Shopping for clothes online, whether you buy them from a big box store or a custom clothier, can get you great style at bargain prices. Unfortunately it also comes with the worry that because you're buying a clothing item sight-unseen, it just won't fit and you've wasted your money. Here's how to make sure that never,ever happens.
Get Some Accurate Measurements for Your Body, and Keep Them Up to Date
The first, and perhaps most important thing you can do before you really spend money buying clothes online is to get proper measurements of yourself. Once you have an idea of your size, beyond "large," "size 10," or "42 waist," you'll be able shop without fear. Remember, one company's size 10 is another company's size 8. Labels and designers purposefully use "vanity sizes" to confuse customers, and even though the whole point of sizes and inches is to give consumers standards, one company's 42 inch slacks will fit drastically differently than another's. The best way to fight back is to make sure you have your own measurements. Here's how.
Get a professional to take them for you. Obviously, the best way to get the most accurate measurements possible is to have someone else take them while you're standing normally. If you can, head to a clothing store and have your measurements properly taken by someone who does it all the time and knows what they're doing. They'll usually be happy to take your measurements, and may even keep them on file so they don't have to re-take them every time you bring them something that needs work. Once you have them, you'll be ready to shop.
Take them yourself (or have a friend help you out). The alternative to having a pro do it, of course, is to do it yourself. You have to be careful taking your own measurements—don't suck in your gut, or try to stand up straighter than you normally do—trying to "optimize" your posture or size will just lead to uncomfortable clothing in the end. Similarly, if you must take your own measurements, get a friend or family member to help out with the hard to accurately reach places, like the inseam for gents, or the bust for ladies.
Choose the Right Retailers and Always Check the Sizing Charts
Speaking of size charts, once you have your measurements, size charts will be your best friend. You won't ever need to trust that a "large" is indeed "large enough" to fit you—you can just look at the sizing chart, find yourself on it, and go from there. If you've been shopping for clothes online for a while, you may already know this, but it's even more important when you're shopping online, especially from retailers that carry different labels, designers, and clothing manufacturers.
If you're shopping from a custom clothier where everything you buy is made or tailored to order, or from a clothing store that promises consistent measurements across all of their products, you'll only need to review the sizing chart once to get a feel for what will fit you and what won't. If getting the right fit is paramount, you'll want to make sure you patronize a shop that guarantees the fit of its items, and makes their sizing charts clear, plain, and public—and most importantly, applicable to everything they sell.
Make Notes On Brands, Retailers, and Designers You've Bought Before
Once you've looked over their respective sizing charts and found some retailers that sell clothes in your size and personal style, you're in good shape to start shopping. Grab a notebook or use your favorite note-taking app to jot down the name of the retailer you shopped with, what you bought (especially if it's from a specific designer or has a specific cut or style), its size, and how well it fits.
Keeping notes like this for clothes may sound silly, but it's really important. When you hit on a brand, a cut, or a style that really works for you, you'll be able to find it again easily. You'll also always know that a specific brand is cut a certain way and fits you well. Label sizes won't be as important anymore, and you'll know that even though the size chart says you should be a size 14, this company's size 12 fits you perfectly, while that company requires you to step up to a 16, for example. After a couple of purchases, you'll have a stable of brands, designers, and cuts that you know always work for you.
Get a Tailor or Seamstress and Buy (Slightly) Large
Whether you go completely custom or buy off the virtual "rack," as it were, find a tailor or a seamstress in your community that's willing to do alterations and adjustments to your clothes for you. The words "tailor" and "seamstress" usually conjure images of wealthy people getting minute tweaks to their clothes, but nothing could be further from the truth. There's probably a tailor or seamstress in your neighborhood who'd be more than happy for your business. Get your dresses and dress shirts fitted so they accentuate your figure.
Once you have your measurements, find some retailers you can trust, and have a tailor in your back pocket to make alterations to anything you b It's a great feeling to buy something, either custom or off the rack, and find it fits perfectly right out of the box. All it takes is a little prep and foresight to get there.
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