By Allison Hamilton Rohe, Daily Outfit

Do you hate shopping?  You are not alone!

Many clients come to me with this issue, so I dedicated an entire blog series to help you learn how to shop strategically so you can embrace your personal style.

Together, we can tackle this style challenge so you can walk out the door every day ready to crush it!

Shopping As Self-Care

When I talk about shopping as a self-care practice, I’m not talking about spending money for the sake of spending money or purchasing things for that quick adrenaline rush.  Instead, I’m talking about approaching shopping in a way that is healthy and sustainable.

It is absolutely possible to flip the narrative on shopping to one that honors and sustains you as you propel your purpose forward.

Here’s how:

• Start at the Beginning: You get to choose what you buy, how you buy and what you spend.
• Action Your Plan: However you decide to shop, you are in charge.  Keep your mind open to new possibilities and buy only what you love.
• Building Your Healthy Shopping Practice.  It is okay for you to look and feel good.  You can shop in a way that is sustainable for both yourself and the planet.
• For more on this concept, click to read the full post.

Budgeting For Your Style

When I asked Jennifer Van Dijk to guest blog about budgeting for your style, I knew she understood this topic from both a professional and personal perspective.  As someone who had successfully gone through my Style Suites Master Class and as an accountant, she has first-hand experience with both the struggle and success.

Budgeting for your style requires you to recognize the triggers that make you want to shop.

As she says:

Here’s how:

• Try a Spending Freeze.  When you commit to a spending freeze, you allow yourself to take a time-out, stop the cycle and begin to observe what is triggering you to buy — and why.
• Unsubscribe and Unfollow.  Detoxing from spending on clothing requires you to clear the decks of all those prompts to spend — which means getting rid of the emails and social media posts from your favorite stores.
• Stop (Virtual) Window Shopping.  Every time you peruse a retailer online, the retailer gets that info — and follows you across your online experience.  You’ll get ads prompting you to go back and purchase that item.  That means you can’t peruse for now — and that also means you gain the time to focus on what’s prompting you to window shop in the first place.
• For more on this concept, click to read the full post.

How to Keep Impulse Spending At Bay

When I asked Maggie Germano to guest blog about how to control impulse spending, I knew she would approach the issue with kindness and respect.  I’ve attended her Money Circle evenings and witnessed her practical yet loving way of helping people shift their attitudes towards money.

As she says:

If you love fashion or just love to buy clothes for yourself, there are ways to make sure you do so while still being thoughtful with your money.

Here’s how:

• Make a Wish and Need List.  Separate fantasy from reality by indulging yourself with a list.  You can put anything you want on your Wish List!  Then, you can clarify for yourself exactly what you really need on your Need List.
• Go Through Your Closet.  This is an approach I suggest all the time — in fact, it was the number one piece of advice I gave last weekend at MogulX.  Take everything out the Marie Kondo way or go through it day by day.  Release anything that you no longer want to wear and start to catalog the outfits you love.  Take mirror-selfies and only keep what works!
• Set Parameters.  You get to decide what rules you institute, but you have to choose some.  Whether it’s shopping only once a month or a specific budget amount, choose rules you can actually honor.  If you find yourself breaking them, forgive yourself and make a new rule.
• Remove Your Credit Cards.  Make it harder for yourself to shop by removing the stored cards from your favorite stores.  Intentionally get it your own way!
• Create a Shopping Fund.  Start putting money aside for your self-care.  Think about how much you’re spending now and automatically deduct that amount from your paycheck.  Then, you can feel good about paying that amount off each month because you know you have the cash.
• For more on this concept, click to read the full post.

Challenge:  Shining the Spotlight on Clothing Rental Services

As I approached the topic of strategic shopping, I realized it was an awesome opportunity to try out clothing rental services.  Not only do these services help us curb our spending, they also help us curb our carbon footprint.

I also love the idea of clothing rental for those of you who are going through a physical transition (maternity, weight loss or gender transition), struggle with weight fluctuation or want a way to experiment with your personal style.

Did you know that 60% of clothing made ends up in the landfill within a year of production?  Staggering.

Here’s a breakdown of my challenge:

• Rent-The-Runway.  At $89/month, Rent the Runway feels like an insider deal.  The brands available are beyond what I normally spend on clothing and are so gorgeous, it feels like a treat to play in this way.
• Armoire.  At $149/month, this service fell flat for me.  The brands were not aspirational enough to spend this much money and it took me almost all month to find 4 pieces I wanted to wear.  On the flip side, I found myself wanting to keep more of these items so as a rent-to-buy vehicle or wardrobe builder, it may be appealing.
• Le Tote.  At $79/month, it had some of the issues of Armoire without the thrill of Rent the Runway.  The interesting aspect to this service is the inclusion of accessories — with which almost every woman I work with needs to expand her facility.
• ThredUp.  I didn’t end up doing a wrap-up of this experiment, but it was fun to try their box.  I ended up keeping one item, which I love.  It’s also a great way to get some cash for the items you decide to release in your wardrobe review!
• For more on these, click the name above to read the full review.

What’s Next:

I had such fun doing this series, I’m going to pivot to wardrobe organization.

• Wardrobe Organization Primer.  I’ll walk you through how to approach a wardrobe review and which specific actions to take.
• Guest Posts: I’ll be inviting two coaches to help you start to accept the woman you see in the mirror and practice self-compassion.
• Challenge: I’ll try out a couple wardrobe organization apps to see which one works the best.

If you’re not yet a subscriber, definitely take advantage of my offer to receive your free Personal Style Starter Series below, so you can receive this series straight to your in-box every other week!

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