how to shop smart

Shopping well comes from expeience. Online shopping and in-store shopping offer both pros and cons. Here are some general shopping tips to keep in mind.

People complain they don't have anything to wear albeit they have a overwhelming closet. It's because none of the clothes fit anymore or look good anymore.

My first tip is shop often.

You don't have anything to wear because nothing is on trend everything in your closet doesn't look right for the season.

I shop 10-15mins once a week. I don't have to buy anything but I just want to know how an item (ie. skirt) is styled on a front window display. Something in your closet can look new if styled differently.

2.  Check what colors are in season.

It's never that one color is in season it's more likely a color scheme is in season. Find different pieces in your closet that correspond to the color scheme which will update you look. If you don't have a particular piece with those colors, maybe you can splurge on one item that is in the color scheme of the season. 

3. Don't buy anything that you won't wear tomorrow or keep anything that you won't wear tomorrow.

Only buy things if you love it in the first sight and you have to love it. Don't buy something because it's good value. It will be sitting in your closet forever.

4. Check the prices.

If you're in the store, see if the store offers student discount. A lot of stores do offer student discount but they do not advertise it openly. Make sure you have a valid student ID with the clear expiration date for Club Monaco for 20% discount Topshop for 10% discount and Roots for 20% discount. Try on all of the clothes in the change room. Calculate every item with the discount plus the taxes included in the change room with  your phone calculator so you won't be surprised at the end.

If you're shopping online, make sure to Google shopping coupons or discount coupons before you conplete the transaction. Many online retailers offer 10% up to 30% discount when you sign up for their mailing list or follow them on social media sites. Also when you do sign up for the mailing list they may email you coupons which are not available for redeem in-store. The only con of online shopping is that you have to wait for the package to arrive and pay for shipping fees depending on how much you spend. American apparel offers 25 to 30% discount on your birthday and sometimes they have exclusive online offers then you won't be able to find in store. Make sure you check all exchange and return policy before purchasing online. It's a real hassle to deal with exchanges and returns via shipping methods. I use retailmenot.com to find any coupons available before I transact. 

5. Check material, fit, and size before purchasing anything online. Some sites offer user reviews. Read those before purchasing to see if there's any defect or continuous dissatisfaction with the item by customers. Research on fabric to see if it's delicate, needs dry cleaning or is durable. It's also important to check how the item will fit on you. Unless you have a body of a model, certain item is going to fit differently and look differently on you.

6. Shop thoroughly. Consider all options before purchasing. Even when you just went through the rack, go through the same rack from the other side. You'd be surprised to see how a dress looks different on a hanger from the left and right. 

These are some of the tips that may be crucial on your next shopping experience! I'm heading to a warehouse sample sale for local boutique on 1310 East Pender St. (11am-6pm)

Follow your favourite brand or shop on instagram, pinterest and facebook for special sale events, exclusive discounts, and updates on new arrivals!

More tips coming up!

Fashion Job Hunt

Scene from "Devil Wears Prada"

Every pretty girl with great taste wants to work in fashion. From everyone who likes to dress themselves to shopaholic want fabulous jobs which they could get all the perks from. I, for one thought as myself that way. Despite graduating from university and working as an accountant at a Real Estate office, I still wanted to work in fashion industry. After all those years of itty bitty retail positions, I still want to work in fashion. I have held a nice, stable, salary-based job, but I am challenging myself to jump into the pool of applicants of the fashion industry job pool. I thought working for fashion was frivolous, empty-headed, obsessive and down-right snobby. People who still think fashion is dictated and think fashion is everything oh-so-serious are over their heads. What I want to do is to educate, inform the public of what are on trend and offer them choice from a wide variety of selection of style. It's never the question of "What's on trend?" but what ARE the things that are weather, region-appropriate and still look fashionable? There's never THE ONE trend, even in fashion magazines, they feature multiple trends to showcase imaginations and talents of designers. 

To be able to influence the business of fashion industry, I realized that working as a sales associate is never-ever going to help (well unless you know someone who's really really on top of the ladder). I find increasingly that companies do not want to hire from within or if they do in some cases, one would have to work way longer to achieve the same goal. To be considered a promotion, from sales associate to an employee of a head office, they would have been working for that company at least for couple years and by that time, their wage has gone up so in order to promote someone, they would have to hire them on a higher wage rather than hiring someone outside the company who will do the same job for way less money (because job hunting is a bitch). It's just the way the world works. So I decided to quit being a sales associate and try to apply for influential position (such as an assistant buyer). 

Now, as a possessor of soft skills (client service, administrative skills, interpersonal skills) rather than having a software engineer skills, it gets difficult to stand out of all the people who have soft skills. A buyer, according to many career sites of Forever 21, Ross and etc, a buyer does not have to possess any required licenses or particular degree. Many of buyer postings are skills such as mathematical skills (% of sales, profit margins, etc. which you will know if you graduated from high school), negotiation skills and leadership skills. These skills are learned and can be trained on the job site. So with a little bit of experience, anyone can be a buyer. This makes the competition much much larger. Everyone will want to apply for this job. Furthermore, a lot of apparel industry head offices are in LA and New York, which makes the application pool a whole lot bigger. As a Canadian, I am in peril. 

I have applied to FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) in LA to see if with the program there, I could be considered, mildy considered for a job in the US. I completed my entrance project and got accepted. My only concern is the program costs $30,000 for an associates degree which is more costly than my Bachelor's degree. I am in a quandary. Will this program get me ahead? Will it be worth it in this economic state? I really do not want to become a slave (unpaid intern) or a minimum-wage sales associate in a fashion industry after I do this program.