‘£2000, the amount impulse shopping is costing over half of the British population a year’. This is a statistic that I read in Grazia a couple of weeks ago and it got me thinking of just how far I’ve come since becoming a Personal Stylist, you see that statistic was me! My old corporate life consisted of me sitting at my desk, bored and borderline addicted to online shopping and with free next day delivery services fuelling my addiction, my next impulse buy was always just a click away!
So what exactly is an ‘impulse’ buy? To me it’s something you buy on impulse without giving it much thought; you like it, you want it and so you buy it, whether or not it physically suits you or whether you need it doesn’t really factor in your decision making.
Roll on 7 years since leaving my old world behind I’m now a full time personal stylist, I know exactly what suits me and I own a well thought out capsule wardrobe I’m proud of. I’ve moved house 3 times since then and I remember putting away suitcases of clothes that I didn’t think I’d miss. I recently opened up these suitcases, excited to go down memory lane and I was shocked to see what I found. Firstly there were a lot of clothes but what was more than evident was that every one of those items, despite being lovely (I always had good taste) was either in the wrong colour for my ‘winter’ complexion or in the wrong shape for my ‘petite hourglass frame’! No wonder I wasn’t missing these clothes.
Wardrobe Styling is one of our key services as Style ME and if we’re at a client’s house 9 out of 10 times she is wearing only 20% of her wardrobe 80% of the time and the reason why she’s not wearing that 80% is because the majority of that was bought on impulse with many items still having the price tag on. These are their ‘one day’ items; clothes that they will wear when they’ve lost some weight, or go on that exotic holiday, or find the right accessories to match. With the help of one of our stylists they soon realise the real reason why they’re not being worn is actually because they don’t suit their body shape or colouring and therefore never will. I’m sure if you add up the price tags of these items it wouldn’t be too far of that £2000 mark!
So when is the time we are all almost programmed to shop on impulse? It’s during the sales! People can’t help themselves, they’ll buy that designer piece just because it’s in the sale and perceived as a bargain but trust me it’s not a bargain if it’s never worn, then that same item just becomes a waste of money!
And what about trend shopping? This summer the trend that’s everywhere is the off the shoulder dress; from Primark to Prada on every mannequin and I’m sure you’ve been tempted to buy one if you haven’t already done so and I’m all for it if it’s right for your body shape. Choose the one that works for your frame: go shorter if you’ve got great legs, wear a belted one if you’ve got a great waist but don’t wear one if you have large boobs and need a good support bra, it simply won’t suit you and the same dress you gushed over will soon end up in the back of your cupboard labelled as your mistake/impulse buy of summer 2017! Think back to the peplum top a couple of years ago, nearly every woman I met owned one but who did it actually suit? Nobody with a tummy and hips that’s for sure!
So I insist before you splurge out at the sales this summer ask yourself “does this really suit me and when will I really wear it?” don’t just look at the markdown % and if you’re not sure on what colours and style do suit you, get in touch and book a session with one of our stylists this will be the best investment you’ll make in yourself saving you plenty of money in the long run and creating you plenty of space in your wardrobe!