The blink test

Ever been in a store where the shop assistants are saying the item looks great but you're not sure? You spend an hour umming & ahhing, you're confused, you try a gazillion angles....aagghhhh.

My rule - always walk away - if it takes this much trouble to decide whether its a "Yes", its a "No". However if you dont have this strength, the blink test will help you decide.

Anything that comes home with you cannot be an "ummm & ahh" nor an "it'll do" nor an "its OK". This will lead to a whole bunch of mediocre items that will spend more time in your wardrobe than on your back. Remember the 80/20 rule? We spend 80% of our time wearing 20% of our wardrobe....what an incredible waste of effort & money....

Any item that follows you home MUST be an "I love it", "its amazing", "I must have it", "I cant live without it".

Kinda like relationships...they dont get better over time.....reality sets in & nasty habits get revealed, raising the kids, mortgage, parents & in laws...well it gets worse, not better.

So what's the point of buying something that you think is merely average from the word go? You're hardly going to wear it....cost per wear (CPW) will stay high & you're wasting effort & money. I cant even put into words the impact on your confidence of having "a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear".

Q: So, assuming you dont like my above rule (& haven't walked away), how do you tell whether the item is a winner or a loser?

A: Do the blink test

The blink test will help you determine the impact of an item & whether it's positive or negative.

Here's how -

Close your eyes, facing the mirror, wearing the item.
Keep them closed for 5 seconds (this is important to clear your head of thoughts & pictures).
Then open your eyes, staring at yourself in the mirror.
In that first second, what's the first thing you notice?

It is recommended that you:

Buy the item if your answer is something like: my face, any positive body part especially if its above the waist and upwards

Be wary of buying the item if your answer is something like: my belly, my hips, my thighs or any negative body part (especially if its below the waist) or downwards.

I use this test all the time. It works 100% of the time.

Its a double check of whether I am spending my hard earned money wisely - after all, if an item passes the blink test, its more like to end up on your back more than your wardrobe and hence CPW (cost per wear) will going down. How cool is that?