Never before has it been easier to shop online. The number of companies and boutiques all vying for your hard earned dollar grows year after year, all of them participating in an arms race of convenience that they are trying to sell you along with their countless products. After just a few clicks of the mouse you can rest assured that happiness is on it’s way your doorstep.
When done intelligently and in moderation, online shopping is a fantastic way to bolster your wardrobe. Its a great feeling when the purchase you’ve been waiting for finally arrives and it turns out it was everything you expected. However, when the shopping is done impulsively and with little consideration for consequences, it can be easy to make stupid purchases that cause buyer’s remorse, add clothes you won’t hardly wear, and in extreme cases, rack yourself up into debt.
Unfortunately, the big fashion corporations of the world don’t care if you end up in that second group. In fact, they depend on it by thriving on the insecurities of the consumer. They’re aware that many average Joes and Janes struggle with their image and with personal anxiety, so their goal is to convince you that you will be happy, admired, and more respected if you buy their product. But you must buy it now before time runs out! And don’t forget to buy more when the new trend lines the shelves! You wouldn’t want to be behind the times would you?
I don’t want to see you fall into this trap, which is why I’ve put together some guidelines to help you shop smartly and effectively. Some of these recommendations don’t just apply to online shopping but clothes shopping in general. I’ve included them anyways because I’m confident in their importance. You will also find that many of these suggestions are in some way related to impulse buying.
Shop With a Purpose
What is the most common advice given to people about to go to the grocery store? Be sure to take a list. This isn’t just to prevent us from forgetting something. Its to keep us on the right track and help prevent us from wasting money on things we don’t need. Walking into a grocery store to just look around doesn’t make much sense but its something people do in retail stores all the time. Its an excellent way fill up a cart full of unnecessary junk you never planned to buy in the first place.
Understanding this, begin pushing yourself to have a purpose when you shop online. I need to buy a new white dress shirt or I want to have a warm merino wool sweater for this winter. Shopping with a purpose will help you breeze past pages and pages of unnecessary stuff that the brand is trying to shove in your face, hoping anything will catch your eye so that you add it to your cart. In fact, the very first page you see from many online vendors will feature their newest additions available to buy. These are their hot ticket items that follow the most recent trends or are being endorsed by some big name celebrity. It can be easy to get caught up here, but if you have a purpose like I’m just looking for a navy tie today then you can just skip all that and head over to their page on ties.
Sometimes your purpose doesn’t actually involve buying anything. Maybe you just want to compare quality or prices between brands. That’s a perfectly normal practice and I encourage anything that assists you in making an educated, purposeful decision.
Wait a Week Before Buying
Impulse buying is a real thing. Even an addiction for some people. Years ago, my older brother told me that when he saw something he wanted to buy, he would wait a week to see if his desire for the product was genuine or simply impulsive. This concept was new to me but it was already quite logical for him; his passion has always been computers, and hardware is expensive. This just goes to show that waiting is a great technique that applies to more than just clothing, but certainly it will also help prevent adding items to your wardrobe that you won’t wear. Unless you come across an item or garment that is exactly what you’ve been looking for I suggest waiting some time before making the purchase. You don’t necessarily have to wait a week either. Perhaps all it takes is a day or two before you can decide confidently one way or the other. Or you may decide to wait longer. A good rule of thumb is that the more expensive the item, the longer you should take to consider the purchase. Buyer’s remorse, especially after your wallet has taken a big hit, is an awful feeling.
There are other advantages to waiting too. During this period you may come across a vendor that is selling a similar item but of higher quality, lower price, or is even closer to what you’ve been looking for. If you chose not to wait, you will not be able to take advantage of this sort of situation so easily unless you’d like to spend more money. Sure, you may able to return one of the items for a full refund but for that you are relying on the return policy of the vendor. They may not accept returns (many have a no-return policy due to the current health situation), you may still be responsible for shipping, or they require you pay a restocking fee. Best just to avoid the hassle altogether.
View the Product Details
Don’t just skim over these. Get familiar with the colors, fabric, pattern, weave, texture, and where the materials and labor were sourced from. Take a moment to check out their size guide which will give essential details on the dimensions of the item. For instance, I know my collar size is 15 1/2″. Buying the correct collar size is critical because there is no way to tailor it. However, many shirts with a 15 1/2″ collar size come standard with a 34″ sleeve length, which is far too short for my pterodactyl wingspan. Some vendors will allow you to customize things like arm length, so taking the time to verify this sort of information on the size guide will help prevent you from the disappointment of finally receiving your long awaited parcel only to find out it fits you poorly.
