The big red four letter word

Everywhere you turn there is a sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. Sale. I'm not talking DFS either, more like every single shop that I love (and that's a lot) is adorned with special offers, reductions and utterly tempting bargains.

Ok, I don't need anything, but just seeing that big red four letter word is enough to send any shopanista fleeing to the rails. However, my new mantra being "I don't need that (even if I really want it), there is nothing more to do than to walk away and breathe. Of course, I am allowed to have a quick peek to feed my temptation, but this kind of looking involves my eyes and not my debit card.

So in the spirit of sale, I have found some tips on how to effectively manouver around the sales, making sure you get things worth having and not last season's cast offs. However, if you are off on your hols, get your bikinis now - cheap as chips.

1. Stock up on basics; jerseys, vests, underwear, jeans.

2. Make a list of things you need (possibly one item of what you want) before you leave the house and make sure you stick to it.

3. Shop online to stop being caught up in the crazed sale shopping crowds.

4. Buy it because you love it not because of the price or label.

5. Buy things that actually fit. It may be the bargain of the century but if it looks like its about to rip at the seams, leave it.

6. Ask yourself, 'when will I wear it?' Something that will sit in your wardrobe for months because you haven't gone to that special event yet is a waste.

7. Finally, if you're really prepared and style-savvy, take a look at next season's trends and pick items that will reflect this. Super style on a shoe string budget, now that's a real bargain.

The Levi that nearly got away

The denim jacket will always be in fashion. Of course, there are seasons past and seasons to come where this staple won't be unearthed from the wardrobe, but safely waiting for its fashionable next appearance.

So to describe my relief (with some thanks to my dad) when I found my lovely Levi's denim jacket all ready for SS10. Just a few years ago, probably the last time I discovered that I owned the said jacket as a result of a clear-out, I placed it neatly onto the charity bag pile.

Thankfully my for once fashion forward father showed something a little less of disgrace at my fleeting moment of style insanity and told me to keep it. And thank the stars that he did. I am getting lots and lots of wear out of it these days, not bad for something I snapped up at TKMaxx for around 20 quid years ago.

As promised...

Here are some of the other photos from last weekend's Clothes Show London, enjoy.

Going cold turkey

You have been waiting patiently in line for the checkout when finally it is your turn to claim your prize, to hand over the cash knowing that one swipe later, the gorgeous must-have items that you have scoured from the rails will be yours. Yours to wear with confidence and yours to love and to cherish. But hold on a minute, don’t you already have tens of t-shirts like the one you are handing to the happily waiting cashier? Don’t you have two or three skirts to go with that fabulous chiffon blouse that you have not got round to wearing yet? Well, yes probably, but who’s asking?

Then suddenly as you are caught up in your very own catwalk moment while your card is being authorised, the now not-so-friendly sales assistant promptly and not-so-discreetly tells you that your card has been declined. DECLINED. Fashion fantasy over, finance reality is staring you in the face.

The trouble with shopping is that there comes a point where self control is the must-have accessory, never mind the hot new tasselled clutch that has just arrived at Topshop. Self control and the idea of putting sense before lust is something that I must learn and really put into action. This may involve just steering clear of the rails emblazoned with sale stickers and ‘just in’ logos but fundamentally it has to be about building up a wardrobe that I can be happy with for months and not feel the need to buy something to add to my vast collection of clothes at every retail stop I take.

It sounds drastic, I know. And as a student with little income and even littler disposable cash, I have decided that for now, going cold turkey is the answer, at least until my bank account sees the light at the end of the tunnel anyway. This means that over the next couple of months I will do my best to buy absolutely no clothes, zilch, nada. So my journey to becoming a more sensible shopper begins here and I will document my progress herein. I am not willing to be confronted by another sympathetic shop worker any time soon, but I can still allow myself to live in a fabulous, fantasy-ridden world of fashion, wish me luck.