I have found that choosing fabrics in a large shop becomes less overwhelming after you do it a few times. At first, it can be sensory overload. But even in a large shop, what usually happens to me is that I fall in love with a certain fabric but have no idea what the rest of the line looks like because things are arranged by what the person putting away the bolts thinks is the dominant color. That's when I end up online. I should learn to bring my ipad to the store in the first place.
I always work from one fabric, though. Usually it's something I bought yardage of because I loved it but stored it in the stash, awaiting an idea.
hugs,
Charlotte