Your favourite designer is having their annual sale, with hordes of screaming teen girls with sharp elbows and . . . wait a minute. . . goods that are still over $200? But you still want to go; because it’s THAT designer’s famous annual sale and can’t be missed don’t you know! I can be a terribly logical person and some may find that weird. But what I find weird is standing in a queue, outside in the rain, only to get inside the sale, jostle girls who look like they should be at school rather than a sale, and find that there’s actually nothing left worth buying anyway and the goods that are worth buying, are either massively sized or still out of my budget range. Sales. They can be the most amazing and gratifying experiences of your life, or the most traumatic and blood pressure rising. Read on to find out how to get the best out of a sale.
Be prepared.
Your first reaction is probably: boring! But knowing what’s in your closet will all but eliminate impulse buys you’ll regret later. How will you know what to pair that amazingly priced pair of print pants with if you don’t already know what’s in your closet?
Research the sale.
If it’s a designer sale then you can fairly safely guess that the sale will be stocked with last season’s goods. This means you can jump online and note down any styles that you fancy and make a beeline for these at the sale. Cutting down aimless browsing time will see you more likely to walk out with something you really want.
Need over want.
Again, OMG BORING! Seriously though, search through your closet before you go to remind yourself of what you actually NEED to add to your closet. Did you just buy your fifth skirt and still haven’t worn any of them? Score a cheap cute sheer blouse, a cropped jumper or a plain tee to wear with the skirts (or all three) and you will have increased the number of your outfits by at least five (or fifteen). . .
Haberdashers bargains.
Head for the rack with defective samples or stock or ask the store manager if they have one/what they do with damaged goods. Sewing on a missing button or tacking up a 2cm dropped hem will get you an extra $50 off the item at least. And you don’t even have to be that handy with a needle and thread, YouTube is a wealth of sewing tutorials. If you find an item that has defects but isn’t marked down to reflect them, be brave, go and find the store manager and suggest a discount.
Buy out of season, online.
So many of our favourtie brands have online stores, beat the crowds and shop 24 hours a day. How convenient!
Come back in a fortnight to learn online shopping secrets.
Sarah Smith | www.therationaldresser.com