I'll let you in on a little secret: I personally know Jan at Jan Loves. Well, we haven't actually met in person, but our husbands, Ron and Roan, have known each other since college. All three of us (the boys and myself) went to the same university, hence the acquaintance.
Jan and I have kept in touch via Twitter and Instagram for almost two years now, and I'm happy to have her on the blog today.
I look forward to meeting Jan in person very soon (SoCal bloggers represent!), but for now, let's learn a thing or two from her shopping tips.
Classics over trendy items. This is self explanatory, but I feel the need to explain. You see, I only have two feet and only wear one pair per day, but I have three sandals of the same style with different designs. Now that I think about it, I feel dumb and greedy...the sandals don't even give my feet support. They're cute, yes, but will the last long? Nope. Should I have gotten just one pair from a reputable brand that's made of more durable material? Yes.Buy multiples of your favorite basics. When a piece of clothing is your favorite, you wear it a lot and it gets washed more than your other clothes, therefore making it the oldest looking thing in your closet. When you LOVE something, buy more than one of it. This will also be convenient when you don't know what to wear and you can just grab, wear, and go pair the basic top with anything and everything you own.
Settle for good quality items. Now don't get me wrong, they don't have to be expensive. To be honest, I still buy stuff from Forever21. Many of my shoes are from there because you know why? They last long and don't wear easily. I, too, am surprised by this, but I usually check all the seams and corners of the shoes I get when I shop there. As for things other than shoes, check the seams and the material. When it looks like it will rip when you go to a horror house with your scaredy-cat friend, just don't get it.
Go for comfort. Clothes come in different shapes and cuts. Settle for pieces that make you feel good about yourself rather than one that makes you feel uncomfortable. I mean, who would do that, right? Well, I have. I have learned the hard way from buying "inspiration shirt/jeans."
Learn from your mistakes. I think my unfortunate experience about buying underwear is the perfect example for this one. I used to buy cute underwear from just any place and guess where those are now...in LA's garbage dump. This also happened to me with shoes. You know those brands that you'll find at the random privately owned boutiques with really bad return policies? Be VERY picky about buying stuff there. They are not bad for clothes that you'll only wear once but if you plan to wear something again, just go for the better quality one from the other store!
Have any shopping tips? Comment below to share! :)
