Customizing your Shopping Diet

Customizing your diet

Just like a food-related diet, everyone's is different. For some people Weight Watchers and counting points works wonders when it comes to losing weight. Some people find eating smaller portions and exercising regularly help trim off the pounds. Whether you diet on the South Beach or Atkins, you chose your diet because it works, or you hope it does, anyway, for you. Everybody has different needs when it comes to food. Some people can survive off of salads and diet coke and some need chocolate every once in a while. People lose weight and become fit at different rates and in different ways. You have to choose what works for you.

And now, enter The Shopping Diet, and how to customize it for YOU.

I always talk about how The Shopping Diet is making smart choices according to YOUR own personal preferences. So what exactly do I mean by this?

Why do we have to customize The Shopping Diet for ourselves?
It's simple, really. Just like with diet and exercise, people have different incomes, different styles and different ideas when it comes to shopping. Not everybody has the same taste, or makes the same amount of money, or even likes the same stores. You have to customize your diet so it's the most beneficial for...yes, YOU!

There are a few things you have to do when setting yourself up on The Shopping Diet.
First, and foremost, address your spending limits. For example, mine usually are in the range of: not spending more than $30 on a pair of shoes, no more than $20 on a shirt, no more than $10 on a bag, etc. Then there are exceptions to the rule. I will spend a little more on items I need for certain things, such as work, or a wedding, or items I feel are very beneficial and needed for my wardrobe, such as a black skirt I can wear almost every day, or earrings that go with everything. Those purchases have to be justified, of course. (You can read about rationalizing and justifying purchases in another one of my posts)

Second, you address where you shop. Obviously, because of my aforementioned price range, I don't shop on Rodeo Drive, or even at Calvin Klein, Bebe, or any other store where the cheapest item is a pair of socks for $20. (Abercrombie, anyone?)
I shop at places I can afford a wide variety of things, like Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, Gap, Old Navy, Wet Seal, Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, JC Penney, etc. And where I shop doesn't just have to have affordable items, it has to have items I love, want, need, etc. Items I will buy, wear and love for years, or OK, months to come.
So while you don't actually have to make a list of stores or online sites you are limiting yourself to, you should know which stores, or be willing to learn, which stores are within your price range. So when you go into Tiffany's this weekend, you'll know it's only for browsing!

And third, you must address what you need, want and wear. Need: slacks for work. A dress for the dinner party. Shoes to go with the dress. Separate shoes to go with the slacks. Your constant "needs" help define your personal Shopping Diet. Want: red sunglasses, a purple hobo, a green shirtdress. The items you want also help you customize your diet to fit your needs. Why? These are things you take into consideration when you shop. And lastly, wear: skirts to work or class, chunky jewelry on the weekend, flip flops every day in the summer. Yup, you guessed it. What you wear plays a big part in making your Shopping Diet all about you.
But why? WHY?
Because everybody needs, wants and wears different things. For example, if you wear mostly plaid, you may be more apt to shop at L.L. Bean or Bass, or another preppy store. If you wear mostly black, well, you could probably shop anywhere. Or if you wear, want, crave and love everything floral, that also defines where you will find your clothes.

And most of all, when it comes to Shopping Diet customization, consider your feelings. Feelings, really? Yes, feelings. Only you know what your price range is. Only you know if it's worth it to splurge on a pair of snakskin pumps. Only you know if you'll really, truly, wear that button down shirt to work like you say you will.

So know your feelings, but with your feelings you should know your price limits, where you shop, and what you want, need and wear. Good luck to all!

The low-to-high option

If you're an avid online shopper like me, you know that most shopping Web sites allow you to filter out your options by choosing from a dropdown menu. The most common menu items include price sorting from high to low, low to high, new items first, and most popular items first. Some sites even combine new and most popular items to show first. What an idea!
As someone on The Shopping Diet, I take advantage, every single time I online shop, of the low-to-high sorting option. Because I always shop within a certain price range, the option lets me know when I'm about to, or have hit my mark.
I recommend this shopping trick, via The Shopping Diet, 100 percent to my readers. If you set a final point for yourself, say $30 or $40, the site will let you know when you've reached it, and you can stop browsing in that certain area. If you force yourself to stop browsing at that point you've set for yourself, you are less likely to go over, or make a purchase that is more than you are willing to spend.

