1. Shop Sales

I love brands like J. Crew, Loft, Vineyard Vines, and Lilly Pulitzer. If you know of these brands, you know that they are on the more pricey side of the clothing market and yet my closet is full of these brands.

Now before you think that I am made out of money or that my parents buy this stuff for me let me tell you a little secret. I buy all of things on sale.

Shopping during sales is one of the ways that I dress in my favorite brands without breaking the bank. It is important to know when your favorite brands sales are. For example Lilly Pulitzer only has two sales a year so I make sure that I shop both of the sales in order to get the best deals. Holidays are also great for shopping.

Some of my favorite holidays to shop are Memorial Day and Fourth of July. You can get great deals on clothing for a fraction of what the original cost of the item! Also brands love to have flash sales so make sure that you are signed up for their emails or text messages!

2. Invest in Pieces You Love

This might be my favorite tip because it allows me to spend a bit more money than I normally would. I don't know about you but I love popovers (also called a 1/4 zip). I will try and justify buying any popover especially if it comes from Lilly Pulitzer or Vineyard Vines.

I know it is crazy because I live in Florida and we only have about 18 "cold" days a year but I still love them. So when a deal comes around I might just go ahead and buy another one! This is alright to do as long as it does not become a habit because splurging on clothes can turn into a bad habit really quickly.

It is important to make sure that your splurge item will fill a hole in your wardrobe. I love the fun patterns of Lilly Pulitzer but I also know that sometimes I need to dial it back and go with a more neutral color or something that I don't currently have in my closet.

My most recent purchase was a red popover from Vineyard Vines. This piece was a great addition to my closet because I do not own a lot of red but I also do not have any long sleeve items in red. So when you are about to splurging on a new piece of clothing make sure that it will fill a hole in your wardrobe. A bad splurge item would be a new navy popover because I already have one that is in good condition.

3. Pick Versatile Pieces

This is one of my favorite tips. Pick pieces that can go with multiple things. It is awesome to have pieces with fun colors and patterns however you will get more use out of a pain t-shirt than a bright purple polkadot shirt. When I buy a shirt or even pants I try to picture at least three different things that I could wear with it.

So obviously denim jeans are an easy one because you can wear almost anything with them but striped pink pants are a little different. It is great to have several different solid color shirts and sweaters. This makes throwing together an outfit a lot faster. of course your closet does not have to be only solid color shirts and jeans because that can get boring but it is good to have a solid foundation to build off of.

It is also important that as you wear out these pieces that you replace them so that you always have pieces to mix and match with.

4. If You Don't Love It, Don't Buy It.

Y'all, I cannot tell the amount of times that I have bought pieces of clothing that I just didn't love.

Seriously though my closet has been full of these shirts. I've brought them because they were a great deal or I kind of liked the piece. Then after wearing it once I hang it back in my closet and it is never worn again. So make sure that you absolutely love the piece.

Walk away from it for a few minutes and if see if you remember it and if you are willing to go find it again it probably is a piece that you will wear more than once.

Also it is okay to walk away from a piece if you are on the fence about it because chances are you probably are never going to wear it again. The worst thing is to buy something you kind of like because you will might end up not wearing it multiple times and it's a waste of money which stinks even more.

5. Take Your Time.

Now this sounds a little ridiculous because often when we go shopping for clothes we are in need of pretty specific items that we need right away. I don't know about you but this has gotten me in trouble in the past because I will chose something thinking I will love it forever and then it becomes one of those pieces I only wear once.

So when you are looking for new clothes make sure that you are taking your time. If you know that you are going to need business clothes for an interview or internship start looking for those items before you you need them (aka plan ahead).

On a side note it is always good to have at least two business like outfits. It is okay to walk away from a piece and come back for it later if you did not find anything better. Also shop at different stores because you never know what you might find. I can tell you from personal experience that creating a versatile wardrobe that you love will take time so make sure that you are not rushing things and when you don't rush things you are able to invest in truly amazing pieces.

The last thing is hen you take your time you are spreading out your spending which will help you to not break the bank.