Christmas holidays, hell ya. This jolly time of the year is associated normally with two favourite things:
ONE) beloved family & friends gathering around the festive dinner table, a priceless time spent;
TWO) long waited Xmas sales, a not so priceless time spent.
Crazy reductions scream from every retailers’ window, both physical and online. Additional sale discounts try to trap us and open our wallets immediately. “GET IT BEFORE IT’S GONE, “BUY NOW OR CRY LATER”, “BOUGHT THIS ON SALE SO I ACTUALLY MADE MONEY” are all quite popular quotes among shoppers. Beautiful bargains hide from every rail and corner. It might look like a heaven to us, but in reality it’s actually a hell, full of cheap unneeded temptations.
So what could go wrong with shopping during sales?
Well, peaches, let’s start with a bit of facts.
The average woman spends 8 years of her life SHOPPING. (USA research). Yep, you read that right. What brings us back to shops all the time is an emotional thrill related to shopping.
See, every purchase we make triggers a short lived fulfilment in our brain that lasts 9 seconds. This positive effect relieves stress momentarily making us forget our problems.
Our mind feeds on this emotion and quite naturally tries to repeat it as often as it can so to keep us in this positive mood loop for longer.
So shopping therapy is actually a real therapy for a reason. Scientifically the one to blame is Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in pleasure(bargain) and motivation (buy it).
The aftermath normally comes once we get back sober from this feeling. Most times we end up with clothes that hang on the rail that we never tend to wear. These purchases dry our emotions, and our wallet too. Ouch!
To avoid such bitter disappointments, as an ex-shopaholic that used to wake up at 4a.m. to be first at shops I sum up my 5 golden tips for successful shopping during sales. Promise to keep you happy with your purchases, during and most important long after that:
1) GO PREPARED
What I mean here is make a list of the things you want. It could be as generic as “a knitted jumper in red” to quite specific “those patent shoes with the chunky trainer soles in red”.
This will keep you focused and determined on the set targets. Moreover, it will fill your wardrobe with the items you truly love and need. I personally make a small list on my desktop. Why small? Because we get to the next point.
2) LESS IS MORE
You don’t need many things, you need one or two, that work like many. Versatile, stylish and easy to combine with most of your items. The magic behind: if something is successful to our brain (such as comfortable and light to wear, makes us confident, gets a lot a compliments), it will straight away try to duplicate that effect by wearing it again. That is why we end up wearing most of the time the same shoes over others, the same clothes over others. So when shopping, make sure the sale time will recreate this magic. Plus, less items to buy, less time spent.
3) THE RULE OF RECALL
My number ONE tip.
If you liked something, walk away from it for an hour. If your memory could recall it later, then it truly is for you. If not, well, there’s no real love here, honey. And no love means no point buying it.
And do not regret if it's gone once you are back. What's meant for you, will find you. If not, something better will pop up instead.
4) IS THIS A TREND OR NOT
Ask yourself when making a decision. If it’s a trend, stay away from it as after a month it will be long gone and forgotten. If it’s an item that would stay relevant even after two-three years, then it’s worth buying it. That way it will be part of your style, rather than it turning you into a trend. This question I always ask myself. ALWAYS.
5) DO I HAVE SOMETHING SIMILAR ALREADY
We all, stylish peaches, get triggered by the same things over and over again. No matter if we talk about plain black trainers, leopard patterns shirts, beautiful floral dresses, junky knitted sweaters, bold colours or crazy prints. The point is: for each one of us the trigger is repetitively present. That’s why we often end up shopping for things we already have in our wardrobe.
Avoid this frequent mistake as between two similar items one of them will always be loved more, therefore worn more. Buy things that will enrich your wardrobe rather than stocking on a favourite item constantly.
Follow these 5 simple rules and I promise you the fulfilment from your sale purchases would stay years longer than just mere 9 seconds. It’s the feeling of a smart, wise spent choice beyond rapid worthless temptations that makes us strong and proud.
For a final, something very important: never go shopping when you are not emotionally stable. Seek professional or friends’ therapy, not a shopping one.
Always devoted to style,
Yvailo
xoxo
