Fashion may come and go, but the basic rules for saving money on clothing remain the same, here are the rules.

-FIRST OF ALL - do not try to keep up with fashion. Trendy items go out of style, and you will soon tire of them. FIND YOUR OWN STYLE, and stick with it.

Once you know your style, it is easy to occasionally check out used clothing sources to see if they have something that meets your needs.

-KNOW THE COLORS THAT LOOK GOOD ON YOU. No matter how comfortable a garment, or how well it fits, if a color looks bad on you, you will never wear it. The only exception to this rule is a pair of pants or a skirt, which is away from your face.

Do you look better in primary colors, such as pure reds and blues, or muted tones, such as olive green? Do you need light colors near your face? Do you look better in colors with a yellow base, such as peach as opposed to pink, or do you look better in slate blue as opposed to aqua?

-WEAR SEPARATES. You can get by with a very limited wardrobe if you make use of blouses, skirts, vests, sweaters, pants and blazers, which can all be mixed and matched.

-AVOID SEASONAL CLOTHING. Wool can only be worn in a limited time frame. Get more use out of your wardrobe by buying clothing that can be worn year round, such as garments made from a medium weight cotton,

-BUY YOUR BASICS IN CLASSIC COLORS. Choose a color for your basic pieces, such as skirts, jackets and pants. Basics are colors like black, burgundy, tan, grey and white. These are colors that blend with many other colors.

All of your sweaters, blouses and vests should mix with your basics. If you keep your basics neutral, you can be more colorful with the rest of the items in your wardrobe.

-SPEND MONEY TO BUY QUALITY BASICS. The foundation of your wardrobe, your basic pieces, should have classic lines so they will last a long time. Then, if you want to be more trendy, you can do it with a blouse or sweater that will not cost as much money, or last as long.

-NEVER BUY ANYTHING THAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE. No matter how nice a garment looks on you, if it is uncomfortable, you will not wear it for long. In addition to tight clothing, wool can be scratchy, and turtlenecks can choke you.

-DO NOT BUY ITEMS THAT NEED DRY CLEANING - you will be paying for the item over and over.

-SPEND THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF YOUR CLOTHING BUDET ON THE CLOTHES YOU WEAR THE MOST. The more times you wear an item, the more economical it becomes. Do not fill your closet up with clothes you only wear occasionally. Let the balance of your wardrobe be the clothes you wear every day.

-RESIST IMPULSE SPENDING. Stop future impulse shopping. Do a mental calculation of how much money it cost to buy all the items you are not using. Having less is having more when it comes to a good wardrobe. Manage your wardrobe, don't let it manage you. More clothing means more laundry, more maintenance, more accessories, and more items that you decide you don't like .

When you have a lot of clothes, you will not wear them all. Why should you? You are not going to like them all equally. You will still reach for your favorite outfits most of the time, and the others will stay on their hangers until you get rid of them.

Scale down, and save!

Source: Nikki Willhite - girlposse.com