Purchase planning

[bjmcgeever]

I've got several hundred dollars set aside for clothing and such, and I'm trying to plan wisely. I've come up with a couple of options.

1. Buy F/W clothes off-season. Since this is the first winter (if you can even call it that in Texas) that I've been through since upgrading my clothing, I've found my winter wardrobe a bit lacking. I've already purchased some winter stuff (peacoat, lots of sweaters, a couple blazers, thick socks, boots, etc.) but I still have some holes.
2. Save the money for the S/S sales. I've thought about waiting until the new spring/summer stuff hits and there are some good sales. Especially since TX is so hot, I could use some more warm weather stuff. I definitely need more shorts and polos. I could use some summer-weight chinos and dress pants and even a summer-weight suit (especially since I'm going on a cruise in June).

I'm curious as to how y'all would approach it. Any other ideas?

[MikeAD91]

Well, being in a few miles from Lake Ontario in NY, I have a much different problem. I can get great deals on winter clothing now, and wear it for a few more months. Once it gets too warm, Spring / Summer stuff is already starting to go on sale, and I can buy it then.

If I was in your position, I would probably split the difference. Take advantage of some Fall sales, but make sure you're ready for Summer.

[RiveDroit]

Actually, now's a good time to snatch up winter gear in Texas. I'd visit an outlet mall for JCrew Factory and the BR Factory. Use your student ID if you're still in school. Also check out Target for Merona and Mossimo clearance racks, get a Red Card and save 5%. If you live near a Saks Off Fifth / Nordstrom Rack / Last Call check those out as well.

[bjmcgeever]

I wish I had outlets near me, but I'll probably just have to watch online sales.

[Vicious49]

I wish I had outlets near me, but I'll probably just have to watch online sales.

I have outlets near me and I still get most of my stuff from online sales. I don't find great deals at the outlets. I actually just went to the big one near me this past weekend because the wife wanted to go. All I bought was a pair of socks.

There are some places like Nordstrom Rack or the Bloomingdales outlet that have clearance racks but I don't have the patience to sift through all that. Also, stores like that are more for people that care about labels. A guy who was in line in front of me at TJ Maxx was all excited he got a RL Black Label shirt for $100. It was just a solid colored shirt. The quality was probably good, but the shirt didn't stand out to me and I wouldn't have spent $100 on it. I'd rather spend $22 on a roll neck sweater from a JCrew online sale like I did yesterday.

[Idle_Hands]

I'd prioritize my purchases based on what are the biggest holes in your wardrobe, what those holes would cost to fill, and how much use you'll get out of your new purchases. Based on that, and what you described as your needs, I'd choose option 2 if I were in your shoes.

When I was overhauling my wardrobe, I'd occasionally write out a categorized list of all the clothes I owned. Doing so made it very easy to prioritize my purchases in the way I suggest above.

I'd distinguish between a hole in your wardrobe and a need. A need is always a hole but a hole is not always a need. So if you didn't have any winter coats at all, that'd be a need, even in Texas. But if you already have a pea coat, you may have a hole for a top coat, but the top coat isn't a desperate need because you're going to be wearing winter coats so little anyway that you can skate buy on just your pea coat for the time being.