Some of the information I’ve listed above may not be included under the product details. For instance, I find that vendors will be loud and proud if a product was crafted in the USA from materials sourced in England or Italy. On the other hand, they may just conveniently leave this information out if it was made in China. If details that are important to you are not readily viewable than I recommend calling or emailing their customer service line for clarification. They should be able to tell you details about the item and if they can’t (or show reluctance to) that may be a sign they are exploiting cheap labor or materials for it.
Last but not least: always always always take the time to read both positive and negative reviews left by the buyers who came before you.
Scrutinize the Pictures
Be sure you view every picture of an item that the website offers. Its extremely important to utilize the zoom feature if it is available. You may find that upon closer inspection a garment may contain a subtle pattern or color that you don’t really care for. Also pay attention to what sort of background they use to display an item. Is it on a neutral backdrop or being worn on a model? Is it under artificial lighting or is it being worn outside facing the sun? Answering these questions will help you understand how this garment is going to potentially look in different situations.
A good vendor will have a variety of photos that showcase the item in different ways so you can view it in more than one perspective. A vendor that I believe does a tremendous job of showcasing its wares is Fort Belvedere, the boutique for the online menswear publication Gentleman’s Gazette. The pictures above demonstrate the detail you can expect to see when viewing their products. The zoom is so intensified on the actual site that its no trouble at all to see individual threads in this tie.
This also goes without saying but when looking at the pictures, recognize that most any garment or accessory is going to look good on a handsome, well built model. I know it seems unfair but from a simple psychology perspective, advertising works better when the product is on a man that looks more akin to Henry Cavill than Danny DeVito. Such is life. Ask yourself if you truly like the way those skinny-fit bright yellow chinos look? Do you think they will flatter you? Your skin tone? Your body? Or do they just seem interesting because they look good on the model? I’ve made the mistake of buying things when I didn’t ask myself these questions and when I finally tried them on after they arrived, I didn’t feel confident. So they sat in my closet for years.
Beware of Huge Discounts and Clearance Items
There’s likely a good reason something is on such a steep discount. Typically these are items that either didn’t sell well or they received a larger amount of returns from customers, and for good reason. Again, check the reviews. Maybe this item didn’t live up to how it was advertised; its color looks different in natural light, or its of lower quality than it appears online. Maybe this particular item is just ugly and now the brand is trying to pawn their mistake off on you in the form of a blowout sale. Don’t be the sucker.
This is not to say you shouldn’t ever take advantage of purchasing items at a large discount. You just shouldn’t purchase them because of the large discount. If you see an item that’s just what you’ve been looking for, and it checks all of your boxes on the things mentioned in View the Product Details, then by all means make the purchase. Another good rule of thumb is that if you like the item enough that you would have been willing to pay full price for it, its likely a good purchase for you. If you find yourself saying “well I wouldn’t normally have bought this but at THIS price…” then its likely the sale is just getting the better of you.
Buy From the Brands You Already Trust, or Take a Calculated Risk
One of the major downsides to online shopping is that there is no way to truly be sure that what you buy will actually fit you. Sizes and dimensions for clothing can vary greatly among each brand. I suggest buying from those brands that you already know fit you pretty well. Perhaps their shirts or trousers really flatter your body and only require minimal tailoring.
A good practice, if practical for you, is to make a trip to a physical store location to try on some of their clothing. See how it looks on you in certain sizes or fits. Figure out where it may need to be tailored and adjusted. Whether you buy anything or not you now have the general knowledge for if that brand will work for your body.
Perhaps its not possible to go out to a physical store due to obstacles like health restrictions or a lack of actual stores. In this case, you might take the risk on buying an item online that seems to have potential to fit you well. If you’d like, wait for discounts so you don’t lose out on as much money if things don’t work in your favor. Another option is to buy accessories that are sure to come in more standard sizes across the board, such as neckties. Ties all come in a standard length unless the option is also given to buy them in Long or Short. Then you just have to pay attention to the width.
Conclusion
I hope you have found this guide helpful. My goal is to make sure you are making smart online purchases that will complement your wardrobe for a long time to come, not quick impulsive buys that make you end up regretting the purchase. Are there any recommendations you would provide that I may have missed? Or would you like to share any regrettable purchases you’ve made while online shopping?