In January, retailers start to put winter items on sale. It’s a great opportunity to add great pieces to your wardrobe at a reduced price. Learn how to look for the best trends when shopping the sales.
- Retailer Test Trends of the Upcoming Season in the Sales
- Identify the Deals That Are Worth Your Money
- Spring Trends to Look for in the Sales
- Trends to Keep
- What not to Buy
- Summing Up
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Retailer Test Trends of the Upcoming Season in the Sales
Sales serve to get the merchandise of the current season out to make space for the new items of the next season. However, often retailers add already items from the upcoming season. They test what sells and what doesn’t. It helps them to gauge the market for a big, less risky order later. Often these items are sold for their regular price. Sometimes they have a slightly reduced price. However, some retailers stock up on cheap items for the sales! So it is important to avoid these five mistakes when shopping the sales.
Identify the Deals That Are Worth Your Money
The cheap items bought for the sales are not the ones you want to shop ever! Cheap can be very expensive, when you calculate the cost-per-wear. A splurge, however, can be very cheap when you do the math. Timeless classics, high quality basic clothes may fall into this category. They are worth buying when on sale. It’s important to know when to bargain and when to slurge.
Never fall for a 50% off on last season’s pieces. If it is not your style, color, it’s a bad buy!
When buying pieces from the fall/winter collection, don’t buy the trendy It item of that cold season. Err on the safe side. Go for classic basic pieces with a twist!
The “new trends” of the upcoming warm season may look expensive as compared to items of same quality, but belonging to those on sale from the ending cold season. However, the new trends of the next season may be still less expensive than they will be when the official season starts.
Pro tip: Look for and stock up on high quality timeless basics in your neutral colors when you can find them on sale. Click To Tweet
Spring Trends to Look for in the Sales
The new items for spring will not have a 50% or more off price tag. They may be just 10% off, 15% when you are lucky. However, when you want to get spring/summer trends for less, here are some tips of what to look for. Only buy a trend when it fits your personal color palette and style, your lifestyle, and you have at least three pieces in your wardrobe that go with it, and you expect to wear it over and over in the upcoming season. This means you really love the piece.
A trendy piece should go below $1 per wear over the upcoming spring/summer season!
Look for the following items to get a head start on your spring/summer 2021 wardrobe update:
- Romantic dresses. See this guide how to look stunning in Romantic Style over 40.
- 1990s inspired attire like cropped sweaters, cropped jackets or slip dresses.
- Clothing in silver or silver (costume) jewelry. See the guide at the link on how to wear metallic during the day.
- Pieces in Candy colors, if these colors are in your color palette.
- Stylish masks. Sure we hate wearing masks because they are annoying. They make us feel like we can’t get enough oxygen. They make up feel tired. But when we have to wear them, they better look stylish. I really like the ones below.
Resusable masks with double fabric - Leather clothing. See this guide to learn what to look for when shopping for leather clothes to recognize best quality.
Ladies Premium Side Lace Motorcycle Jacket LeatherCoatsEtc - Minimalism. Only when this is you personal style!
- Bags, accessories and other pieces from sustainable or recycled resources like cork vegan leather, bamboo T-shirts, wooden jewelry (see e.g. this review of wooden earrings) or wood watches.
Binca vegan leather backpack c/o JORD. Also availabe in burgundy and black. 
c/o Jord cork vegan leather purse . The golden chain is detachable. Thus, you get two-in-one, namely a clutch and a mini crossbody bag. Also available in black, tan. 
Jord unique wooden watch available in various different wood types regained from old furniture or other sources. I especially love their new coffee watch, but haven’t received it yet.
Trends to Keep
Last warm season’s trends that are still in fashion:
- Ballon sleeves.
Shein Gigot Sleeve Ruched Waist Velvet Dress $25 puff sleeve dresses - Trench coats. See this post to learn what to look for in a trench coat to get a classic one that stays in style for years.
- Boxy coats. Stylist’s remark: While they are still in style, they are not the most flattering pieces to wear.
- Extra long button-down shirts
- Floral kimono dresses
- Coats in multiple colors. Stylist’s remark: A multiple color coat is great as a second one, but not as your goto everyday coat. See this guide how to create a working capsule coat wardrobe that works for your lifestyle.
- Tie dye. See this post for inspiration on tie dying DIY. What about tie dying a pair of white tights for the winter-to-spring transition? You can choose your color with Hipstik tights + DIY Color Kit!
Trends not to buy…
… or to ditch when you have them:
- Low rise. This look isn’t suitable for any body. Just imaging a midlife belly or midlife lovehandles spilling over the pants band! It looks like a walking cupcake (or muffin).
- Short shorts. They never looked good. Even on our younger self at 20 something. So why making the same mistake twice?
- Logos all over the clothing. You are not an advertising column!
- Boxy work wear inspired overalls. There is a reason beyond health why you watch what you eat! There is a reason beyond health why you go to the gym! In both cases it is called staying in great shape! You worked so hard and sacrified so much chocolate, desserts, wine – you name it – for looking great! Why would you want to hide it with these frumpy pieces?
- Bold shoulders when you have inverted traingle shape. The wide shoulders are actually what an inverted traingle shaped woman wants to play down!
You can find a comprehensive list of ugly trends you should never buy at this link.
Summing Up
Don’t let the percentage off fool you. Never buy a piece just because it pretends to be a bargain. Only buy what makes sense for your style and wardrobe. A minimalism piece, for instance, is a great investment for someone who has Minimalism Style, but it’s a bad buy for someone whose style is Bohemian or Romantic.
Did you know that there are various coupon codes on my Gift Guide?
Get the inspirations to turn fashion into style. Subscribe to High Latitude Style to get the tips by email.
Get started being successful with my style recipe book “How to Dress for Success in Midlife.” Buy it now.
Photos of me: G. Kramm
© 2013-2021 Nicole Mölders | All rights reserved
