online shopping is definitely on the
rise and it comes with some major
benefits but also some major downsides
so in today's video I want to share some
online shopping rules these are things
that have really helped me to navigate
online shopping in a productive way so
that I make good purchases and I'm able
to shop a little bit more consciously so
let's get started my first rule is to
avoid mindlessly browsing that is so
tempting to do especially when you're
bored but because retailers are set up
to constantly want to encourage you to
buy and make you feel like you need
always something new that is something
that is destined to make you buy things
you just don't need and things that
won't really serve your personal style
so instead I really recommend having a
wish list sticking to that wish list and
only looking online when you actually
need to buy something from your wish
list it has helped me avoid so many
impulse buys and really work to develop
my style over just shopping mindlessly I
really really encourage you to do it and
I think you'll be really happy with the
overall benefit it has for how you feel
about your clothes because buying
something new doesn't necessarily mean
that your style is gonna be improved so
instead really focus on reworking what
you have in your closet get inspiration
and rework outfits in fun new ways using
what you already have I find it very
very rewarding next is to keep color in
mind color is a tool used by retailers
to make you want to buy things because I
wouldn't they that's the whole objective
and so it's really important to know how
color works for you and your individual
lifestyle
I really recommend having a color
palette that's perfect for you colors
that work for where you live and what
you like to wear and then sticking to
that and avoiding things too far outside
of that color palette that way
everything matches and goes really well
together and you get more use out of
your wardrobe it's also really important
to understand color because if you
understand how certain colors look on
different people then you can more
easily spot when a retailer has dressed
a model in a color that's great for her
because she's gonna look fantastic and
they're gonna make that piece look
wonderful and you're gonna thinking
maybe I need that dress maybe that dress
will
work in my wardrobe but if you know how
that either works or contrasts with your
own color palette and your own coloring
it can make you make wiser purchasing
choices and avoid things that have been
marketed to a greater audience but not
necessarily to you and your personal
style it is just about impossible to
make a good purchase online if you don't
know your measurements so that is my
next rule always know your measurements
and keep them handy when shopping online
so in order to find them I have two
methods that work really well the first
is to quite literally take your
measurements with a tape measure get
something flexible you can find these at
pretty much any store and definitely any
craft store and then you're gonna want
to take down your shoulders the width of
your shoulders you're gonna want to know
your bust measurement which is across
the widest point and then your waist
measurement which is the narrowest point
on your waist and that is usually around
your belly button you're also gonna want
to know the rise of your pants and that
is from your crotch up to the belly
button and then anywhere within that and
then also the inseam of your pants you
do that by measuring the inseam quite
literally on the inside of your leg all
the way down to where you want your
pants to hit and then also your hips and
that is around your hips at the widest
point the other way that I recommend
finding your measurements is to take a
piece of clothing that you already have
and you really love something that fits
you perfectly
lay it flat maybe on your bed or on the
floor and then using that same tape
measure take those measurements on that
garment it's a really good way to cross
compare both of them and get a pretty
solid idea of what your measurements are
and how you like things to fit you
because then you can take that and
cross-check it with the size guide that
a retailer gives you on their website
it's really helpful and it's never
served me wrong similarly you're always
going to want to triple check the size
guide that's given by the retailer on
their website it's typically over to the
side of the item and you can really
examine that and then cross-check that
with the measurements that you just took
in order to find the size that's going
to work for you I also recommend looking
not only on that particular website but
also anywhere else that
brand is sold so maybe you're looking at
something from theory check theories
website but then also check the size
guides that they have maybe on Nordstrom
or Bergdorf's and make sure that you're
getting a general feel that way for how
they size their items and then I also
recommend looking for size
recommendations from bloggers or
youtubers or even a friend someone that
you know has tried an item from that
brand and they can tell you whether or
not it fits true to size maybe a little
big or a little small and you can use
all of that information to more
adequately pick your size so you're less
likely to make a mistake and I find that
a combination of all of those has really
helped me and helped me find things in a
size that works for me regardless of how
all over the place every single
retailers sizing is so definitely try it
you're also going to want to pay really
close attention to the fabric
composition of anything you're looking
at online it's pretty much the first
thing that I check because some fabrics
look beautiful in pictures but don't
translate into real life and they just
don't hold up so you end up having an
item that looks really bad after one or
two washes so I'm a huge advocate for
natural fibers I really like things like
cotton and linen wool cashmere silk I
think that they wear really beautifully
they wash really well and they tend to
last longer in my wardrobe then some of
the synthetic counterparts so the number
one offender for me is polyester or high
avoid polyester like the plague because
it looks so good in photos and in video
but it just doesn't wear well it tends
to get really wrinkly and look super
faded and dingy really quickly and so it
I've also experienced a lot of shrinking
with polyester so it tends to be
something that just goes unworn because
it quite literally falls apart after a
couple washes so I recommend always
checking fabric and being mindful of the
fabrics you like to wear and how those
can all play together to make a good
purchase
so as you're checking the fabric
composition you also want to pay really
close attention to the construction of
an item this is really hard to do online
because you can't hold it you can't look
at it in different lighting and you
can't try to tug on it and
if it's been sown correctly so in order
to get a feel for that I recommend
checking the item in every color
possible because when I've done that in
the past it's been amazing the
difference between some of the colors in
blue it might look really good but then
in pink for example you can see a style
point that you didn't notice before and
you can more adequately acknowledge an
incorrect seam maybe something that's a
little uneven and something that just
looks a little bit cheaper and then it's
also really important to zoom in on
images get as close as you can and then
try to find that item not only where
you're looking at it but also on other
websites as well that way you can get a
feel for how everyone's styled it
differently and really start to pay
attention to those little details
it takes some detective work but I find
that if you do a lot of the work now it
can save you a lot of bad purchases and
it's always worked out for me when I've
done that so definitely turn into
detective mode and really start to dig
into those images and then last but not
least is to try to be really careful
with returns it is something that is
really hard to do especially if you're
just navigating online shopping to begin
with because all of this can feel very
unfamiliar but I promise that as long as
you follow a lot of the steps that I've
outlined here and really start to
practice them and get a feel for what
you really like to wear and the colors
and the fabrics and the measurements it
can really help you avoid the need for
returns and the reason I say that is
because more and more retailers are
finding it less expensive to just throw
away returned items rather than
restocking them so I really recommend
trying to be as mindful as you can when
making a purchase online in order to
avoid returns now it can feel like a lot
of pressure and I don't say that to
discourage you from shopping online but
rather just to make you aware of
something so that you can be armed with
that I think knowledge is really
important and like I said I think that
if you practice these steps you're less
likely to make a mistake so it can be a
lot less intimidating and a lot more
beneficial so I really hope that these
were helpful and they made you feel a
little bit more liberated to shop online
and a little bit less intimidated and
definitely share any tips that you have
along with any retailers that you've had
a really good experience with so we can
all benefit and like always thank you so
much for watching and I'll see you my
next one have a great day