The Glow-Up Series: When to Splurge on Fashion Purchases

Welcome back to the Glow-Up Series. We’re still on the topic of fashion and style this week! I know I’m a couple of days late, but the days got ahead of me. Hopefully, you’re well on your way to finding your personal style or at the very least redefining it. I know finding your style can be discouraging because when you find garments that you like, they can often be expensive. Trust me, that price tag can be offensive, but there are times when the purchase must be made. Now, this isn’t a matter of if you should pay your rent or buy a new pair of heels…this is you just not wanting to spend a chunk of your money in one place. It can be hard. So when should you splurge?

First, let’s talk about when NOT to splurge because this is actually easier in my opinion – yay for backward planning/thinking. You know that cute dress you saw in Madewell or Anthropologie that has a gorgeous watermelon print on it? That’s probably something you DON’T want to splurge on…at least not right away. I feel like watermelons on clothing and accessories is starting to become trendy. A new trend is something that you don’t want to spend a lot of money on. Give it about a month, and that same style of dress will be found in cheaper retailers. The quality probably won’t be as good but this ensures that you won’t splurge on something you may not even wear that much.

Another time you shouldn’t splurge is when a garment is not really your style but you want to try it. This does go along with trendy pieces but can really be any type of garment. For instance, the first couple of bodysuits I purchased were about $15 because I wanted to see if they even suited me…no pun intended. Well, they flattered my figure and go along with my classic style so I tend to purchase bodysuits at a bit of a higher price point. I do the same with jeans, longline cardigans and pretty much anything that goes along with my personal style. I like for my clothing to last and still look nice which is my only reason for ever splurging.

A good time to spend more is when you have to attend a special event like a ball, work gala or some type of fancy party. Even at fast fashion stores, evening gowns can still be pretty pricey, so spending just slightly more for the quality isn’t a bad thing. Because my personal style is very classic, a long slinky black dress would probably be my go to and I would probably wear it at more than one event. Last year I attended a military ball and I ordered a convertible dress off of Lulu’s so that I can change it up at other events. This dress was not cheap, but since it is truly versatile and great quality, I don’t feel like I wasted my money because I know I’ll wear it many times.

I know with all of the fast fashion stores it can be hard to even look at stores in higher price points. Once you get the feel of the quality at stores like Madewell, Free People, and French Connection you may rethink your fashion purchases. It’s hard to know when to spend a chunk of money in one place, so hopefully, these tips help someone out there.

Thanks for reading

ChelsiKay