works best for you and then stick to it!  It will force you to reevaluate your purchases.  When you see a pair of khaki capris on sale for $10 in your size it will force you to think.  Do I want to spend $10 of my budget amount on this pair of capris?  Wait a minute....I already have a pair of khaki capris on my inventory list!  Do I want to use $10 that could go toward something else that I need to just add another pair of khaki capris to my wardrobe?  Thinking through the process helps!  Otherwise, here's our (my) reasoning.  Wow, khaki capris in my size for $10...what a deal (throws them in the shopping cart).  Upon getting home you realize you already had a pair, but those are older and these are newer!  Three days later that navy cardigan that you absolutely needed goes on sale but you no longer have enough money this month to purchase it.  So, ultimately, you got a great deal on a duplicate clothing item which resulted in not having enough money to purchase something you actually needed.  I speak only from personal experience!  Guard your budget closely and only use it on things you have listed in your need column. Make sure that what you buy fits you perfectly so that you know you made the best decision to spend your limited funds.

Now, for the strategy part.  Let's take a look at my list of needs again, shall we?

There are things on my "needs" list that are more important than others.  I may need a LBD (little black dress), but not necessarily right away.  What I need right away is a replacement pair of jeans for flats because they are my standard weekend wear.  I need new navy and black cardigans because I wear them constantly in cooler weather.  These would go at the very top of my shopping list.  I also need a few sweaters to complete outfits, and I can't wear those outfits (clothing orphans) until I make those purchases, but I don't have to have those outfits put together right now. The cardigans and jeans are still more important.  See....strategy!  It's simple.  Figure out what items in your needs list are of utmost importance and put those at the top of your list. Then actively shop for those ASAP using your budget as a guideline.  You may not be able to purchase all at one time. Maybe you can choose one item a month to purchase, but get busy filling out those "must have" holes in your wardrobe and then work your way down the list of importance.  That's not to say that if I spotted just the right sweater on Ebay for a great price I wouldn't buy it before I found my jeans....but at the same time, my priority in shopping should be those items at the top of my list.  Retailers already have their fall/winter merchandise on the sales floor so there's no excuse not to start right now if you have a budget in place.

Budget and strategize!  Clothing your body is more than just buying and throwing on any old thing that goes together.  Make the most of the money and wardrobe you have...whether that is $20 or $200 a month.  Tomorrow, we'll finish up this series by covering the last 2 steps.  Stay tuned....