As the after-the-holidays sales abound, I thought I’d share one of my shopping tips I haven’t ever talked about before…How to hold out for clothes you love.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that along with these shopping tips you probably know, I am militant about only buying clothes you love. In fact, I staunchly believe in holding out for the perfect item, i.e. denying immediate satisfaction. And often I believe holding out for a certain price or quality. 

I had some recent success with some things I’ve had on my shopping list FOR A LONG TIME, leading to the inspiration for today’s post. Hopefully my stories will inspire you to hold out for clothes you love (and at a price you’ll love, too.) 

How to Hold Out for Clothes You Love

The Nano Puff Jacket

I had been looking for the Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket for at least 3 years. (My husband has a similar North Face jacket that he loves, but I’ve been a Patagonia girl since 1989!) Why didn’t I buy the coat when I first lusted for it? Well…it was $199!

Normally, $199 wouldn’t break my bank, but I just didn’t want to pay that much since I was really lusting after the white one (um, kinda impractical.)

After stalking it online and perusing the sale racks season after season, I’d kind of given up. Then when I was shopping on Black Friday, I spied my beloved Nano Puff for 30% off…I’ll repeat 30% off! Happy Dance!!

So yes, it’s white…it gets dirty, but since I paid a price I felt good about, I couldn’t be happier.

The Paul Green Bootie

My second find was a pair of Paul Green booties. Y’all know how much I love my AGL booties, but I really needed to find another pair of booties to rotate in. (Seriously, I was wearing them 90% of the time in fall/winter.) Flat booties were on my shopping list for sure, but they didn’t necessarily have to be Paul Green. They just needed to be cute, comfy and fit my super low volume foot.

On the day before my birthday, I stopped in Nordstrom Rack, and a pair of black suede, Paul Green booties…in my size, seemed to materialize before my eyes. They were comfortable beyond belief! And they were on sale for $130! Regular price would price would probably run close to $400, so um…SCORE! I bought myself a little birthday present! 

All of my clients who try on Paul Green boots or shoes, no matter their budgets, fall instantly in love and buy them. That’s saying a lot about the brand, don’t you think? Surely, I was impressed with all that boot love, but for some reason I just didn’t want to pay the price. 

I don’t tell you these stories to brag but rather to show you the benefits of delaying instant gratification, putting your needs down on your shopping list and waiting to find the perfect item at a perfect price. Believe me, it’s incredibly gratifying to find PERFECTION!

The Long sleeve white T 

Alas, this story hasn’t had a happy ending yet. So by now, you know I like white. And have an affinity for long sleeved white T’s (mostly to go under cardigans.) I’ve had this item on my shopping list for YEARS.

While this creates a little stress when I try to style my sweaters, I’m just not willing to settle. (Admittedly, I could work a little harder finding the T, but it’s gotten a bit boring.) 

Here are my requirements: 

• Great fit 
• Soft
• Not too thin
• Stylish/flattering

 See why it’s a challenge? In the past I found both Splendid and Majestic T’s on sale at Nordstrom Rack, but after checking every time I go, I’m sure it was a one-time thing. 

This top from Athleta shows promise. I own it in plum and love it, so the unknown is the sheerness factor of the white. Wish me luck! 

Update: I kept the white Athleta top! It’s a little thinner than my ideal…but white is tricky. Since I’ve planned on mostly wearing it under cardigans, I’m okay with it being a bit sheer. A styling trick to make a white top like this look more opaque and expensive is to add a white camisole underneath. 

Bonus…it helps eliminate the look of a muffin top (okay, my muffin top) with jeans! 

I’ll definitely keep looking for a second white, long sleeve t-shirt next fall, but for now, I’m happy…glad I held out! 

The White Loafer

The White Loafer

So now my current obsession and challenge is white loafers. You see, I have tons of sandals and some really great black booties for winter, but other than a pair of black AGL ballet flats, my spring shoes are totally limited. 

White footwear is everywhere! I know it doesn’t sound like a challenge then, huh? But I have a super low volume foot, and every pair I try has a full finger’s thickness between my foot and the shoe (foot comes out and the whole look is a bit sloppy.) Part of the problem is that I want a pair that has a high vamp (meaning the beginning of the “tongue” is close to my ankle.) I think having a higher vamp will keep my foot warmer and let me wear the loafers in fall and winter, too. 

So far I’ve taken 4 pairs back that I bought on line. But I’m not giving up! I am beginning to think I may get a pair with a lower vamp now that the weather is getting warmer, but then I’ll have to start my hunt again in the fall.

Point being, sometimes you have to adjust your criteria. Just be sure you can still be happy and will wear the item if you change what you want! 

So to wrap thing up here are some quick tips on how to hold out for clothes you love: 

• Create your shopping list
• Determine criteria
• Set your price
• Check your criteria every time you find a possibility
• Never Settle! 

I’m not suggesting every thing you buy needs to be such a struggle to find. Plenty of times you’ll find all kinds of things on a shopping trip! These were my highly elusive wardrobe items.

What are your highly elusive wardrobe items? What are you on the hunt for?