Shopping Smart

Shopping is an art, and, like any art, it needs practice. Part of projecting the image you desire is making satisfying, quality purchases. Becoming a smart shopper takes time and the development of skills - skills to add the right purchases to your wardrobe instead of wasteful catastrophes. Here are some tips you can use on your next shopping venture that will help clear the jungle in the fashion retail world.

• Set goals and objectives prior to shopping. Be specific.
  
• Be aware of current fashion trends. Familiarize yourself with specific style names, such as skorts, flare and fitted.
  
• Dress for your shopping venture. If you plan to purchase a suit wear a dress shirt, bring the shoes and other necessities so that you can get a good idea how it fits and looks.
  
• Shop alone. When you shop with a friend, you have both the sales person and your friend telling you to buy it. For men, you do your own shopping. Stores nowadays cater to men shoppers.
  
• Be sure to try them on before purchasing. This is obsolete if you are a catalog or Internet shopper like me, but I pick the companies that I know fit me such as Land's End.
  
• Before buying examine the item for quality. Are the buttons attached, are extra buttons included, do the stripes and plaids match up - are some of the things you should be looking for.
  
• If you are trying to match or coordinate items from your closet, cut a swatch from the seam allowance of the garment and bring it with you. This will help you and the sales person.
  
• Go outside of the dressing room to get an accurate view of the outfit on you.
  
• Don't neglect accessories. Every outfit needs them.
  
• Know the return policies of stores where you buy the items. Do they give you your money back or give you a merchandise credit?
  
• Be sure to check the fiber content and garment care before purchasing. This will save a lot of misfortune if you are someone who won't have anything dry cleaned or don't have the budget for it.
  
• Buy shoes in the afternoon. Your feet expand as the day goes on.
  
• Try off-priced, second - hand stores, discount as well as catalogs and the Internet for bargains and convenience. It's alright to go to your regular department store or a boutique but remember that marketing of the brand and perhaps the store name is about 50 percent of the price.