BE A SMART SHOPPER – KNOW WHAT NOT TO BUY!

With discounts going higher by the minute, new collections hitting the stands, new designers emerging everyday with the most interesting designs to offer, fashion magazines displaying the best and facebook pages along with social media pushing us ever harder to buy every garment & accessory that we set our eyes on….is there something that we, women shouldn’t buy?
YES! There’s a lot that we’d be better off not buying. Let me present to you a little guide here that will help you be a smart shopper.

PLEASE DON’T BUY:

• Trends that people are going a bit too crazy about. A lot of these trends end up as fads. The cat eye-liner for instance is being endorsed by many but does it have the potential to really become a trend? I have sincere doubts. Why not wait a bit and take a more pragmatic approach when endorsing a trend? Endorsing fads only make you look silly and fickle.
• Clothes that don’t fit you and cannot be altered either. A lot of stores don’t provide alterations esp. during sales. So much for customer service! We end up buying oversized clothes thinking we’ll get them altered which never happens. They keep lying in our cupboards, wasted…and we get over these clothes without even wearing them. So when you are buying a garment that asks for alteration, make sure it CAN be altered. Also make sure that you are up to taking the effort of going to your tailor because that’s the more difficult part.
• Delicate and expensive clothes that cannot be dry cleaned. However tempting they might look, expensive clothes that cannot be worn at least a few times offer no value for money. Stay away from them!
• Cheap and ill-fitting lingerie. Good lingerie is usually a little expensive but it offers good fit and comfort. Wearing ill-fitted lingerie not only gives you discomfort but also disfigures the body structure in the long run. At the same time cheap lingerie looks extremely tacky esp. when showing through sheer clothes or strappy & figure-hugging outfits. Check out brands like La Senza. They offer decent to good quality undergarments & lingerie that are quite trendy and give great discounts during sales.
• Brand misfits. Don’t get carried away by heavy discounts offered by international brands or brands that you cannot otherwise afford. If you are carrying a Marc Jacobs bag (because you were traveling abroad and found one at a serious discount), make sure that the rest of your outfit is not cheap or out of sync with the international identity that you have created for yourself with the Marc Jacobs.
• Buy looks not trends. Lastly, a smart shopper will buy a shirt, jeans or dress that goes with the shoes or accessories that she already has and vice versa. There are clothes that ask for a certain kind of footwear or accessories to be teamed with and unless that is done, they just don’t look good enough.
  Shop smart!