Some bargain! Or is it?

Who doesn't love a bargain? Who doesn't love getting "the look" for less? Well, I've had a lot of luck on ebay finding fabulous deals on gorgeous clothing. I've now got a closet full of stuff from places I could never afford to shop at in the "real world" (unless they're having a major clearance sale!).

But I've noticed that many people who clean out their closets and list items do so without really thinking about a couple of points:

1. Is this an item I would wear (if it still fit me? if I still worked in an office? if I didn't just buy another item I like better)?

2. Just how old is this sweater/jacket/coat/pair of pants?

Times change! Styles change -- sometimes oh so subtly but yes, they do.

Take, for example, shoulder pads. For some reason, we all thought they made us look "slimmer" back in the day. Really, I think now they were just intended to offset the giant 1980s hairdos!

Yet you can still find listings for "barely used" "worn once" "mint condition" clothing that's obviously been sitting in a closet since Alexis and Krystle's last slap-fight. Even a "classic" blue blazer can look hopelessly out of date when the shoulders make you look like a pro football quarterback.

Other stuff to watch includes double breasted jackets, tweeds, asymmetrical closures -- some of which is still stylish but some that will make you look like you just stepped out of 1988. Pleats -- a well made pair of pleated trousers will still work -- but beware of the high-waisted pleated pants with the tapered ankles.

Now some things never change -- a well-tailored men's shirt, a classic cashmere turtleneck, a wool pencil skirt in a neutral color (but watch the extremes in length). A longer wool skirt can look lovely -- but it can also look dowdy if it's not cut just so.

And if you don't care about the planned obsolescence of women's heel styles, you can find a lot of bargains on shoes.

Now -- I'm not perfect. A few months back I listed a blue velvet skirt I picked up on sale a few years ago and never wore. It's been hanging in my closet for a while now...waiting for me to lose a little weight and have an occasion to wear it (what are the odds?) Well....as I looked at the item and wrote the listing I realized the skirt has belt loops. Yes -- belt loops on a formal skirt! Who would wear a belt with evening wear? I'm not sure why I never realized that when I bought it. Yet there it was...and of course no one bid on the skirt. It's back in the closet -- this time waiting for a trip to the next clothing drive.

So, unless you're going for a specific vintage look....look twice at that bargain. Otherwise it could end up sitting in your closet until....it comes back into style?