How to avoid those tempting sales

Are you someone who waits till the end of the financial year or close to Christmas before you buy clothes because you love the sound of those tantalising sales promising great deals and incredible bargains?

Or are you feeling sorry that you’ve missed out on the bargains we’re currently hearing about (I’m writing this late June)? Perhaps you’ve bought loads of things and are now sheepishly regretting or questioning your recent acquisitions…

When something is presented to us as a ‘bargain’ it is only a bargain based on how valuable it is to us personally. If it’s something we’ve been wanting for a long time and we can get it at a cheaper price, then that is great. That may or may not be a bargain, but if it’s something we’ve been yearning for and it’s cheaper than we can ordinarily get it then that’s smart shopping.

Problems occur when we are tempted by the crafty and creative promotional messages for things we’ve never heard of, never yearned for and will probably forget the following day. Mistakes occur even more frequently if we’re shopping online. Those beautifully photographed clothes and accessories that promise to change our lives can really lure us in! We can end up buying things we don’t need, things we don’t want and things that end up being of inferior quality (promotional shots can be enticing but are rarely representative).

I am fairly good at judging product quality, but even I have been caught out by beautifully edited photographs of inferior products. I have learnt now never to purchase anything online unless I have seen and felt the product offline or at least have experience of an example of the brand’s previous work.

So what is the solution? How can we contain our temptation to buy things when they’re selling at reduced prices? The answer is to get more strategic about your wardrobe and what you need. This is not as boring as it sounds. It simply involves knowing how to identify the kinds of clothes that resonate with us.

Understanding what colours go with what, and particularly what colours work best for your own colouring, is a great starting point. A Colour Analysis will help with that if you’re unsure.

It is also important to understand what your unique personal style is and how to interpret that through clothing. Our personal style goes way beyond clothing but clothing is a significant element and is the outward expression of our personal style. Knowing how you want to present in the world and how you want people to perceive you is something we all think about, even if subconsciously.

Clothes convey messages and are the first thing that people use to understand who you are. Therefore it’s important to know how to read an outfit, and how someone might read your outfit. This might sound complex but we all do it all the time with whoever we meet; again it can happen on a subconscious level. The practice is a protective one and originates in the need to know if someone if friend or foe. Learning how to identify pieces that represent you is the kind of thing I go into in a Style Direction consultation.

Armed with this information, and understanding the particular styles of clothing that work with your body silhouette and general physicality, you will be able to shop more strategically and be more discerning. This will benefit your budget, your sense of satisfaction and the planet as you won’t be contributing to the ever-growing mountains of textiles headed to landfill.

By all means you will be tempted, as I am, by many beautiful clothes and accessories that are not likely to suit you or your current lifestyle. But we can all enjoy seeing these on other people and getting a greater sense of satisfaction knowing that the clothes we choose are great for us.

A final tip if you’re unsure; ask yourself if you’d still buy it is it were full price. If your heart skips a beat while you can honestly answer “hell yes”, then you have your answer!