I start with a dollar amount (usually $8), pick everything that I like that is $8 and under.  Then. . . . if I have over 50 items (which I usually do), I drop everything (except the rare few that I can't do without) that is over $6 and so forth and so on.  I have (every season) stocked the closets for both of my kids for the entire season for less than $100 - sometimes even less, depending on how much I was able to resell in the sale. I usually don't have as much luck with my son as I do my daughter. But I always walk away a winner (and it's the one time I can shop for 6-8 hours and my husband not have a nervous breakdown!)