Are you one of those people that loves to look great, but absolutely hates shopping to get new clothes or shoes? I have quite a few friends that dislike shopping so much that it causes them anxiety…
I thought it might be useful to post some shopping tips to help even the most intolerant shopper (you know who you are ;):
1. Don’t go to stores that have so many clothes crammed onto the racks that you can’t really see what they are selling.
2. Make sure that you choose times to shop when it is not busy (for example, stay away from Saturday afternoons, and definitely avoid shopping when it is “Back to School” time).
3. Take a friend with you that is an “efficient” shopper rather than someone that likes to browse. This can certainly limit the time you have to be in a store
4. Don’t try and take your kids if you are wanting to pick something out for yourself – you will just end up not getting what you want and think you were right about hating shopping.
5. Before you go shopping, look on a store website to have an idea if they may have something that you are looking for, so that when you get there all you really need to do is find the items and try them on.
6. Ask for help…don’t be afraid to befriend a stylist that you can talk to and ask questions. This could a friend or acquaintance or something more formal like a personal shopper.
7. Don’t try and follow fashion trends, remember your own style. A great way to do that is by using Pinterest…create a board that you can pin things that are appealing to you and then when you go shopping you can pull it up to remind yourself what you like. Its easy to get overwhelmed in a store, so looking as what you know you like should help you refocus.
8. Recognize shopping as something that you don’t like but that you have to do…so just surrender to it. That doesn’t mean do it all the time, but don’t fight it when you have to do it! Very often putting something off until the very last minute creates even more pressure and stress.
To minimize the angst, make sure you wear comfortable shoes (when i’m in big cities for a shopping trip, I don’t wear heels – I choose not to set myself up to be miserable~)
Now, if you are someone that just doesn’t have time…that’s a whole other problem. First thing to do is plan in advance for any event or special occasion that you have coming up and decide if you have something appropriate to wear or if you need to shop to buy something. – if you don’t have something already, then here are a few options:
a. Talk to a friend that is a similar size and see if they have something you could “borrow”.
b. Decide the look you are going for…if you want formal, then search some store websites and see which stores have things that you like so you don’t have to shop around when you do venture out – you can go directly to the stores that have what you like.
c. Schedule yourself some time to visit the stores that you have explored online, and take a friend to be “honest” with you about which item looks best.
d. If you just don’t have time to shop for yourself in general and it isn’t for anything specific, then the best solution is again decide what you need EXACTLY and go directly to the stores that have the things that you want – but schedule yourself some time. If it means that you have to have takeout for dinner one night instead of making a meal, then do that. You deserve to be able to take care of yourself as well as everyone else.
I have never had the problem about not liking to shop, but I do understand the feeling of pressure or stress surrounding something that you feel “obliged” to do. There have been times in my life that I haven’t had much money to spend on clothes and believe me, that has certainly caused me stress. So whatever the reason you don’t want to shop, it is not a pleasant experience. What I used to do was not tell myself that I couldn’t shop (you know, kind of like if you tell yourself you want to eat chocolate, the first thing you want to do is eat chocolate), but what I did was allow myself a certain amount of money each month to make myself feel good. Whether that was for shopping, a pedicure, etc. I found that knowing I could actually do it if I wanted was liberating for me…I do admit I have a little control issue, and don’t like to be told what to do (hehe!)
I hope you found some useful suggestions here, and if you are looking for some fashion inspiration ideas, I will post them periodically on my blog posts, and you can also sign up for my weekly newsletter which will include links to fashion sites.