Fashion and Style 
Dress: She in | Shoes: Steve Madden (sold out, another floral print I love here) | Purse: Aldo | Earrings: Charming Charlie | Bracelet: Charming Charlie (sold out), similar here | To be fashionable and in style does not mean that you are required to go out to the mall and buy a whole new outfit every time. I don’t! Let’s face it that is not only expensive, but you also lose the opportunity to find new ways to wear items in your closet. I don’t know how many times I have cleaned out my closet and found a new item that I forgot I had or that still has tags. And don’t let my husband Rick hear me say “oh I forgot I had this” I will instantly hear him fussing about me having too many clothes. LOL! That leads me to my next thought, make sure to regularly clean out your closet, you will be amazed with the items you will find! I started color coding my clothes and shoes in my closet, in hopes that I won’t have any items go missing. Another tip, be ok with parting with clothing that has run it’s course. That will help keep the closet clutter down. Case and point when I cleaned out my closet I found an old Juicy Couture sweat suit from years ago, HA! I contemplated keeping it, and I was like Taryn, be real! I say all that to say, go shopping in your closet! Loving clothes and loving my bank SAVINGS account, made me really start having the desire to get creative with clothes I already own. Here is the typical rule of thumb I follow when picking out an outfit. 1. Scope out your closet! I always first assess my closet before purchasing anything for an event or outing. My goal first is to see if I can find something completely from shopping in my closet. Get creative. Blazers are great for getting multiple wears that have different looks. You would be surprised by how just changing the shoes and accessories will change the entire look. 2. Next plan, SHOES! If I am not loving anything, I then try to find an outfit online that matches shoes I already own. For me shoes are typically the most expensive item outside of a handbag. So to keep it cost effective I try to get outfits that match existing shoes. I decided to do this blog topic, because I found these floral shoes I bought last year from Steve Madden, and NEVER worn. I forgot I had them. Rather than tossing brand new shoes out, I found this Gingham dress that complimented it perfectly! Gingham is very much “in style” and perfect for summer. So I paired a current trend, with a last years sandal to give it a great summer look! This Gingham dress was less than $25, and perfect for any formal or semi-formal event. It’s light and comfortable. To pull this off I simply started with my shoes, and then put a color scheme together in my head to pull of the rest of this look. 3. Switch up the accessories! If I really cannot find anything to wear. Which happens more often than not I will base my look around a handbag and jewelry I already own. You will be surprised how changing something so small will elevate an old style. Consider shopping your closet the next time you have an event you need to an outfit for. Just by shopping in my closet I saved myself the new expense of buying shoes, and I got a very reasonably priced dress. I used to always run out to BCBG or Bebe for formal dresses, which I still love and shop at. However, for those one-time events, I weigh out the importance of each event. Not every event requires you to wear an over $100 dress. I know there will be some events that require a whole new look, which I still love doing. I now just always prioritize the events importance. Happy styling!
HOW TO SHOP YOUR CLOSET
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8 comments
Thanks for reading! I love that idea of really analyzing each item! I will be using that tip. Thanks!! 🙂
Oh I am certainly team Taryn!
I am always going first to the closet. Whenever I receive an invitation I begin thinking what I could wear from head to toe.
Sometimes, like last week I just empty the entire contents of my tops and go through them one by one, when I place them back. While doing that I check for stains, rips, missing buttons… and I also set apart those I have not worn in sometime with the idea of wearing it one more time before deciding to let go or not.
I am so glad I came across your blog, you have a new follower 😉
Your welcome! It helped save me a lot of money!!! 🙂
I love the idea of starting with something you already own and then searching for outfits that use that item. I find myself wearing pieces the same way all the time. I'll have to start scouring pinterest for new outfit ideas based around a piece I already have in my closet. Thanks for the tips!
Yes we all struggle with it! So I definitely thought it was important that I share!
I loved this post because I am constantly buying at the expense of my wallet/savings and I just know there has to be a better way…thanks for sharing!
Thanks! My next step is to organize my accessories! That will be a work in progress!
Hopped over here from IG & LOVE this post. Great ideas/advice and this spring I did a necklace display and organized by color. So fun to "shop" my closet for that accessory.