July 4th is just around the corner, and that can only mean one thing: it's time for your favorite stores to roll out the fall fashions, which means that soon it will be too late to find a new swimsuit or one more pair of shorts or that 60s-inspired sundress you've been craving. Fortunately, in order to fit all those corduroys and wool sweaters on the shelves, everyone needs to have a sale.

In other words, now is the time to buy some summer clothes. For cheap, even!

But before you head off to the mall all willy-nilly, let's talk about what you SHOULD and SHOULD NOT do when you shop the sales rack. Because the LAST thing I want to encourage is the buying of stuff you don't need and won't wear solely because it's marked down 75%.

1. Have a plan. Do you need something specific, like a bathing suit or a dress? Then shop only for that item. In other words, don't try on ten pairs of pants if you need shorts. Try on ten pairs of shorts instead.

2. Go familiar places. Not in need of anything specific? Start with stores you know and love, and then try on lots of things. If you are already comfortable with the brand and its style, you may find things that you had overlooked before. And if they're on sale, so much the better.

3. Don't buy anything you wouldn't have paid full price for. Yes, I mean it. A bargain is only truly a bargain if you are going to wear/use/love whatever it is you buy. I don't care if the lime-green mini skirt with the dogs embroidered on it IS only ten dollars; unless you will WEAR a lime-green mini skirt with dogs embroidered on it, it's a waste of money. And if you seriously think you're going to wear a lime-green mini skirt with dogs embroidered on it, then we need to talk. And soon.

4. Don't buy anything that ALMOST fits, just because it's on sale. The reduced price on those pants won't make up for the fact that you can't sit down in them, and no matter how little you pay for them, your money is wasted if they just hang in your closet. By the same token, don't buy something that doesn't look great on you just because it's on sale. Baby doll dresses make you look pregnant at full-price? They will do the EXACT SAME THING on the sale rack. Really.

Rachel Michaela, at StyleBites, offers more strategies for shopping the sales, including my favorite: "When in doubt, can you imagine mixing it into 3 outfits and wearing it on 3 different kinds of occasions? If yes and yes, then buy. If no on either, then consider passing it up." Michaela says that when she styles clients, she makes every piece work for three looks: casual day, dressy day, and evening. I love this idea because it relies on the notion that everything in your closet should work with everything else.

So what should you look for at the mid-summer sales? Swimsuits, obviously; there's a lot of summer left, and then next summer and next summer and . . . . Look for summer basics, like capri pants and skirts and dresses, which can fold easily into your fall wardrobe. Look for trendy pieces that may not last beyond, say, next season (metallic accessories, for example, or 60s inspired jewelry). But don't go overboard with the trendy pieces, and stick to trends that will work with your current basics wardrobe.

In the end, if ANY piece, at ANY price, doesn't work with what's already in your closet, then it's a waste of money. Shop smart and make the mid-season sales work for you.

Susan Wagner writes about fashion at Friday Style and about everything else at Friday Playdate. She is shopping the summer sales for a short sleeved white blouse. Any suggestions?