So how does it work?
When browsing shoes, dresses, shirts, whatever, select from the dropdown menu, if there is one, that you want the items to be sorted from low to high, meaning the lowest priced items will appear first. Let's say your limit is that you do not want to spend more than $20 this time on a pair of shoes. You can allow yourself to keep browsing until you reach items that are $20. Then, the hard part. You're done. You tell yourself: Ok, I've reached my browsing limit. All shoes on the next page exceed $20. Stop. NOW. And then if you do that, you can move onto looking at other items, of course starting with the lowest prices.

This technique works for me all the time. I can honestly say I've never really kept browsing after my limit. And if I have, it was just for fun.

This resembles a food diet in that if you are counting calories, or points on Weight Watchers, you stop at a certain point and don't allow yourself to eat anything else for the rest of the day once you've reached your limit. Or you stop after two cookies or six chips. If you can do that, props to you.

So, per The Shopping Diet, set your limit BEFORE you browse online. And when you reach the mark, exit the site if you have to. I guarantee you will be able to find nice things that you actually want, that are in your price range. Give it a try. You may be surprised!

MY shoe closet

So I decided to post some of MY favorite shoes that I own. Although I can't remember how much I spent on them because they have been purchased over the course of a few years, I can post where I got them. I am VERY proud of my shoe collection, as you can clearly see, so I would ADORE any feedback you have on what I refer to as my most prized posessions. Now remember, these are only my favorites. As you've probably guessed, I own somewhere around 80 to 100 pairs of feet glory. (I can't believe I'm bragging about my shoe addiction! Wait, yes I can.)
So, opinions are welcome!
Also, and most importantly, I am posting these pics to let you in on MY own purchases. This whole blog is about finding what you love for less and making smart shopping choices. I give YOU, the reader, advice and show you pictures of bargain finds. Here you'll see proof that I DO shop cheaply. (Yes, my advice comes from somewhere!!)
Looking at the below pictures: I spent, on average, about $15 a pair. The highest amount I spent on the below collection is $30, the lowest is $7. And I think you'll agree I made out pretty well!!



Target





Walmart (black) & Target (red). Love these shoes. So cute for casual outings in the spring!





Walmart





Target. LOVE the patent "leather" pointed toe with no heel, sooo classy.





Not Rated, via Amazon.





My fake Naughty Monkeys, from K-Mart





K-Mart





H&M





Go Jane. Also have the same pair in grey.





Go Jane





Charlotte Russe





Charlotte Russe





Bass. Sorry it's sideways. Anyway, the flip flops are from a Bass outlet, the navy boat shoes are from 6pm.com.






Amazon

It's 6 o'clock somewhere

One of my favorite shopping sites (particularly for shoes) is 6pm, and you'll see why. It's got almost any brand you can think of at the lowest prices. A dream come true for those on The Shopping Diet, right? Right.
Here I'll post some of my favorite pairs of shoes for spring, all under $10. $10 can buy lunch for you and a friend, or a book, or half a tank of gasoline, or 10 dollar menu items at McDonald's. Or, it can buy you a pair of shoes. Yes, really. Really? Really. 6pm.com. Yes, really.


$8.55, Kitson





$8.25, Naughty Monkey





$6.60, Rsvp





$9, Sugar





$9, Stuart Weitzman






$7.50, Sugar





$6.75, Rocket Dog





$6.60, Shellys London





$6.60, Restricted





$5.85, Roxy





$5.85, Dollhouse





$5.24, Volatile

Roses are red (and blue and purple and pink...)

So I had to write a post solely dedicated to my favorite trend in shoe this spring: the rosette strap. It's delicious, adorable and fun. Here are my top three favorites.



$19.70, Go Jane





$17.40, Go Jane





$30, Charlotte Russe

Rationalizing your purchases

Rationalizing your purchases

Part of The Shopping Diet is only buying what you absolutely need, want, or occasionally, both.
Since you're on a "diet," you shouldn't be giving into every craving. Here's how to tell which cravings are OK to give into.
When thinking about purchasing an item, here are some questions that should not only cross your mind, but you should be able to answer. When you answer them, you'll know if the item fits into your diet.

