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Shopping Trip 2008

Kevin and I will be heading out of town tomorrow to visit our married friends in Georgia.  But before we do that we are going to make the big shopping trip that I have been gearing up for.  I should note that Kevin is very involved and is going to try and help me choose stuff.  He will be there to share his opinion and to keep me from buying items that I don’t need.  The plan is to buy clothes that are only work-appropriate.  Most of you that know me are probably thinking this is nothing new- I have always loved to go shopping.  But this is the first time that I am really going with specific things in mind.  I plan to buy “classic” pieces that will go with more than one thing in order to create an outfit, and avoid buying something that I don’t really need just because it’s cute.  If you read one of my earlier posts, you will see that I have been inspired by the show “What Not to Wear”.
This trip will also be a lesson in budgeting and making the most of my money, which is probably why Kevin cares so much

So I cleaned out my closet yesterday and made a list of specific items that I want to look for:

• Trouser Jeans- these are more like denim dress pants.  They would be appropriate for my “casual Fridays” at work.
• Khaki Jacket- not a heavy coat, but a jacket that I can wear during the day over shirts.
• Pencil skirt- from what I am learning this is a must have in professional women’s wear.
• Dresses- either in the wrap style or with an empire waist.
• Shirts- these basically depend on what sort of bottoms I buy.  But overall I need to avoid any heavy sweaters because I have plenty of those and it won’t be cold enough to wear those for a long time.
• Shoes- these will be the last things I buy, depending on the clothes I select.  The rule of thumb on the show is basically this: if you wear more neutral colors up top then the shoes should be brighter colored in order to “pop”.  But if you are already wearing bright colors then the shoes should be more neutral.

And there you have it, those are my goals.  I have about 3-4 hours to shop and a set budget so off I go!

On a side note, we chose this weekend to go shopping because in Alabama, like many other states, we are having our tax-free holiday.  The way Kevin has explained it to me we are only exempt from state taxes, not local.  So if we are used to paying 9% here, with 4% being state, I may still end up paying 5% local.  But a discount is a discount.  You can read more about the financial aspect of the tax-free holiday on his blog.

Also I recently discovered that since I belong to one of the teacher unions here, I am able to get a few good discounts to certain stores.  All I had to do was go online and print out the coupons.  I got a $20 off coupon to New York and Co. which just happens to be my favorite store.  Score!

Well I suppose it is time to start packing.  Everyone have a great weekend!