History in the Making

A Quick Guide to When You Should Buy What Clothing

With the ensuing chaos of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Amazon Prime Day, and dozens of other massive online and in-store sales, it is incredibly easy to get caught up in the rush and buy a lot of clothing and accessories that may never actually fit in your wardrobe. Just because it is on sale is no reason to buy it; mindless consumerism isn’t the friend of your wardrobe! Maintaining a well-rounded and refined wardrobe doesn’t have to be difficult- this quick and simple guide to when you should be shopping for what clothing will help you find the clothing that you want and need!
A Quick Guide onWhen to Shop for What

Know Your Wardrobe

Without a doubt, you have to know your own wardrobe- you have to know what you have and what you don’t. Leggings that are $45 instead of $80 aren’t a good deal if you already have six pairs in your wardrobe, and a fourth bikini when you only get in the water for five days of the year, you are just wasting your money (and probably your closet space). There is nothing wrong with treating yourself to something frivolous every once in a while, but overall, you should know what you actually need to replace and/or find for your wardrobe!
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Know Your Must-Haves

If there is an item that you are absolutely dying to have in your wardrobe, make it a priority and start looking at the beginning of the season for it- for fall/autumn clothing, that means you will be looking in August/early September. Note: I didn’t say start looking in mid-July… If you wait for sale prices, you very well may miss it entirely. (I have never mourned missing a piece of clothing but I do know that there are a lot of people that do.) If you shop online, try and get to a brick and mortar store to figure out your sizing beforehand.
Retail Shopping

Know the True Value of the Item

Do your research and try and discern the actual value of the item; not the rock bottom, loss leader price, but the fair price to pay for it. In terms of most cases, I would say you can probably expect 20-30% off an item, but we as a society need to move away from expecting 70% off of everything. You aren’t getting quality items and it is perpetuating a fast fashion industry that is killing the planet and continuing a cycle of abhorrent human conditions. When you do work for someone, do you agree to do it for 30% of your wage? Probably not.
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Now this brings me to my next thoughts- how do you feel about these gigantic sales? I saw a lot of complaints about both the Nordstrom and Amazon sales- items were being held for preferred customers and selling out before non-credit card holders were allowed in, sites were crashing, bloggers and influencers went hog-wild telling everyone to spend hundreds of dollars, and a few other fairly sizeable issues. Are they worth it in the long run, for all of us? What kinds of things do you buy in these sales? Do you have a specific strategy or just whatever happens to catch your eye?
My final question? Do you enjoy seeing posts on these sales? I am not a fan, because I am obviously very specific and targeted in how I shop, and I am not out to play games. If I truly want something, I will purchase it- sale or no sale. I also find that clothing fit and preference is very personal, so recommending incredibly specific items can be a difficult game. I might be the odd one, though- I would love to hear your thoughts!
Until tomorrow,
The Historian
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3 thoughts on “A Quick Guide to When You Should Buy What Clothing”

  • Other points of view are always interesting. I like Prime day because that is often when I purchase my son’s curriculum for next year. There’s a number of workbooks and tutorials he likes that are based on age group and they often go on sale for July Prime Day. But I don’t snap up clothes during those events.

    • Prime Day does make sense to me when you are buying items that you would have purchased anyways- I’d imagine that you would have bought those, sale or no sale! But my issue is bloggers that do haul posts where they search for things to buy (and probably return) simply to get the links from their followers. And we wonder why there is so much STUFF in our lives!!

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