(reprinted and revised from Associated Content)
How can you get the most for your money when buying your clothes? You’ll need to consider the true cost of ownership just as you would when purchasing a car. Here are some questions to ask yourself before you buy.
How much does it cost?
At first glance, this question is obvious. In order to get a good deal of course you’re going to buy on sale. But what, exactly, is a sale? Is a sale when the retailer says that it is a sale?
No.
A sale is 50% off the clearance price. That’s a deal. You’ll have to wait until the end of the season to make your purchases, but that’s not so important because you’ll ask yourself this next question.
As a stay at home mom I can not financially afford to purchase full price clothing. Therefore I have to either purchase department store brands such as Walmart for my basics or buy sale items. And by sale I do mean 50% off or more. My mother, the queen of shopping, taught me to never buy anything that was not on sale. I immediatly head to the back of the store, to the sale and clearance racks and I wait for things to mark down. I even go back to stores like Old Navy and Gap for price adjustments if I know they are doing more markdowns within 7 days.
How long can I wear this?
Buy items that you can wear three seasons. Good colors to choose are black, khaki, red and navy. Stay away from pastels. You can only wear light-colored clothes in the spring and summer. Following this simple rule will avoid having to buy a different wardrobe for each season.
Now, this one is hard for kids clothing. However, it is easy to purchase jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts for little boys that last from September until May. Simply chose neutral colors, lightweight fabrics, and layer. For girls one can do the same, although it can be much more tempting to purchase the cute outfits. I know that I find myself tempted to dress my son like a Ken doll because I want him to look adorable. I can do this with only a few of the more expensive items and I just mix and match because I chose like colors.
Is this machine-washable?
What appears at first to be a deal can easily turn into a nightmare if you have to pay the recurring cost of dry cleaning. Make sure you can throw your purchase into the washing machine. A machine-washable item is also more likely to survive any stains. Easy care usually means long lasting and long wearing.
This is easy for kids, right? Only a few items are not machine washable and they only wear those at holiday functions.
How many places can I wear this?
Buy items that are suitable for more than one occasion. For example, a black sheath dress can go to a black tie affair with a sparkly, sheer jacket or the office with a white blouse underneath.
Instead of purchasing the red and green holiday dress or red and green plaid pants opt for a holiday outfit such as these.
1. I love this simple blue dress. You can change up the shirt underneath.
2. Super Simple and versatile pants and shirt.
Do I already have shoes to match?
Do you already have the necessary accessories? Buying shoes and the like will increase the final cost to wear of the item.
Will this need to be altered?
Alterations add to the cost of the item to own. Not to mention you’ll have to worry about the time it takes to go to the alterations place, put it on, get the alterations made and take it back home. Buy what fits and what you can wear the next day.
Not many children’s clothes need to be altered so this is not really a big deal but, many times buying big is a GREAT deal. Why? because buying up sizes can be great deals for next season. Take, for example, this snow suit from Hanna Andersson. On sale right now, I should snatch it up, as I know that my future son, who will probably be joining our family next summer, will be just over 1 year old next winter. He would easily fit into this snow suit. And at this price…and from this manufacturer…its a steal.
Asking just a few of these questions before buying that next item can prevent your purchase from turning into a money pit. Now there’s no reason why you can’t be both chic and cheap.
