Money makes the world go ‘round
“It is not money that makes you well dressed: it is understanding.” -Christian Dior
Understanding your personal style - the combinations of colours and shapes that work best for your body, personality and lifestyle - is something that people often associate with the rich and famous; with those who have a bit of extra cash to burn. But did you know that understanding your personal style can actually save you money? You don’t need to spend huge amounts on your clothes to be well presented and nail it on every occasion, and in fact the better your understanding, the less money you need to spend, for these three reasons…
1. You don’t buy things that don’t work for you anymore.
There’s a lovely moment in the film The Blindside where Leigh Anne Tuohy, (Sandra Bullock) a wealthy-white-soccer-Mum’s-who-lunch woman, has taken Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless black teen, into a shop to buy him a new shirt. He chooses one, and after she asks him if he’s sure about his choice, she say’s; “Well, one thing I know about shopping is that if you don’t absolutely love it in the store, you won’t wear it. The store is where you like it best. So before you choose something, think of yourself wearing it and say to yourself: Is this me?”
It’s a touching moment in the film, because the advice well-meaningly crashes from one world into a very different one - but it also rings true to us as the viewer. We smile in recognition. Or grimace. How many of us have bought things in a shop, convincing ourselves that we really will slim down enough, be confident enough, or get a good enough tan this year, to be able to ‘pull this off’. We buy it, perhaps wear it once if we’re more disciplined by nature, and then leave it to lie dormant in our wardrobe, either being ignored, or making us feel guilty or frustrated every time we notice it.
There are several sad things about this picture - but the key one we’re talking about today is the fact that its a really poor use of our hard earned money! When we part with our cash, it should be in confidence that what we are buying is something that we really want to own. When you understand your personal style you know what works, and therefore also what doesn’t work, for you. You have the knowledge and the confidence to walk away from potential shopping blunders, saving your pennies.
2. You no longer need to keep buying clothes
It sounds so simple, but most of us own far too many clothes. We have multiple versions of items that we only occasionally need, because everyone time that occasion comes around its another opportunity to ‘get it right’; to find that perfect interview outfit, that perfect wedding guest ensemble. If we already had an outfit that looked and felt fabulous, we would be in far less of a rush to go out and buy another one. When we develop a wardrobe that works for us, we don’t need to keep buying more clothes! We learn to buy things that we like, that work well for us, or as we have a specific need, which happens far less frequently that we assume.
3. OK, this is cheating slightly, but you learn how to judge garments on quality rather than the price tag Strictly speaking this is a skill I teach in one of my sessions rather than a natural element of understanding your own style, but for my purposes here I think it counts! It can be a temptation to believe that the bigger the price tag, the better the quality will be. Sadly this is not always the case. It’s important to check the finishing of any garment, and consider how well it will integrate into your existing wardrobe before you choose to take it home with you. There are times when it makes sense to invest more money in an item, but there are other times when its really not needed. Making the right choice will save you money in the long run.
You really don’t need to spend huge amounts on your clothes to be well presented and nail it on every occasion, but you do need to understand yourself, your body, what’s appropriate for your stage and style of life, and how you want others to see you.
Get a good understanding of those things, and you can look after yourself, and your wallet.
