Fashion Editor Winter 2011 Shopping Picks on a Budget

Ever wonder how a fashion editor determines her favorite items and top picks? It's essentially our job to shop — to sift through the newest of the new, the chicest of the chic, the most-wanted of the wanted. Every day we scour the four corners of the shopping world — from huge e-commerce sites to the tiniest indie boutique — to find you the pieces you didn't even know you needed. That said, it's hard not to shop for ourselves when we're constantly inundated with all those amazing goods. In this new series, we challenge our editors to spend $500 on their Winter wardrobes — just to see what they would pick for themselves. Next up, Christina Pérez, associate editor at our sister site, Fashionologie. Click through to see how she spends her money now.

I tend to gravitate toward pretty simple items that I know will mix easily with things I already own. I like clean shapes, tactile fabrics, and neutral colors — with a gorgeous print or bold hue thrown in here and there for good measure. When I'm shopping, I try to think "versatility" — if I can think of several ways to wear one item, then I know it was meant to be mine.
Photo: Thomas Beckner