A fashion thrifty woman has a beautiful wardrobe at a bargain basement price. Here is how it is done, step-by-step.

Start by going through your closet. Career clothing is the most important part of the fashion wardrobe so begin by laying the career clothes on the bed. Assemble them as complete outfits such as a sweater top with a pair of slacks. Set the orphaned pieces aside for now.

As you assemble each outfit, add the finishing details such as belts and scarves.

Next, decide which pieces of jewelry will accompany each outfit. Lay the jewelry with the outfit. Examine your choices to make sure that they are attractive. For example, a pair of pewter earrings would clash with a delicate silk blouse while a gold filigree design (or something similar) would complement the blouse.

Choose the shoes or boots to wear with each outfit. Polish any scuffs on leather shoes or brush and treat suede shoes.

Use your digital camera and take a picture of each completed outfit. While the clothes are on the bed, examine them for loose buttons or ripped thread on a hem. Note which colors need to be added in order to update the wardrobe. A casual wardrobe can stay the same for years but a career wardrobe, even with classic styles, needs to reflect updated colors for your place of work. A new blouse each season can update the same suit year after year. Being labeled as frumpy could hurt your chances for promotion.

Return the clothes to the closet as matching sets. This will make it easy to select an outfit each working day.

Put the orphaned pieces of clothing on the bed. Either make a list of what clothing or fashion accessories would be needed in order to complete the outfit, or decide to toss them into the donation bag.

Now it is time to go shopping. The fashion thrifty person shops the day BEFORE a big sale at quality stores such as J.C. Penney, Macy's, Sears, and Bloomingdale's. These stores have good quality merchandise and really great sales. I have seen name brand leather boots at Macy's marked down from $150 full price to $30 clearance price and shoes marked down as low as $7.00. Great sales on clothing can be found at Sears and J C Penney. Make your selections and then ask the cashier to put them on hold until the next day. This method has several good bonuses:

• First, you are more likely to find clothes and shoes that you like in the sizes that you need the day before the sale begins. The sales people will not be as rushed as during a sale and will probably be able to wait on you quickly and help to find the selections in your size or color.
  

• Second, the cashier is more likely to have the necessary coupon or she can tell you to buy one or two extra newspapers to have a sufficient quantity of coupons. She will also be able to let you know if you can combine coupons or if you would have to ring up separate transactions for each coupon. Multiple transactions can cause a credit or debit card to be frozen. A thrifty person will plan ahead and make a cash withdrawal at the bank rather than lose out on a really great sale because of a frozen card.
  

• Third, you will be able to go into the store at opening time and not have to stand in line. Simply go to the cashier and say that you have items on hold. Make your purchase and walk out of the store with the latest fashions on a thrifty budget.

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