Fall is approaching, which means new clothes are starting to arrive in stores and it’s tempting to start thinking about what you want to buy for the season ahead.

But before you shop, start with your own closet.

Instead of browsing for new fall clothes and deciding what you like, figure out what your wardrobe actually needs first. You’ll have a much clearer shopping list, get more use out of what you already own and put your money toward the pieces that will make the biggest difference.

Here are three things to do before you shop for fall/winter clothes.

1. Identify What You Need to Be Dressed For

Start with your life, not your clothes.

Think about what the next six months will actually look like.

What does your work schedule look like? What do you typically do on weekends? Are there specific hobbies or activities you do during the colder months? What dinners, holidays, parties or other events are coming up?

I generally recommend creating around 20 complete outfits for the fall/winter season and using coats, shoes and accessories to accommodate changes in weather.

The goal isn’t to create an outfit for every possible scenario. It’s to have a collection of go-to outfits that covers the majority of your real life.

Once you know what you’re dressing for, you can start figuring out what you already have.

2. Create Outfits With What You Own

Now go into your closet and start putting together complete outfits for the different parts of your life.

This is often the most eye-opening part of the process.

You might realize you have several beautiful blouses and cardigans for work, but you don’t have a great pair of dress pants to wear with them.

Maybe you have jeans you love for the weekend, but your sweaters are looking worn and that’s why your casual outfits never feel quite right.

Check the pieces you rely on heavily during the colder months too. Are your boots still in good condition? Does your winter coat need replacing? Do your favourite pieces still fit? Is anything worn, damaged or in need of repair?

You may discover that you already have far more complete outfits than you thought.

Or you may discover that you’re missing just a few key pieces that would make the rest of your wardrobe work significantly better.

3. Make Your Shopping List

Now you can shop.

Look at the outfits you’ve created and identify the specific gaps.

Instead of heading to the mall or browsing online to see what’s new, you’re shopping with a purpose.

Maybe replacing your everyday boots would improve ten of your outfits. Maybe one great pair of black dress pants would suddenly make several work outfits complete. Maybe you don’t need another pair of jeans at all, but replacing two worn sweaters would completely refresh your weekend wardrobe.

Start with the end in mind. Create the outfits first, then shop for what’s missing.

This helps you put your money toward the pieces that will have the biggest impact on your wardrobe.

Otherwise, it’s very easy to buy a few exciting new pieces at the beginning of the season, only to realize a month or two later that the pieces you actually needed were a new coat, a pair of boots or a sweater you could wear several times a week.

By then, you’ve already spent money on things that weren’t priorities.

Your shopping list should come from your wardrobe, not from what’s new in stores.

Build Your Fall/Winter Wardrobe

If you’d like help putting this into practice, The 20 Outfit Wardrobe System walks you through the process step by step.

It includes guidance for identifying the occasions you need to dress for, a step-by-step system for creating and styling your outfits, a printable Outfits Divider to separate your go-to fall/winter looks, and the Fall/Winter Style Guide with over 50 outfit ideas for inspiration.

The system is currently 20% off with code SUMMER20 at checkout.

Before you buy more for the season ahead, figure out what you already have, what you actually wear and what your wardrobe genuinely needs.