Meet Bargain Bev

Do You Like a Bargain?

As it's full on sale season I'm introducing you to my mate Bargain Bev...she’s a bugger for a ‘good deal’.

She loves to shop in the sales and TK Maxx is one of her favourite shops.

She has wardrobes stuffed full of clothes many of which still have the tags on, dresses, tops, trousers, jeans, t-shirts, jackets, coats... – you name it.

It's the Lure of the ‘WAS’ Tag...

She can’t leave it there for the price and because it’s in the sale or TK Maxx she feels that it’s a bargain. She is lured by the ‘WAS’ numbers on the price tag i.e. WAS ￡113 now ￡27.

She impulse buys and because she can’t resist a bargain it’s compounded by the ‘it might not be here next time I come’ mentally.

Her shopping focus is on how much she’s saved not how much she’s spent on stuff she didn’t need. Ring any bells???

She LUUURVES a Bargain...

This means that she might buy things that don’t even fit - unless she loses half a stone or has the leg length shortened. (But she never gets around to doing either of these things.)

So the bargain price isn’t so much of a bargain anymore because it’s ￡113 worth of a pair of trousers that Bev only paid ￡27 for to just gather dust in the wardrobe.

Never Anything to Wear though...

The trouble is with Bargain Bev she never has a plan when she goes shopping. She doesn’t think about the stuff she already has and what she might need to fill a gap.

(She probably doesn’t even remember half the stuff she has.) This is why she still never has anything to wear despite the massive amount of stuff in her wardrobe(s).

For example, it might be that by adding a navy blue jacket to her collection of clothes she’d all of a sudden be able to wear it with several other items and they all then become outfits suitable for work.

Till Thrill

She has all kinds of styles and shapes of dresses, skirts, trousers, jackets etc in all sorts of fabrics and colours.

She is not really tuned into whether or not things will actually suit her or even fit in with her lifestyle because she’s too blinkered by getting a bargain. She loves the thrill at the till of getting something at a reduced price regardless of the suitability.

Cash in the Closet

She could probably pay for a trip around the world or a new car with all the money she has ‘saved’ if you totted up all the price tags on the unworn stuff. ..

Or put it another way - if she only bought things that suited her colouring, body shape, lifestyle and personality, all of which she could actually wear she might not have a load of cash tied up in unworn items in her wardrobe.

Save Time and Money

Many of my clients comment on how much money and time they save when they go shopping once they’ve had their colours ‘done’.

This is even more so if they understand their personal style and which shapes of clothing suit their particular body shape.

You can literally scan the rails in a shop (even in the sales) and pick out colours from your palette.

You no longer consider the items not in your palette to be a bargain because you know that you’ll probably never wear them.

You don’t buy things that don’t flatter your body shape despite the knock down price because you know it won’t do anything for you.

Top Tip for Sale Shopping

In terms of sale shopping my top tip is to ask yourself this ‘would I be loving this quite so much if it was full price?’ If the answer is no then you might want to just put it back on the rail.

On the other hand if you see something you really love but don’t want to pay full price for you could take a gamble in it being reduced later in the season.

Some brands have mid season sales or ‘flash sales’ that are very short notice and usually 20% off for 48 hours or similar. If you have favourite brands it’s worth signing up for their mailing lists and following them on social media to keep informed.

Cost per Wear

Another top tip is to use the Cost per Wear calculation to see if something is worth it or not.

For example 

If you spend ￡100 on a pair of shoes that you know you’ll wear at least three times a week for work all year round, they work out at ￡1.44 per wear.

￡100 / 144 days = ￡1.44 per wear assuming you have 4 weeks annual leave.

Spend ￡40 on a pair of party shoes that go with a particular dress, wear them just 3 times and they work out much more expensive than the ￡100 ones at ￡13.33 per wear.

Do you know Bargain Bev? 

Be a good friend to her..tell her about me - it really will be a fabulous investment for her and will teach her how to be more shopping savvy as she learns about colours and styles that suit her. No more fashion faux pas...

Colour analysis is ￡99 for an online consultation. DM me to book.