Sale Shopping for Clothing

 

Reduced Price Choices

A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need.

- Sidney Carroll

Closet Content Analysis: Sale Items

NICE                   NO THANKS         NOTE-WORTHY            NEED          NEW

Buying something on sale is a very special feeling. In fact, the less I pay for something, the more it is worth to me. I have a dress that I paid so little for that I am afraid to wear it. I could spill something on it, and then how would I replace it for that amount of money?

- Rita Rudner

Now that you have analyzed your closet (Pre-Sale Closet Analysis)  to determine what you should buy on sale, it's time to go shopping. In France, the sale that begins the first week in July is a traditional time to stock up. However, in North America the spring and much of the summer wear is also on sale beginning the first week in July. By the end of July, the fall clothing will be displayed and you will say to yourself, "I might as well wait and buy something more fashionable for the fall."

This post offers 9 guidelines when sale shopping for clothing.

1 End of season shopping. As you approach the end of a season, begin "stalking" the pieces that price has forbidden you to buy previously. Stalking is also good for items that you want but don't necessarily need. Mark-downs are often progressive so that something that begins at 30% off when the end of season sales begin, could go down 50% or more over a three week period.

2 Re-place the classics. Buying the "classics" in colours such as black, grey, camel, and navy; pants and skirts; blazers and jackets; white button down man-style shirts; and simple tops in complementary colours can cut down replacement costs significantly.

3 Buy at your high end at a more comfortable price point, whether you are a discount or designer kind of shopper.
 

A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist.

- Franklin P. Jones

4 Buy only colours that you feel comfortable in. Buying a lime green cardigan, no matter what the price - if you're not fond of green, is not a bargain.

5 Be careful if choosing colour trends or trendy accessories from the preceding season. The shelf life is short and you probably will not want to wear it next year. (Excluding sample sales at the beginning of a season). An example presently is feather earrings. The only reasons anyone is wearing them right now are number one, they have them and two, they don't care because they still like them.

6 If it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit! Do not buy unless you are already on a weight loss program and are in the process of losing weight. However, do buy on sale as you are losing weight because you want to look good, no matter what weight you are, as you move down the scale.

7 Don't get talked into something by someone else. We don't see the items someone else likes, we see the items we like, so remember that when someone says, "I love this, try it on." Your response should be, especially if you don't love it is, "If you love it, you try it on." Perhaps that's a little abrupt, but I think you know my intent.

8 Don't shop for something specific such as "an outfit for my sister's wedding". You might settle for something you would never choose ordinarily just because of the price.

9 Be careful what you buy since most cannot be returned. Large department stores might allow returns, even on sale items, but small shops and specialized boutiques will have an "all sales final" displayed or stamped on their receipts.

Good luck in your sale shopping!

I've been shopping all my life and still have nothing to wear. 

- Author Unknown