1. Although it seems pretty obvious, you still have to answer it: Do I need this? You're looking at purchasing a pair of capri black leggings. How many do you already own? Of the ones you already own, are they in good shape? I recently purchased some new leggings because I wear them a lot during the spring (under tunics and whatnot), and the reasons I allowed myself to buy them were because 1. I hadn't purchased leggings in about 4 years, and 2) all my other pairs either had multiple holes in them or were so faded they looked grey. For me, that legging purchase was justified.
So when asking yourself if you need something, you have to consider, first and foremost, how many others like it you already own, and of those that you already own, what condition are they in? Those questions, to me, are the forefront of figuring out if you need something.

2. Will I wear it? Another obvious question, but sometimes this escapes many people when they come across something that makes them a little crazy with desire, like a pair of bright yellow floral wedges. There is absolutely nothing wrong with brightly-colored yello printed shoes, nothing at all, if your closet consists of many, many yellow tops. It's OK, every once in a while, to make a purchase you might not wear very much, such as the aforementioned shoes. How many items will your shoes match? One shirt? Two shirts? Maybe a dress in the right light?
The shoes I mentioned above, and others like it, have the power to make rational shoppers become unrational, especially for color lovers like me. You like them so much you don't consider if you'll wear them or not, or what they match. You just love the look, the feel, the pattern, and how they boost your confidence and mood.
But will you wear those shoes? I am guilty of this situation. Last winter I fell in love with a pair of Charlotte Russe shoes on sale. Yellow floral peep-toe wedges with a bow at the toe. I loved them so much I didn't care what I would wear them with. They were beautiful. They were stylish. And I couldn't wait until spring to wear them. How many times have I worn them, you ask? As ashamed as I am, I will answer in order to help those on The Shopping Diet. I have not worn them once. Not once. They match literally nothing I own.
While I do not completely regret the purchase, I am describing my personal experience to help others avoid the same mistake.
When you come across an item: a shirt, dress, skirt, shoes, whatever, please ask yourself: will I wear it? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself what you will wear it with? Does it match anything you already own?
I usually justify buying shirts or skirts I can wear to work because my time at work makes up five out of the seven days of the week. Therefore, if I know I can wear something to the office, I know there is a chance I will wear it over and over again.
Usually both printed and solid shirts are safe because a solid shirt can go with a printed skirt, and vice versa, and just about anything goes with jeans. So really ask yourself: Will I wear it? If not, it probably isn't a craving you want to get into.

3. Along the same lines as question #2, the next question you should ask yourself is: How much will I wear it/How long will I wear it/Will I like it next season?
Now, I wholeheartedly approve of buying new items each season, as part of my most favorite fashion and shopping-related hobby is keeping up with today's trends, so when I tell you to ask yourself if you'll like it next season, I mean: is it so out there that maybe even you, the person who is thinking about buying it, will think it's terrible a few months from now? This applies to extremely trendy things. (things that are considered risky)
I bought a pair of pink kitten-toe heels when they were in fashion a few summers ago. Hated them the next summer. And that's just one example. Fashions that tend to stay in style (at least now) are capris, wedges, flip flops, some form of the gladiator sandal, printed and solid tops, polos, jeans (of course) - but with more of a focus on darker shades, skinny jeans and boyfriend jeans, and chunky, exxagerated jewelry. There are styles that stay for a few seasons, and even a few years. These are good items to buy. But some things are so daring and out there and maybe you won't like it next season.
Also along those lines, ask yourself if you'll wear the item for just this year (for a $3 scarf, that's probably OK), but for something more invested, like a shirtdress or green gauze skirt, you may want to think a little bit more.

*Just as a side note, I am always 100 percent in favor of taking risks in fashion and buying things you haven't tried before. So when I say: think about if you'll like it next season or year, I really mean, will YOU like it next season or year? (not if someone else will)

4. And lastly, the gut feeling. Do I need this? Will I wear it? How many months will I get out of it? Will I like it next year? Now that those questions are answered, it's time for the gut response. (Notice how I encourage real, rational questions before we get to this one.)
Even if you've completely rationalized purchasing that pair of brown leather boots because you don't have any like them, they go with 92 percent of your wardrobe, and you can still see yourself wearing them for years down the road, if you don't have that gut feeling you should buy them, don't. If there's something holding you back, listen to it. If you can't make yourself love them enough to buy them at the store, I doubt you can convince yourself to love them after they've taken a permanent place in your closet.

With my advice hopefully you will be able to only purchase what is absolutely necessary.