How To Successfully Shop The Sales

It is that time of year again, the summer sales!  They seem to get earlier every year with many retails in New Zealand and overseas already offering some great bargains.

I am not a massive sale shopper (because I can't handle the crowds) but I like a good deal as much as the next person and years of experience buying things I didn't really need or never ended up wearing, have taught me some great strategies to make your sale shopping a success.

So here it is, my tips on how to shop the sales:

You need to have a strategy:

• Go through your wardrobe and think about what you actually need and know what you have so you can think quickly about how things will match up while you are in store. 

• Research what you want.  Look online and in store so you have things in mind and you are ready to hit the buy button or head to that rack as soon as the sale starts. 

• Get onto email lists for early notice and information.  This is especially good if you want to buy things online as you will get an idea of when to expect the sales of various retailers to start and then once you get the email you can jump online and buy fast.  

• Be a VIP.  Join loyalty programmes.  Retailers like Country Road will give an extra 25% to cardholders for the first couple of days of sale!  

• Look at upcoming trends by viewing catwalk reviews on websites such as ELLE UK.  This will help you invest in things that will flow through to the next season. 

• Invest in the best you can.  It is easy to buy trends on sale for great prices because, guess what, they are on their way out!  It is far better to buy investment pieces when (and if) they go on sale especially if they are normally out of your price range.   Great pants, jackets, coats, jeans, shoes and accessories are worth the investment.  

• It is also worth investing in things that are a bit special such as designer clothing that is less trendy and more of a statement.  Especially designers that only do small runs.  Miss Crabb and Karen Walker can be great for this.  Keep it simple by buying basic pieces (like a little black dress) that will last forever.  

• Take a trusted friend or family member shopping with you so that you can get some honest opinions (and give some in return) about whether something is really worth buying.  

• If shopping online then have a favourites list.  Online retails ASOS and Shopbop both let you save things to a favourites list and then when they do go on sale you can just go to your saved list rather than scanning through products to find it again.  Shopbop will even email you to let you know a favourite item has gone on sale!  

• Know what suits you!  It is easy to buy the wrong colours and styles when sale shopping because it can be really busy and the price becomes the decision maker.  Be clear on what's best for you and make sure you try things on before buying.   

• Finally, it is worth going through sample and second racks.  I have picked up some great sample pieces over the years and if they never ended up getting produced you have a very unique piece to add to your wardrobe.

• Most of all remember that nothing is a good deal unless you are going to wear it!  The price per wear principle is actually quite useful in this case.  A pair of jeans that cost $200 (but fit you perfectly and are great quality) worn at least once a week over 3 years work out to $1.28 a wear as opposed to $20 jeans worn twice (and sometimes looking sad after one wash!) that work out to be $10 a wear!

Happy Shopping!