My wish for you...

This post is using ballet flats as an example. 

But the post can apply to anything really. 

I am not just talking about shoes, be they loafers or heels or sandals or pumps. 

Nor just clothing or accessories. But any item of white goods or garden thingey or car thingey. Or any thingey. 

Hopefully you've just noticed my extra articulate way with stuff in the garden or the garage. I am very good like that.

Let's set the scene.

You've been looking at ballet flats.
The high street is on sale so the $200 flat is now $120. That's 40% off.

What I wish for you is a better quality item than you envisaged, at a price that competes with the high street.

But for this wish to work, you need to ignore the fact that the high street ballet shoe have gone on sale. That's code for the reduced high street price will not become your new benchmark for what you are willing to pay for ballet flats. You need instead, to focus on the better quality item and it's long term value, rather than any short term prices. 

You see I know you can afford the high street price of $200.
How do I know?
From years of dealing with Western women & their wardrobes. See, you're not destitute, you're not living on a park bench. You probably have a family, children, a mortgage.

I am sure you can pinch $20 here & there, so that you could still pay $200 if the sale hadn't occurred. 

The only reason you didn't is because you CHOSE to shop on sale. You've been conditioned, by all sorts of things, to think cheaper is better. 

Reasons, eh?

* Australians in general dont value spending money on image (say compared to the Europeans, where part of a girls upbringing is to learn how to look good)
* Aussies & Americans tend to value quantity (turnover) over quality compared to the Europeans
* Fast fashion has just taken a foothold in Australia & Aussies are still enjoying the ride.
* Spending on personal items like clothing is viewed as frivolous and unimportant.
* The sales are on so often that you deserve the reduced price or would be a fool to pay RRP.

As a result, it's easy to re-direct your clothing budget to something else - the cars, the holidays, the kids, the investment property, entertainment & experiences. 

On the wrong side of 30:

But now, on the wrong side of 30 (you & me both sister!), cheaper is generally not better. Because you can only look so good when you are older, with cheap clothes. 

Don't take this & go on a downer, but when your "young & beautiful", your youth & beauty can carry most things. Including cheap clothes.  

So back to the wish....when the better brand gets reduced, I wish for you to grab it & hold tight. After all, it's within ball park of the original high street price, if not cheaper. 

Did I mention, grab it & hold for dear life? 

Here, the better quality is a David Jones Milana flat, original price was $250, now reduced to $175. They are made in Italy, they are sturdy & stand upright. 

It's no surprise that $175 is within the original high street range of $200. If you start looking for reductions on the better brands, you will find them. I promise you that.  

Unlike the made in China/India cheapies at Wittner, Nine West & Aldo, where the sides fall down & scrape the ground or your toes distort the outer layer due to poor lining. Or no lining. 

Out comes the calculator. The current reduction is 30% off.
If you are not experienced with how stock moves & the pace of further reductions, take the current price & watch what happens next. 

Because a good quality piece at 30% off is much better value than no piece at 50% off. Something about a bird in the hand comes to mind. 

As you go along, you will get a much better feel for whether to take it now or wait another week or two or three. You also get a better feel for where to spot the quality brands - because it's certainly not in the cheap & cheerful stores you have been frequenting up til now.  It could be pre loved, on line, certain stores in certain suburbs, swap groups, etc etc. 

My Armani experience:

A good example for me is jackets. I am a jacket nut. Out of the house, I wear them all the time. But I would never ever touch a high street jacket any more & havent for many years. I go straight to ebay & buy pre-loved Armani black label. I know how it fits, I know the styles, I know it will love me as much as I love it. This isnt knowledge I was born with - I learnt it over time. So if the Witchery jacket is $250 or the Saba jacket is $400, the Armani RRP is $2K & I score it for (usually) less than $120. Including shipping. No guesses for which one looks amazing forever & which one looks like crapola after a season.   

Get out of your comfort zone or go backwards: 

Alot of women I have met, don't want to go out of their comfort zone & search new, better quality stores. Yet they whinge (all the time) about how unhappy they are with the high street offerings. When I see these women, (who I know enjoy shopping), there is nothing I can say to them, other than hire me to do it for you, or keep quiet if you don't take my suggestions. Harsh? What would you say after making the same suggestions time & time again and hearing the same complaints.  

Quality feeds your confidence

If none of this has convinced you, quality speaks volumes. It says more about who you are & what you stand for than most of the things you actually say. If you buy quality, you will look better & you will feel better. Your confidence will grow and you will be more effective in all areas of life as a result. If that doesn't convince you, nothing will.