Winter Wardrobe Tips Even a Scrooge Can Love

There is a chill in the air, and that can only mean one thing, winter is on its way. Depending on your location and just how you feel about colder temps, the thought of the oncoming season can be either exciting or anxiety provoking. But no matter how you feel about weather, one thing is for sure - you need to dress for it! Which depending on how adept you are at interpreting fashion and the status of your closet, not to mention your wallet, can also be exciting or anxiety provoking. The truth is, shopping doesn't have to be painful, or overly pricey, if you plan carefully and keep an eye on the big picture.

Each season brings with it a plethora of choices and changes brought to us by the fashion gurus that we can choose to adapt to or not. Gone are the days that styles are strictly dictated by the fashion elite, thank goodness. And with an almost universal acceptance of what is called "personal style", it is understood and even applauded by designers that the consumer for the most part interprets the styles that are presented and incorporates them into their existing wardrobes. And personal style is just that, personal to you. However, it is important to remember that this is a two word phrase, so style does have to fit in there somewhere for it to work. This can be accomplished by incorporating some items or overall trends that are reasonably current, making it easily discernible that your overall look is intentiona and not just some random thoughtless mismatch. So how do we come up with a look for the upcoming season that is both personal and uinque to us AND current, and on a budget to boot?

Making Preparations - Pre-shopping

1 Check Fashion Magazines - My first step is to always always always see what the designers have put out the season in question. Anything else puts the cart before the horse. Try to find magazines that speak to your particular age group. Try to get an idea what the overall trends are, not just from the fashion spreads and articles but also from all those gorgeously laid out advertisements. What colors do you see the most of? Look at particular cuts, lengths, prints, fabrics and textures used, even details like buttons and embellishments. If your perception skills aren't the keenest, magazines like InStyle are great for spelling these things out for you, will give you examples of how to wear what with what, and will even tell you what's in and what's completely out. If you want it fast and cheap, do a web search. Use terms like "winter fashion trends 2008." Look up runway shows for a particular season, in this case "runway winter 2008." Wherever and however you do your research, and it's your first time out, create a "look book." Cut or pint out items you like that might work for you and paste them into a notebook or journal. Organize them by garment type and you'll start to see similarities among colors and shapes - this is your personal style developing!

2 Check Your Closets - The next step is to bring out your winter storage and check your closets. Does anything look like what you have put in your look book? Do you see any similar shapes, colors, lengths, textures, prints or things that would fit in with what is in the look book? Put those aside. Do you see anything that you may have found in the "What's Out" section, or just doesn't in any way fit in with what you put into your look book? You should consider either putting these back in your storage or passing them along. It's not that they're not useful or meaningful to you, it's just that what we're talking about here is you making a statement with your clothing. And when we're making that statement, we want it to be as clear and understandable as possible. If there is something you just absolutely love, or if it is just so needful and you can't afford to replace it, keep it out of storage for now. Maybe there is something we can do with it in later stages, so read on. At this point you should be ready to make a list of what you have and what you think you need. Or take your look book and find some way to mark the items you already have (e.g. wool pea coat, baby blue cable sweater, tall brown boots) and the things that you will need to get.

Hunting and Gathering! - The Really Fun Part

3 Check Off Price Stores - My first step in this part of the process is always the off price stores - for example, TJ Maxx or Marshalls, which can be found just about anywhere. Much of their merchandise is current and very reasonably priced. Remember, you aren't necessarily looking for the exact article you have in your look book, but something with a similar feel. A reasonable facsimile, if you will. The trick is to stay flexible. The olive green cuddly corduroy jacket you have in your look book might not be anywhere but the pricey stores and will be bought up before it ever has a chance to go on sale. But there might be one that's similar. Or in a different color that actually works better with the rest of your clothes. Or you might find a perfect pair of olive green corduroy trousers or something else that you love even more from the same designer. Keep an open mind, an eye on the big picture, and things will begin to click before you know it. And please don't overlook the clearance racks! If you have studied the fashion images and worked on your look book and have a good sense of your personal style, you might just find that perfect item in the clearance rack. The reaons for this could be because it came in to the store earlier than the rest of the seasonal merchandise, because the other shoppers in the area didn't do their research and missed a hidden gem, or because your personal style is well, your personal style. This means this item just may not be one of those highly sought after "everybody is going to be wearing it anyway so you wearing it is just going to be overkill anyway" items - bonus for you! I am a huge fan of the clearance rack and it accounts for a fairly good share of my wardrobe. (Can you tell?)

4 Check Outlet Stores - If, like me, you are lucky enough to live within reasonable distance from an outlet mall, you have a potentially wonderful resource at your disposal. It's true, you won't always find the bargain of the century at all outlet stores every time you shop. But if you live closely enough that you can shop them on a regular basis, you will find that over time you can pick up some amazing deals. As with any store, remember the off seasons and shop for clearance items. If there is a store that you like in particular, find out of they have a mailing list and get on it. You will be notified of sales and specials and will oftentimes receive coupons in the mail or email. Also, many stores like this have rewards programs, which means not only great coupons and prices, but free stuff too!

