The Art of Shopping

Ask anyone around me and they will tell you that I have a few problems. The biggest being my lavish shopping habits. But did you know that August is my absolute favorite time of the year? August is my Christmas and the month when my credit card will hit its limit, get paid off and hit its limit again. August, my friends, is the best time of the year.

August and stretching into early September is the time when I buy my year's worth of clothes. I admit, the thought of going back to school may be enough for a massive retail therapy. However, like the lady in ‘The September Issue’ stated: “September is the January of fashion”; August is the end of the year in Fashion and the time of the month when smart fashionistas go to town with their credit cards.

Take my favorite store Aritzia for example; they have their “Private sale” at the beginning of July. Their private sale then goes public in two weeks. But don’t be fooled by these “sales” because in these sales, the maximum discount you will receive is around 30 percent off of their regular price. Which is good until you see the price of the same merchandise again, in August.  In August, their whole store will be on sale with most items marked down by 50 to 75 percent. The start of Aritzia sale is followed by the start of the end-of-season-sales at all retail locations. And that does not only limit to physical stores, online retail stores will also start their sales around the same time.

One tip for shopping sales; keep an open mind, if the item is not exactly how you like it, see if alteration can be done to fix it. For example, I bought a 200-dollar snake-printed faux leather trench coat from Zara for 50 dollars. The only reason why it was not flying off the rack other than the daring print was that the jacket ends way pass the knee; from the back, it looked like you are wearing a snake-printed leather dress. However, a 20 dollar trip to the tailor yield a fantastic bold trench coat that still cost me less than half of the regular price.

But to say that I only shop once a year is a lie. Throughout the year, I continue to hit the sale sections in the mall and good Winners locations (where I once scored a Mackage studded leather jacket for 200 dollars). Or buy second hand items on ebay and kijiji. At times, I do splurge on things when they feel right. Like Pam’s friend Mary, you will know when the clothes feel right. It’s that feeling you get when you meet the love of your life as your heart skips a beat and you forget to breath.