At the start of a new season, we all need a few new things: to replace clothes that wore out last year, no longer fit you or don’t work for you the way they used to. This time of year, spring fashion is about to start appearing in stores in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter clothes arrive here in the Southern Hemisphere.

You might have read fashion magazines that tell you to shop early in the season, so you get all the hottest pieces before they sell out.

Personally, I don’t like this approach. Shop for spring fashion in winter, and fall/autumn fashion in summer? I tried it; it didn’t work for me. I now leave as much of my seasonal shopping as possible ’til the middle of that season. Here’s why.

To be trendy, shop early

The most compelling reason to shop early is that each season, some of the hottest clothes sell out early and aren’t necessarily re-stocked. If want all the latest must-haves, you need to get in early. I rarely do… and when I do shop early, I’m much more likely to buy impractical things I never end up using.

Shopping early = fantasy shopping

For me, shopping early in the season is about the fantasy of what that season might be like, rather than the reality of what it is like.

When the season’s clothes start appearing in stores, that season is still months away. The spring clothes usually arrive in the dead of winter; the fall/autumn ones invariably arrive in the middle of a heatwave. So if you shop early, you end up looking at heavy winter coats on sweltering summer days, and itsy-bitsy swimwear on blustery winter days.

That makes realistic assessments difficult, because I don’t know about you, but I forget the minutiae of seasonal life as soon as that season’s over. For example, every spring I’m surprised by how easily I sunburn. Over winter, I repress the memory of being out in the sun for 10 minutes and peeling for a week. Likewise, I forget what it’s like to be chilled to the bone and soaked in icy rain as soon as winter’s over each year. I just don’t want to be thinking about that when I’m frolicking in the warm summer sunshine.

So when I shop early in the season (read: months before it begins), I buy ridiculous, fanciful stuff. It’s not deliberate; I’m just shopping for the fantasy of the season ahead, rather than the reality. Every year, I want to believe that winter will be unseasonably warm and my skin will magically produce more melanin by summer. So that’s what I shop for.

I also like to think my life will become very glamorous any day now… but I still live in the ‘burbs in a half-renovated house and work in my PJs most days. And for all its lack of glamour, I’m very happy with my life. I just forget that I need nice tracksuits to wear around the house far more than I need a fabulous evening coat for the coming winter.

To be stylish, shop later

To be stylish, you need to wear things that suit your body, lifestyle, personality and the climate where you are, among other things. (For a longer list of elements that define your personal style, read my previous post on the subject.)

If you’re attempting to imagine what your lifestyle and the climate where you live will be like in 4 months’ time, it can be difficult to get it right, but when that season’s already started, you know exactly what you need.

If I shop for spring fashion in winter, at least one item on my shopping list will be ‘the thing that will completely update my wardrobe for the coming season’, i.e. something trendy that’s not my usual style. There’ll also be some practical considerations I’ve completely forgotten (sunburn, cold etc.).

By the middle of the season, though, my shopping list is finely honed and I know exactly what I’m looking for. I’m also very aware of the other garments anything new has to coordinate with, because I’ve been making them work each day for weeks. Plus I can bring myself to shop for practical things, because while buying them bores me, living without them is all too frustrating.

So now you know why I wait ’til late spring to buy spring/summer fashion, and likewise wait ’til it’s almost winter to buy my fall/autumn/winter fashion.

Tomorrow: how to shop for seasonal clothes.

You might also like...

How to buy spring (and fall) fashion
Spring fashion is about to start hitting the stores in the Northern...

Why fashion trends do matter
Fashion trends get a bad rap -- so much so that many...

Don’t be a fashion victim
The Bargain Queen LOVES it when fashion stories feature wearable outfits....

Showing off: two winter coats, $126
In Australia, the coldest part of winter has just started so it's...

Makeover, please! (part one)
On Friday, a friend called asking me for some fashion help... for...