(See what we did there? Like the love child of ‘Got milk’ and ‘You’ve been tangoed’)
Laura Reynolds looks at the hype surrounding the collaboration.
Just a week to go until the man in red arrives...
January; commonly associated with post-Christmas blues, the tightening of purse strings and resolutions none of us intend on keeping. Feeling slightly depressed already? Well you shouldn’t be, as traditionally January ushers in ‘sale-mania’ across every high street in every town/city.
Nowadays, there is not as much hype surrounding the January sales, as the majority of stores currently have at least three annual sales throughout the year, or if you are Debenhams, one every weekend! Despite this, January is without doubt the best time to find a bargain, and the perfect chance to capitalise on the items you saw and couldn’t afford less than a month ago!
I ventured into York a couple of weekends ago on both Friday and Saturday and came away carrying a hefty load from the Topshop sales. Here’s how I got on...
The plan was for me and my housemate to hit town to pick up a few life necessities; bread, fruit and nail polish. Our route involved walking past the back entrance of Topshop, where the windows were smothered with posters advertising their "biggest sale yet", so we thought we'd walk through and take a peek. Probably the best decision made this year.
Topshop tend to resist massive sales throughout the year and before Christmas (not like Marks & Spencer!), preferring to save up the traditional suspense for January. I dived straight for the extensive jean rail, as I think most would agree Topshop do the best jeans in town. They had many different styles, for instance flared black and blue jeans, high waisted and straight style.
I would encourage you to pick a style that you usually go for and that you will actually wear rather that picking an unusual style and settling for it simply because it is reduced. I had a pair of skinny ‘Baxster’ jeans bought for me at Christmas and I love them to pieces so I hunted for a similar pair.
Result! I found a great pair of high-waisted jeans in a slightly lighter shade with different detail but fundamentally the same for £15, that’s £13.50 with NUS! The only snag was that my housemate also wanted the same pair. This was not an issue for us, however, as sale shopping is not about finding an individual item no one else will have, but a staple item that will be practical and last you through the seasons.
Last season’s items can always be updated to create key looks for spring/summer, for example sport nouveau.
A dilemma arose between me and my housemate during our browsing - should you buy an item in the sale when there are hundreds of them left on the rack? A common fear is that this item is undesirable and that it would be utterly embarrassing to purchase it. And then there's the worry that every time you turn a corner you're going to see someone wearing the exact same thing. But really, each person who buys the item will wear it differently, and add their own twist to it. The gray baggy cardigan my housemate snapped up is great for layering and extremely practical, so what's the problem?
Similarly I couldn’t help noticing several pairs of leather trousers on sale which no one appeared to be paying any attention to. This would be an excellent sale purchase as although leather trousers are no longer in season, they will surely return for encores in the autumn/winter collections of years to come. They are not a universally wearable item, but they are a good investment, even if you only wear them for Grease themed fancy dress parties.
Be sure to hurry yourselves along to the high street before the month is out to pick up a bargain that will come in handy for the rest of 2009!
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