Carry On Spending Through The Hard Times - Fashion On The Mind

I saw on GMTV today that women are continuing to spend money on clothes, despite the credit crunch knocking at our doors. Women are quite determined when it comes to shopping and i think this just goes to show that even when we are debt-ridden, we cannot hold back from spending on the high street. We've got to have some positives with the credit crunch, right?

A report by Elle, based on 4000 women, highlighted the fact that 70% of women thought about buying new items of clothing "nearly every day". As a woman myself, i am going to do little to disprove this theory, because i too think about buying new clothes every day. But thinking about it and actually doing it are two different things.

A quarter of women also said they spent between £25 and £100 a month simply on shoes. Taking into consideration that a decent pair of shoes may cost about £50, then this might not seem a lot to some women. I guess women just prioritise; some will buy shoes once a month and some will buy bags.

Interestingly, the Elle report also showed that 94% of women admitted to having clothes in the back of their wardrobe that they had never worn. Guilty! It is just one of those things; you have to have it in the shop but when you get it home, it just becomes another dress, or another skirt...

It seems women still need to splash the cash in order to remain positive. Despite the hard economic times, giving up what we love would be insult to injury, because we have to have something to keep us happy. Its like going out for dinner; i am curious to know if we are all going to stop dining out because of the credit crunch? Where i live, nothing has changed - restaurants are just as busy as they have always been - even during the week.

I think this report just goes to show that we are used to our luxuries and giving them up isn't going to come without a fight....

Bargain Hunters...

If you love shopping for female fashion then there is no better place to find a bargain than on eBay. With an endless supply of fashion listings, it's no wonder that eBay is so successful. Statbrain.com has estimated that there are 12,021,367 visits per day to eBay.co.uk, which i am sure you will agree is a staggering amount of traffic. With that in mind, there is sure to be something you see on there that you feel compelled to purchase (as I do; on frequent occasions).

If the thought of buying female fashion on eBay fills you with horror, it's probably because you associate eBay with buying used clothes. But this is definitely not the case, as there are many sellers out there who are parting with genuine items still with their store tags on the garments! Even a brand new item such as this can be saving for you, since you will generally find clothing sells for less than it would in store. Unless, of course, you are looking for that inimitable designer runway piece that was a limited edition of about 10. Then you're probably going to have to splurge some serious cash to get what you want.

I have been ranting about eBay for ages. trying to get my friends to sign up and share the love, but unfortunately i have had a losing battle with them, since they say they do not want to get 'hooked' and it is quite obvious that by that comment, they know they will!

I'm addicted; i can't help it. You go on there with the intention of searching for one thing and then find yourself searching for the most random items you could imagine. Things that you could quite easily go the shop 5 minutes away and buy, but for some reason it just seems so much more 'exciting' searching for it on eBay, as though saving yourself 55p is the best bargain in the world.

I remember hearing Weird Al Yankovich's parody of eBay and thinking how spot on he was with his lyrics, and if you're an eBay addict you will know exactly what he is on about!

A couple of years ago i also saw a program on BBC3 called Spendaholics, where there was one girl addicted to buying on eBay and was consequently in serious debt. It's not worth ending up like this, but if you like female fashion then it can't harm you having a little browse can it? Be sensible and set a budget, but have fun!

Alice McCall Returns For Another Season At Topshop

At Topshop, female fashion comes first. The buyers have transformed Topshop over the last decade into something that has young fashionistas drooling at the window displays. The latest news is bound to create another stir in the fashion world, since it has just been announced that Australian brand Alice McCall is returning to Topshop to design another range of fashions for another season. The first range they designed was the fastest selling line to date. You can view the full article here.
















Alice McCall designs are beautifully designed and the Topshop range will be another choice selection of limited edition pieces that will not doubt sell out pretty quickly. From memory, the Alice McCall Topshop collections are only available at Topshop Oxford Circus, London, but hopefully there might be some pieces that filter through to the Manchester store, which is far easier for someone like me to get to!

So what does this mean for those of us who are fashion obsessed? Well, i think it's great that they have top designers creating their own ranges, and it really makes you feel like you're getting something just a little bit special. Female fashion never looked so good.

The new Alice McCall fashion ranges will be available from September 25th.

Female Fashion

Female Fashion - TV Heaven

Channel 4's TV delights are continuing to entertain us; not least with all the female fashion programmes filling our screens.

One of my favourites is 10 Years Younger, an opportunity for rather drab looking women 40 years+ to undergo a complete transformation. Nicky Hambleton-Jones takes us on a journey from cosmetic surgery to revamping the wardrobe, and the outcome is always pretty remarkable. One episode from Series 5 featured Marilyn Cooke, a lady who had spent far too many years on the sunbeds and even backcombed her hair. One can only assume she was preparing herself for an 80s revival.

Luckily, the team on 10 Years Younger managed to transform Marilyn, and the clothing that Nicky chose for her looked stunning. Female fashion for a mature lady can be a bit of a grey area, so i think it is great that programmes such as this are helping women find their inner youthfulness.

Then there is the assured presence of Mr Gok Wan, a TV ratings hit. He burst back onto our screens earlier this year with his new series "Gox's Fashion Fix" and this is a great show for fashion loving females everywhere. Gok tells us how to create show-stopping outfits for high street prices. He then puts his creations to the test by pitting them against couture designs that easily exceed the £1000 price tag. Invariably, Gok wins the audience over and leaves the expensive designs looking a little more than worthless.

In the eyes of the consumer, this is even more evidence that branded clothing could be overrated.

So, when you're next stuck for what to watch on a night, make sure you "channel-hop" to a female fashion programme; guaranteed to quench your fashion thirst!