Is it really a bargain?
It’s not a bargain if it doesn’t fit, it’s the wrong colour, it doesn’t suit your personality – you’ll either never wear it, or wear it only the once (and you’ll be self-conscious and unhappy about your clothing choice the whole time you’ve got it on).
If you say to yourself – I’ll wear it when I lose weight – don’t buy it – you may or may not lose the weight – but by the time it fits – it probably won’t be in fashion.
If you are losing weight, once your old clothes start to hang off you, but you’re not down to your goal weight, go out an buy yourself a great outfit – if you look great all the time you’ll be more motivated to keep losing weight, if you wear all your old ‘fat’ clothes, you’ll feel daggy and this will not lift your confidence, and will show, and may even hinder your weight loss as you’ll not be feeling good about your body and appearance.
Spend more on things that you’ll wear repeatedly (eg. pair of trousers in one of your great neutral colours that you plan to wear to work a couple of times a week, every week) and less on those ‘special occasion’ clothes that end up sitting in the wardrobe taking up space.
If you like to shop at sales, think to yourself, before you buy – would you have paid full price for the item? If not, why not? If the reason you’re planning to buy it is just because it’s cheap – put it back.
Invest in a Your Body Your Style consultation – you’ll then understand how your face, body shape, proportions and personality influence the clothes that look best on you and make you feel most confident – it will also save you time and money when shopping as you’ll know what to look for on those Sale racks. Add up all the clothing mistakes you’ve made in your wardrobe – how many of them were really bargains?
Factory Outlets can be great sources of bargains – but they’re the kind of places you have to visit regularly as stock changes and often they don’t have complete size ranges. Make sure you inspect garments carefully as they may be seconds and have small faults. Visit the outlets of designers that you admire – you’ll more likely pick up a quality item for the same price as an ‘average’ item from a lower end store.
Keep your eyes out when reading the newspaper for advertisements for factory outlet sales – when the Gucci warehouse was moving they had a sale, and I picked up a pair of black knee-high suede boots for $95 (reduced from $1190) and a beautiful green handbag for $120 (reduced from $980). This was in 1998 – and I still wear them today, and they still look great.
Get yourself on mailing lists for designer stores sales – you’ll be first in and will have the pick of the bargain items. Just remember, even if it has a designer label but it’s years out of date – it’s not a bargain (unless you really love it and it works for you).
Get a copy of your local Discount/Factory Outlet shopping guide (usually you can find them in your newsagent or bookstore) – they have great tips on factory outlets, when sales occur and the like. For further information on the web try: http://www.magpiebooks.com.au/
Spend your money on your best dark neutral colours – these are the staples of your wardrobe and will be worn most. Spend least on something that is high fashion (or a fad) or a bright colour that you will not wear more than once a week – nobody notices if you wear the same navy, black or charcoal trousers and jacket day after day, but they do notice that bright pink, red or yellow shirt. If you don’t know what your best neutral colours are, book a Colour Analysis today – it could save you a fortune in clothes, and take years off your life (the right colours make you look healthy, younger and more vibrant – don’t you want to be wearing yours?).
A bargain is not how much it costs – it’s how easily it works for you, how many things it mixes and matches with, how often you wear it and how much you love it.
If you don’t enjoy the bargain hunt (and I mean the hunt – tracking down those really great buys) then don’t do it, you’ll only end up buying something (that you’ll most likely not be happy with, and will therefore, not be a bargain) to justify the time you’ve spent shopping.
Just remember, if you don’t love it, don’t buy it – it’s not a bargain. If someone has to convince you to buy it (because you’re just not sure about the item), don’t buy it, no matter how ‘cheap’ it is – there will be a reason why you’re not really sure about it and you’re unlikely to wear it much.
Happy Bargain Hunting!
© Imogen Lamport 2010
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