Spring fashion is about to start hitting the stores in the Northern Hemisphere, and likewise fall/autumn fashion will soon be on the racks down South.

Yesterday, I wrote about why I shop for spring fashion in spring instead of buying when the new stock first hits the stores. (Long story short: I make better seasonal buying decisions during that season.)

Today, here’s how to avoid expensive fashion mistakes when you shop for the coming season.

(Note: I talk about spring fashion here for the sake of convenience. If it’s fall/autumn where you are, just think ‘fall fashion’ when I say ’spring fashion’. The tips are equally useful.)

Step one: Your (spring) fashion life

I love to study the glossy fashion mags for inspiration at the start of each season, but planning a new-season wardrobe that’ll actually work for you requires a different first step.

That step is: think about your life.

What takes up the most time each week? Do you work? Study? Look after kids? Or something else? If this takes up most of your time, you need a lot of clothes that are suitable for this activity.

Then think about your leisure time. What are your favourite activities? Do they require special clothing, and if so, what?

Lastly, think about any special events that are coming up — school formals, graduations, weddings, industry award nights, holidays in exotic places — anything out of the ordinary that requires different attire.

Write all this down. Assign percentages to all your normal activities, and list out all the special activites.

Here’s what my life looks like at the moment:

Sleep: 35% of my time
Working at home: 40%
Business meetings: 5%
Social life: 10%
The rest: exercise, grooming, housework, cooking, shopping, errands: 10%

Step two: Wardrobe raid

Pull all of last spring’s clothing out of storage. Dust it all off and check it over. Put aside anything that doesn’t fit any more, needs mending, or has something else wrong with it. Fix what you can and put the rest out of the way.
Then start laying out outfits for each of your activities. Match the number of outfits to the amount of time you spend doing different activities as much as you can.

Also hunt through the things you already have for outfits that work for any special activities you have coming up.

If you have a camera handy, you could even take photos of your favourite ensembles.

Step three: Work last spring’s fashion

For the first few weeks of spring, try to wear only clothing you already have, to see how much mileage you can get out of your existing wardrobe.

If you must buy a few things, that’s fine. Just try to buy them one at a time so you see how much of a difference each item makes.

No matter how exciting this season’s fashions are, don’t run out and buy them all. You’ll wind up looking like a fashion victim — trust me on this.

Step four: List your fashion needs

While you’re wearing last spring’s outfits, you’re probably noticing some glaring omissions in your wardrobe.

Maybe all your sandals wore out last year so you’re wearing sneakers every day. Or you might not have enough camisoles to render all your sheer shirts decent. Or maybe all your shorts are a little too snug after the winter’s indulgences.

Note all this down. This will form the basis of your shopping list.

Step five: Wait a little longer

By now, it’s probably a couple of weeks into spring. The sun is shining, the birds are singing… and you haven’t left the house naked even once.

Can you wait another couple of weeks before you shop?

Buy the necessities by all means, but wait as long as you can for everything else. Why? So it’s all marked down by the time you go shopping!

Step six: Buy your spring fashion in the sales!

By the time the sales start towards the end of spring, you know exactly what you need.

Go forth and buy. You’re far less likely to buy fashion for your fantasy life (why pay for that when imaginary clothes work great?), and whatever you do buy will be much cheaper than it was a few short weeks ago.

And if you’re still loving this year’s spring fashions, snap them up while they’re still around — if you’re not sick of them by now, they probably really are ‘you’.
In just a few short weeks, fall fashion will be there instead…

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