The credit crunch, not the best time to be a student wanting to fund the wardrobe of a New York fashionista!
For me, personally, I find the temptation of walking around the city centre into beautiful high fashion stores such as Kurt Geiger and DKNY too much to bear, and I find myself spending over my monthly income on clothes that really if I’d of thought about it, could have saved myself some money by following my own advice (even though Kurt Geiger shoes are so unbelievably awesome). But, it’s not just fashion stores, I have the same problem in any highstreet store, take Topshop, Warehouse and Miss Selfridge for example; three of my all time favourite high street stores and still I could spend hours tallying up hundreds of gorgeous items and still spend way to much money.
So with much thought, I have decided that I need to do the responsible thing and become some kind of mini financial advisor, giving advice on how to save money when shopping online and on the highstreet. I have compiled a list of things we must do before heading out into the wild world that is the city centre.
CHECK & COMPARE – The world of online shopping is a fantastic place. If you need a certain type of outfit, look online as to what you can find, and then check around for the best price. If you have found an item that you are dying to buy, step back, check online at high street stores and shop around! It is amazing how identical some items can be. For example, I saw a beautiful dress on the gorgeous Jessica Alba last week so I looked around online and found an almost identical dress from the high street store, Zara.
ACCESSORISE – Let’s set the scene… you have been invited to a couple of events and unfortunately you can’t afford to purchase more than one outfit. It is so simple, accessorising can make an entire difference! Swap the shoes, the bag and a couple of gorgeous items and there you have it – two outfits at half the price (a little black dress is perfect for this.) The way you wear something can change it from a day time lunch outfit to a night time gorgeous chic look.
ONLY BUY THE NECESSARY – Like I’ve said, it is so easy to get carried away and buy too many clothes when you are in the city centre, so you must only buy what you need! Write a list if it helps.
CHECK THE LABEL – This is a must! CHECK THE PRICE TAG BEFORE YOU COMMIT. You might convince yourself that it is something you must have, but think about it realistically, can you afford it? I always make the mistake of walking up to a stunning item, not even checking the price tag and before I have even realised I am already putting my pin number into the card machine at the check out!
Written by Ellie Gooch
