Clothes shopping is a bit like marmite! It can divide a room of women; those that enjoy it and those that don't! How does the prospect of a morning clothes shopping make you feel? Do you have friends who always manage to find really nice ‘stuff' when you seem to come back empty handed? Or, do you end up buying something that wasn't quite what you wanted but ‘it will have to do'? Maybe you're the one that finds those hidden treasures, catches the bargain and is the envy of all your friends!
Some people are naturally good at shopping. I don't mean shopaholics that do it all the time; I'm thinking of the people who, when they do go shopping, are very good at it. What do I mean by being a good shopper? I guess for some it simply means being satisfied with what you have bought, but I think of it in terms of spending your money on clothes that fulfil their purpose, flatter you and are of good quality. If you generally manage that when you go shopping, you probably don't need to read any further - you might as well plan your next shopping trip! If, however, you have mixed feelings about shopping or even hate it with a passion, you might want to settle down with a coffee and read on.
Our shopping is affected by a number of things, both internal and external and it can become a very emotive activity for us.
There are some factors that affect how we approach shopping, and left unaddressed shopping can leave us stressed, dissatisfied and guilty. Not a good scenario, but all to familiar to some. I'm going to look at a few factors that affect us and give you some tips so hopefully we can make shopping more fun and more effective.
Lack of confidence when you're shopping for clothes
It can be very daunting and overwhelming to go shopping if you are not sure what suits you, either in terms of colour or style. I cannot recommend strongly enough the value of getting a professional colour/style/make-up consultation. It will give you the confidence you need to be able to shop more discerningly and be much more targeted in your approach. If you can't afford it at the moment, a short-term solution is to think about the clothes/outfits that always bring you compliments. What are you wearing when people say... ‘You look well' ‘Have you lost weight?' ‘You look lovely'? Make a mental note of what you've got on. Something about your outfit is working well and you want to repeat it (or do something similar). It may be the colour, style or both. If you can work out what is working, you will be more confident about what to buy.
Time & Money
These are two of the biggest external factors that affect our shopping and although that sounds obvious now, we often don't take them into account. If you have lots of time and money, and you are confident about what suits you, you should be able to be an effective shopper. However, most of us are short of one or the other and at times have little of either!
Generally, if you are working with less money, you need to allow more time when you're shopping. This will allow you to hunt thought the ‘reduced' rail, or compare prices/quality/fit across different shops. Just because you have less money to spend doesn't mean you should lower your expectation of getting a good fit, reasonable quality and finish, but it will take longer to find it.
One of our consultants is what I would call a very effective shopper. Her strategy is to look for what she wants in the better quality labels, make a list of what she has seen in what store/colour/size and then wait! She waits for it to be reduced. The moment it is, she buys it, or if it's not come down to the price she is prepared to pay she waits for a further reduction. You do need have to have a ‘win some, lose some' approach for this strategy and not mind too much if you miss out. It also requires time...and a bit of planning.
If you have more money than time, the danger is you could end up buying whatever you can find (you don't mind about the price) and therefore not being as ‘fussy' about quality and fit as you should be. My advice for those that are tight on time is to do your research at home, online. Get an idea of which shops/labels have the styles/colour/items you are looking for and then plan your shopping trip accordingly. You can snatch bits of time at home to do your on-line research. If you are not prepared and don't know where to look but don't have much time, you could be in danger of buying a ‘make do' item - never a good long term solution!
I want to just say a bit about price and quality here. Buying cheap quality is a false economy. It never lasts, doesn't wash well and rarely fits properly. You need to remember that:
Good value = Cost of item (divided by) Number of times you wear it!
(Note to Editor, can we use the ‘divide' symbol here. I don't have one on my computer!)
Therefore a t-shirt for a fiver that is worn a few times and then shrinks in the wash, costs quite a lot per wear. But a more expensive t-shirt that wears and washes well, is worn a lot of times, ends up costing less per wear.
An occasion
Shopping to buy an outfit for a wedding or other such important occasion often ends up in purchases being made that are then never worn after the event. What a waste! We feel the pressure to get something, anything, for the looming event. When you are shopping for an occasion you have to be really strict with yourself and ask the question "will I wear this again and if so when?" I have seen so many ‘wedding outfits' hanging un-worn in wardrobes!
Ultimately we want to end up with a wardrobe that is equipped to meet every occasion so we don't need to do any more panic shopping. If I was invited to a wedding tomorrow, I have something in my wardrobe that I could wear. I may feel like buying something new, but if I do not find anything I like I still have a good option hanging in my wardrobe.
A few shopping tips
1. Go shopping without your money - honestly! If you can, make some time to go shopping purely to look, try, experiment and learn but NOT to buy. Because you know you can't buy anything, there is no pressure to make a decision. You will look at clothes/outfits in a much more objective way and it will make you a much better shopper in the long run (and you often find what you're looking for when you're not looking!)
2. Different colours are available at different times of the year. Shop when you see your colours are in.
3. You'll soon learn the shops are good for you (your style/colours) and the ones that aren't.
4. If you are just going shopping to ‘look and try' it can be great to take a friend, especially if they are more confident than you. They may suggest things you would never have thought of. But I would always recommend shopping to buy, on your own. You will be able to think quietly and clearly about whether you like it or not.
There is so much more I could talk about on shopping, how to enjoy it and do it well. But for now remember to try and shop when there is no pressure to buy, that mistakes happen and if you can't find what you are looking for it's the shops that have got it wrong, not you!
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Sheer and fur
