I’ll be heading into the fray and checking out the sales today. I never go on Boxing Day or near thereafter. Partly because I prefer to lazily recover from Christmas. Partly because more extensive mark downs happen later in any case.
Here’s what I’ll be buying AND what I’ll be avoiding.
Christmas Wrap that works all year long.
With minimal wrapping being a bit of a trend, you can normally pick up a few rolls of a solid colour or a pattern that doesn’t sing “Noel”. Christmas wrap tends to be a of better quality and available in much longer rolls so I like having it in the cupboard for birthdays.
Small Gifts
Cosmetic gift sets will be marked down. So will the stocking filler small-sized hand creams and candles. It’s a good time to stock up on small items for thank you gifts – even if you have to separate out larger gift sets. Avoid Christmas food. The used-by dates are always suspiciously tight.
Bling
Huge statement earrings and necklaces will be in stores and promoted through to New Years. After that, there will be discounts. I suspect the floral crowns will also be reduced once the music festival season ends. Keep to mix and match into a fascinator or floral headband for the racing season. Small evening clutches are also likely to be cleared once all the glitter settles.
Swimmers & Beachwear
I always check out not just the bathers, but the throws, kaftans and hats as well. Often there are greater reductions on those beach necessities.
Wardrobe Gaps
I have been using (sporadic) spurts of inspiration between long stretches of laziness to de-clutter and re-asses. And write the occasional blog post apparently. I know where my wardrobe gaps are and those items are top of my sales list. However, I won’t buy them unless I love them. Buying something just because it’s a great bargain is false economy.
White T-Shirts & Singlets
While I love white, it doesn’t love me. Particularly t-shirting needs to be replaced regularly and it’s a good time of year to do it.
Christmas shirts for the kids in the next size up
Every year I like to have a Christmas shirt for the kids. Buying it at this time of year (provided there is anything decent left) is a frugal way to go. Same for Christmas fabric.
Early year birthday presents
Those birthdays in January and February are sneaky little things. I check the calendar for what’s coming up and keep a mental note to be on the look out.
Trans-seasonal Trends
There will be a lot of trend items sitting on clear-out racks. The trick is knowing which trends are going to last through to the next season. These are some key looks for Autumn 2017, based on what’s currently happening OS. Many will be in our stores in their summer incarnation – but they can always be styled for the cooler months:
- Pleated skirts
- Velvet
- Embroidery and lace
- Metallics
- Midi Skirts (full and pencil)
- Wide, cropped pants
- Lacing
- Military Style
- Frills & ruffles
- Florals (but in darker colours)
- Fringing (more chic tassels in muted colours)
- Slouchy, oversized silhouettes
I won’t buy anything without thinking about these things first:
- Do I need it?
- Do I love it?
- Where and how often will I wear it?
- Does it play nice with things I already own?
- Would I buy this if it wasn’t on sale?
- Is it really me?