How to: Be a Good Shopping Companion... for Yourself

Every so often, the fashion gods smile upon me and somehow, some way, I'll score a free hour to hit the mall sans kids. This happened a couple of weeks ago when I had to meet my husband up near his work and then realized I could have him drive the kids home in our big car while I stole his Jeep and went shopping by myself for a while and ah, it was bliss.

But here's the thing -- I love shopping with friends. And I like to think that I'm a good shopping companion, because I'm not afraid to tell my friends when something looks weird. But what happens when you score a few minutes to shop solo and you can't have friends with you to tell you what looks good? Luckily, I don't mind shopping by myself, but I know some girls who won't go without a full jury to help them pick out a pair of socks.

Here's how I like to shop all by my lonesome, but still make sure I'm making good choices.

1. Shop with a Purpose

Shopping on your own can be overwhelming when you don't have your girly wolfpack to direct you through the stores. When I'm shopping with friends, they naturally lead me around the store and point out cute things. When you're alone, you don't get that. And while you might have dreamed for a spare moment to wander through the mall without children, it's best if you have a goal in mind -- are you looking for a couple of new everyday shirts? Do you want a new pair of heels? Narrow it down a bit so you don't walk into a store and see all the displays and huff because there's nothing that catches your eye. No one likes a huffer.

2. Grab Extra Sizes

Know what sucks? Shopping by yourself and not having a friend who can run and grab you another size. I make my friends WORK while we shop. And while you might be able to ask a sales associate, there might not be one in the fitting room the whole time. So when I'm shopping by myself, I always grab one or two extra sizes for whatever I'm trying on. That way, when I can't squeeze into one size, I don't have to get all awkward and hope that a sales associate will happen by -- I can just grab the next size up.

3. Make Nice with the Sales Associate

OK, so a sales associate might not be there to wait on you hand and foot, but it's totally OK to ask her opinion. Here's the trick though: Only ask her if you like the way she's dressed. Chances are, she's wearing clothes from the store anyway, so if you like what she's wearing, pop out of the dress room and ask for her opinion. She'll LOVE doing more than rehanging clothes and you'll get the opinion of someone whose style you admire. Winwinwin.

4. Take Pictures

So the other day -- when I was shopping without kids, husband or friends-- I was trying on this adorable pair of Roxy linen pants that I wanted to buy for when we go boating. Linen beachy pants on the boat -- I die. They had them in a ton of colors, but the problem was that I couldn't' decide which I liked more. I went back and forth, I asked the sales girl and finally, I decided to snap a cell pic.

Seeing the pictures side by side told me the black were waaay more flattering. Seriously, look how much wider my legs looked in the white and I was going to BUY THEM. The mirror lies, but the camera doesn't -- I bought the black. And have worn them repeatedly, but not on the boat yet. So sue me.
  

5. Edit

When shopping with friends, there's always someone who is like "Um, Jae, don't you already have like 6 pairs of red heels" and I'm like "Why thank you friend" and buy something else. But when you're shopping on your own, you don't get that. So before I buy anything, I do a couple of things. First, I think of three ways to wear the item I'm holding. Three completely different outfits. If I can't think of three off the top of my head, it goes back. Then, I make sure I'm not re-buying something I already have at home. If it passes those two tests, to the cashier it goes!

This all just gives my itchy debit card finger because I just remembered I wanted to buy another pair of those linen pants. Do you have any good solo shopping trip or are you solely a girl's girl shopper?