Buying During Your Cycle

Buying During Your Cycle: How to Shop Smart When Fashion Trends Don’t Match Your Style

Have you ever walked into a store, looked around, and thought, “Nothing here feels like me”? It’s not that your style has vanished—it’s that fashion is in a different part of its cycle. Trends ebb and flow, and sometimes, what flatters you simply isn’t what’s “in.”

I was recently chatting with one of our Image Innovators consultants about this exact dilemma. Her client has long legs and looks amazing in low-waisted or waistband-free jeans—styles that used to be everywhere. But now, we’re deep into a high-waisted era. For her, that means her perfect jeans might not appear in stores for several years at a time.

So what does she do? She buys in cycles.

When her ideal jeans return to the racks, she doesn’t just grab one pair—she stocks up, purchasing several that will last until the next time that style swings back around. This is smart shopping, and it’s a strategy that works for anyone who knows their personal style.

The Fashion Cycle and Your Style

Fashion trends move in roughly 5- to 10-year cycles. Silhouettes, colours, and details fade, then return in a slightly updated form. If your best styles happen to fall out of step with current trends, don’t despair—it’s temporary.

That’s why understanding your unique style and colouring is so powerful. When you know which shapes, details, and tones truly flatter you, you can shop strategically rather than impulsively. Instead of filling your wardrobe with “make-do” items that never feel quite right, you’ll wait for the right cycle—and buy with purpose when it arrives.

Shop with Intention, Not Impulse

When your best styles are “out,” resist the urge to compromise. Making do often leads to a wardrobe full of clothes that don’t fit, flatter, or feel like you. Instead, focus on smaller purchases that will still work when your core styles return—accessories, tops, or layering pieces that refresh what you already own.

For example, if you’re a Warm colour group and the stores are full of cool winter tones, hold off on big purchases. Instead, buy smaller items—scarves, jewellery, or shoes—in your best colours to bridge the gap. When the warmer, golden hues return next season, that’s your moment to invest in the larger pieces: jackets, trousers, or dresses that truly express your style.

The Colour Cycle: Waiting for Your Palette to Return

Just like clothing shapes, colour trends also cycle. Some years, fashion favours icy blues and silvers; other years, it swings toward earthy ochres and terracottas. If you’ve ever felt like “your colours” disappeared from the shops, it’s not your imagination—they’ve just cycled out temporarily.

The key? Patience and planning.
When your palette’s colours dominate the season, that’s your cue to buy up. Stock your wardrobe with versatile basics and statement pieces in your signature shades. Then, during seasons when your colours are scarce, focus on neutral or accent items to carry you through.

Be Ready When the Cycle Turns

If you know your personal style and colouring, you can anticipate these fashion cycles rather than be at their mercy. You’ll shop confidently, save money, and avoid the frustration of a wardrobe filled with compromises.

Action Steps

1. Know your style profile.
   Work with your Image Innovators consultant to understand the silhouettes, details, and fabrics that flatter your body shape.

2. Discover your colour palette.
   Schedule a colour analysis to learn which hues harmonise with your skin tone, hair, and eyes. This will guide your purchases through every trend cycle.

3. Track your shopping cycles.
   Note when your preferred cuts or colours appear in stores. Buy key pieces then, and skip or buy minimally when they’re out.

4. Buy strategically.
   When your best items are “in,” stock up on quality pieces. When they’re “out,” buy only accessories or layering pieces that will still work long-term.

5. Create a style plan.
   Build a wardrobe that grows intentionally rather than reactively. Your consultant can help you map out a year-round shopping strategy tailored to your colouring, shape, and lifestyle.

When you understand your personal style and colour cycles, fashion trends stop dictating your wardrobe—you do.

Ready to learn your colours and styles?
Book a session with your Image Innovators consultant today and discover exactly what to wear, when to buy, and how to look fabulous—no matter where the fashion cycle is.

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