5 Watch For Department Store Sales and Coupons- An often overlooked source for affordable clothing and merchandise is yes, department stores. If you have a credit account with one of the larger stores, such as Macy's, you know that the sales can be fantastic, and the coupons and rewards programs can make an article's final price as affordable as anywhere. However, you don't need to be a charge customer to be aware of sales and receive coupons. Call the store near you to find out when and where they advertise their sales - oftentimes it's a page buried in a daily newspaper published on a weekday, so be sure to ask what paper, what section, and what day. This way if you don't buy the paper regularly, you can look for the ad on say a Wednesday in the Lifestyle section. If there is an ad you can buy the paper, get the coupon, and go shop! (Usually they are all day shopping passes, so you only need to buy one copy, but check to be sure if you're planning on buying more than one item.) PS-As always, don't forget clearance! And bonus, the coupons usually work on clearance items as well.

6. Check Thrift Stores, Yard Sales, Flea Markets, and Church Bazaars - Thrift stores can be a great resource to find those items that you need but can't otherwise find and/or afford elsewhere - if you are lucky. However, I do look here last because I have found that oftentimes shopping the clearance racks in off price and sometimes even departments stores, I find items that cost about the same or only a few dollars more than I would find in the larger thrifts such as Goodwill or Salvation Army. Price wise, smaller thrifts run by churches and small nonprofit groups tend to be a little better, and yard sales, flea markets, and church bazaars are the best. But if what you are looking for is current fashion, be prepared to be dissappointed. It's just a simple (and quite reasonable) fact of life that for the most part, people don't donate current fashionable items. However, if you are lucky, and maybe clever, creative, and resourceful, you can find items that either work as is or can be "tweaked" to fit into what you need. Segue to the next section...

Pulling it All Together - "Make it Work!"

7. Learn to Us That Sewing Machine! - It's always astounding to me just how many of us have a sewing machine sitting in a corner taking up valuable living or storage real estate, yet have no idea how to use it. Basic alterations such as hems can drastically change a garment into something entirely current and wearable. Here are some examples. I found a great long empire waist dress probably from the 80's at a local thrift store (in the markdown section) for 50 cents just the other day. I bought it, brought it home, cut it to a blouse length, hemmed it, and now have just what I needed in my wardrobe, a casual long sleeve baby doll style blouse. Another example is the time I found a couple of cute blouses on clearance racks this past spring. The fabrics themselves were nice and summery and would have made great warmer weather tops (just try to find a short sleeved top that isn't in the junior section that doesn't make you look matronly) but they had three quarter sleeves. Everything else in that weight and style was sleeveless, which I didn't want either. These tops were super cheap and from a nice store at the local mall. So, you guessed it, I bought the tops, chopped off the sleeves to the length that I wanted, hemmed them and voila - I had something that I really needed and wanted in my wardrobe but just couldn't find anywhere else.

If you absolutely are convinced that you can't sew but can use a pair of scissors and an iron, something called fusible tape can save your life. Basically you iron it in between the two pieces of fabric you would otherwise sew and it creates a bond that acts just like a sewn seam. If you are willing, and you are able to do hand sewing without fear of losing a digit, hand sewn hems work just as well. In fact on things like dress skirts and trousers, they are actually superior to using a machine. If a top or sweater is too short, can layering something under it make it appear longer? Can those too short jeans be worn cuffed with your super stylie boots? And remember the details. Sometimes just changing those old 80's gold crest buttons on that jacket in your closet or at the thrift store can totally update it. Remove those shoulder pads. Cut the collar a little lower or wider. Cinch in a boxy waist. Add some trendy embellishments. Sew on some premade trims. Can you embroider? Adding embroidered details to say a classic long wool coat can really make it look unique, current, and rich. Can you use an exacto knife and some fabric paint? Create some unique stencils for screenprinted looking details on everything from tshirts to jeans to blazers to blouses. If you're looking for direction on these kinds of details, check high end designers websites for inspiration.

8. When in Doubt, Accessorize! - Nothing can make or break an outfit more quickly or completely than accessories e.g. footwear, handbags/purses/messengers, jewelry, hats and scarves - even your hairstyle. If you can't afford to update anything in your wardrobe, just be sure that your accessories are of decent quality, neat, clean and well cared for, and reasonably current. Like your clothes, some accessories can be updated - shoes can be dyed the right color (your local cobbler should carry good shoe dye) as can bags. Longer strapped handbags can be shortened to be a little more current (though some say the longer straps are coming back, so be on the lookout!.) Keep leather goods fresh by caring for them with leather conditioners and protectants such as neatsfoot oil and traditional shoe polish/wax. If you wear jewelry, make sure it is either classic or current in style. Scarves and hats worn for warmth, particularly in colder climates, aren't really as subject to fashion whims and a good warm scarf/hat is a good warm scarf/hat. Trust me, when there is a blizzard or the wind chills are 40 below, no-one is going to care whether your scarf and hat match or are in style. Still, if you're wearing them for fashion impact and trying to update an otherwise ho hum or slightly past prime overcoat, they can be had really chicly and affordably by following the same guidelines as above.

All things fashion aside, the main point when purchasing clothes for any season is finding clothing that is appropriate for the weather you will be living in. After all, that is the purpose of clothing, to protect us from the elements. However, the purpose of fashion is to help us feel good (and hopefully look good too) while doing it. And depending upon where you live and how harsh your climate, sometimes the two can't easily be found together - particularly when you factor in price point restrictions. So be reasonable in your expectations and goals. In the end, fashion should be fun, something you should pay attention to because you want to, not because you are a slave to it. So if that superwarm down filled snorkel coat you wore in high school keeps you warm and dry, and you feel good about wearing it, then make sure it fits well, is neat and clean and in good repair - and work it! The fashionistas and gurus should certainly understand. But perhaps I could interest you in some cute leg warmers?