Tips to help curb unnecessary purchases

If you can’t figure out how to practically work the item into your rotation of fashion essentials, or how to pair it with your current wardrobe (not the wardrobe you wish you had), leave that pretty little thing behind.

Special event purchases aside, the items we wear the most are those that fit into our lifestyle. Do you buy heels because you like them but don’t really have an occasion to wear them?

Look at your day-to-day life realistically and make sure you are purchasing things that have a real use.

It’s important to think about your wardrobe before you buy. For example, accessories are the finishing touches that get added to make your wardrobe pop. However, if the accessories you’re considering buying don’t work with the clothing you already own, they’re useless.

Make sure you are buying items in hues that work with your clothing color palette, and choose necklaces that are the right length and work with the types of necklines you prefer.

Just as it is never smart to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry, you should never shop when you are just looking to pass the time. Boredom and frustration often lead to impulse buys and haphazard purchases.

Instead, shop only after you have taken a little time to take inventory of your wardrobe, and get a sense of what you need and know you will wear.

Do you walk like a baby deer taking its first steps when you put heels on? Does wool make you itch? These kinds of things should be considered when shopping. Any item that pinches, prods, pokes or, worse, causes an allergic reaction isn’t worth owning.

It may be difficult to put those gorgeous, deeply discounted, designer heels back on the rack, but even the most talented cobbler can’t make shoes that are a size too small fit your feet.