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Its Sale Season! 5 Quick Tips For Serious Shoppers

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year – yes, ladies, it’s Sale Season!! If you’re a serious shopper (and bargain hunter) like me, it’s time to get some real damage done (as in credit card- but remember, its a bargain!),  and hopefully set yourself up with some terrific pieces for the year ahead.

Here are 5 tips to get the best deals and have a blast doing it:

1. Be An Early Bird – The cardinal rule in shopping, whether it be for a designer sample sale or at your farmers market for organic veg.  My sister, who works nights, does her grocery shopping at 7pm and always ends up with the lousy produce.  Duh? If shopping for shoes especially, the size 7 and 8’s are gone in a flash if you aren’t early. So set that alarm early ladies, it pays.

2. Make Time – You need time and patience to do a good shop. Trust me, a frenzied trip to a sale on your lunch break is not a good idea.  Clear your schedule for a couple of hours of good, solid shopping time. And do go through the items with patience, no matter how haphazard presentation may be – remember, amidst the polyester there may be some cashmere.

3. Grab as You Go– When scouring a sale, grab items that take your fancy, then edit later.  If you hesitate and think that you can “come back for it later”, chances are it will be gone.

4. Dress Appropriately – Yes, you should always look stylish, but when I’m on a serious shopping trip I like to dress for ease in the changing room.  A pair of tight, skinny jeans, for example, is a nightmare to take on and off in the changing room, as are shirts with too many buttons or other fiddly bits. You want an outfit that is easy to throw on and off when trying on multiple items of clothing.

5. Be Resourceful -Be friendly to sales staff at your favourite shops and they are likely to keep you in the know – when new sales stock is coming in, what may be hidden in the stockroom etc.  Online is also a good place to hunt for bargains when you just can’t face the crowds any longer.  Some good options are:

Designer Warehouse Sales

Shop Bop

Secret Sales

Don’t Get Fooled By A “Skinny” Mirror

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collana01I am sure you have had your share of experiences with “skinny” mirrors. These are mirrors which are not thin or small in dimension, but mirrors which show you a reflection of yourself that is thinner or slimmer than is real. I see a lot of these mirrors everyday! The elevators in our building make me look slimmer. The mirrors in the office bathroom do the same. Needless to say, I like looking at myself in those mirrors.

The sad truth is that these reflections are not for real; they are illusions; and when you face a “REAL” mirror, reality sinks in. One of the worst things that can happen in this regard is when you go to a shop and try on clothes. I do not have conclusive proof about this, but I have a suspicion that some shops may have skinny mirrors.

Have you ever experience trying on a dress at the store and thinking to yourself, “Wow I look good!” Then when you come home and look at yourself wearing the exact same dress (less than an hour later) but at a different mirror, you get a whole different image? Of course, you can always return or exchange the dress, but I can just imagine how adversely affected your moral may be.

The bottom line: know the status of your body, feel comfortable in your own skin, and know what looks good on you. This way, you don’t have to be too affected just in case a skinny mirror gets you!

Photo courtesy of Adverblog

How To Be A Successful Sales Shopper

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The “recession” has taken its toll on a lot of people, and I am pretty sure that you have not been exempt. If there is one thing that I have learned during these difficult financial times, it is that I should go hunt for good bargains on clothes and accessories without having to sacrifice on fashion. Here are my best tips on being the most successful bargain shopper ever!

Shop off season
If you’re smart, you would have bought your swim suits and bikinis months ago. That’s what I did and I was able to amass a variety of suits for dirt cheap! If you haven’t, then let’s just say that you have been very busy and had not had the time to go shopping for swimsuits. Anyway, the point is, buy sweaters during summer, summer clothes during winter. Get it?

Sales people are your best friends
They can be irritating, especially when they hover. I hate hovering. I detest it. But think about it, sales people can give you an advantage. Don’t take them for granted. They can give you priceless tips on upcoming sales and even do you favors such as holding pieces for a day or two (this works especially with small boutiques).

Coupons and buy-one-get-half-price deals are not always good
Coupons are good right? And half price deals? Well, not always. Most of the time, there are stipulations such as having to make a purchase first before getting the deal. While you do get the discount for your next purchase, you still get to spend more than you planned on, making the discount not so much of a deal anyway.

Got tips of your own?

Hand-Painted Vintage Clothing: Get Unique

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If there is one thing that trendsetters have in mind, it is that they want to look unique.  I know many people whose worst nightmare is showing up at a party (or any gig for that matter) and finding another girl wearing the same exact same dress.  Wake me up!!!

That is why I love going for the vintage look.  The idea behind vintage is that while you get that unmistakable aura of something coming from a time before now, you tend to get pieces that are not likely to have been replicated, right?

Well think again.  I would be the first to admit that the chances of finding two similar (or maybe even the same!) items of vintage clothing are quite high.  Sad to say, vintage clothing is not always one of a kind.

But what if you really have this thing going on for vintage?  Should the chances of bumping into someone else wearing the same dress put you off?

My answer’s a definite no!  Instead, why not follow this tip from Mary Kincaid of Style  Hive? She suggests going for hand-painted vintage clothing, for the very reason I have outline above:

Let’s not kid ourselves…not every piece of vintage clothing we see is totally unique. When you’ve been buying and wearing vintage clothing as long as I have, you occasionally find yourself shopping the thrifts or online sites and seeing something very familiar. It takes just a moment and then you realize you either have the exact same item in your own closet or you’ve sold it in the past. And I’m always surprised how frequently this actually happens. So that’s why I’m a complete sucker for any hand-painted vintage pieces–each one is totally unique. And there’s something very special about wearing a custom-made piece that exhibits someone’s artistry.

Indeed, hand-painted anything normally offers that one of a kind look that many of us look for.  Start your hunt now!

Finding The Perfect Jeans: The Inverted Triangle

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I’m not exactly what you would a call a jeans person, unlike some of my friends who practically live in theirs and own literally hundreds of pairs.  At this stage in my life, I have about 4 pairs in my closet (the ones pre- my last pregnancy are folded up in storage in the hopes the one day….), two blue (one dark with lighter stiching, one my all-round comfy Levis), one white (not used very often), one black (I got this soon after having the baby, so its fit now is very odd) and one “skinny”.  With all that skinny-jean craziness last year, the consumer victim that I am, I purchased a pair that I have to say I never liked much.  Why? It was so darn uncomfortable!

So when I found the “Jeans That Fit” videos in Video Jug (love that site!), I was pleased to find that the reason skinny jeans and I never meshed was because I was an “inverted triangle” and the big rule of that is :“No Skinny Jeans!”. Aha!

In the video, Natasha from the The Blue Jeans Bar in L.A. shares her jeans expertise, giving three simple tips for each body type. For me, the inverted triangle, which pretty much means I am top heavy, with broad shoulders and slim below, here’s what she said:

1. CUT: go for wide leg, boot cut, low rise, contoured waist

2. COLOUR: go for whiskering/ distressed fromt area to widen hips, lighter wash and fading in the knee area.

3. STYLE: go for stiching in the front pockets, cuffs to draw the eye down and balance the look.

and of course, the rule of : No Skinny Jeans!

Other body types featured on the videos are the apple, pear, boyish and hourglass shapes.  Watch and learn!