From the Archives: Miss B’s Guide to Tackling the Sales

Miss B: I originally published this post a year ago during sales month in London. But because a lot more readers have joined me since then (hello, everyone!), and because I’m constantly emailed and asked about how to build a quality wardrobe on a budget, I thought I’d re-post this as we’re again in the full throes of sale season.

Re-reading my year-old advice reminds me just how a good shopping strategy never dates. In short, buy little, but buy the best quality you can afford. And absolutely do save up for the sales – it’s a great way to buy into luxury brands at high street prices, and if something is a wonderful buy and true to your style, it will look marvellous in your wardrobe long after the store’s seasonal schedules have moved on.

Go forth, and good luck with your bargain treasure hunting!

I do love a good sale. But to emerge victorious, yet also with the budget, style and dignity in tact, one has to be strategic or it all goes awry very quickly indeed. So, to help sort out your strategy for heading into (sales) battle, here are my top tactical tips to live by come sale month. Above all, know your budget and make a plan beforehand!

1. Know your limits: This applies to both budget and time. Know how much you’re willing to spend and how many hours you can spare before you set out. And stick to it! This saves wasting your precious time and money, and getting caught up in the flurry of not being able to resist things just because they’re on sale but then regretting the blowout afterwards.

2. Make a plan: These sales get ridiculously chaotic – clothes flying everywhere, no shop assistants to spare, and girls who suddenly forget all semblance of politeness. The only way to avoid a) getting stressed, and b) wandering about aimlessly is to plan which stores and sections you want to visit first. Order according to the stores you know you like best, which will be the most popular, and where the best bargains are to be had. Whatever you’re looking for, put your blinkers on, don’t get distracted and move strategically. In the case of online sales, prepare a ‘wish list’ by putting things you would be willing to buy at full price in your shopping basket the week before the sale starts. Set a budget and on sale day, only buy those items in your wish list which have been reduced (to the limit of your budget) – this way you won’t get caught up in the moment and get distracted by everything else on sale you wouldn’t normally have considered.

3. Know what you want: As with making a plan, this helps you determine where to head first and avoid being distracted by everything else. If you’re only looking for new shoes, then don’t wander into homewares or clothing ‘just to have a look’ – you’re bound to see something else that you suddenly want. Another good tip is to scope out the store or site a couple of days before the sale starts (ask the sales assistants when this will be if it’s not publicised). That way you can make a list of what you want and head straight for those items in the sale. On Net-a-Porter I add things to my wishlist the day before and then as soon as the sale starts head to this to see what has been discounted. It can be yours straightaway without being distracted by the things you don’t need.

4. Be realistic: If you can’t walk in heels (and don’t have the luxury of a chauffeur), then are those sky-high platform Miu Miu swallow print sandals really going to work? Is that dress that’s a size too small and made for a model with the legs of a baby giraffe really flattering, even if it is the last Marc Jacobs dress left? Remember to only buy things that genuinely flatter you and work with your everyday life.

5. Stay true to your style: It sounds obvious, but if you’re normally all about vintage feminine lacy dresses, then getting caught up in the hype of a cropped Alexander Wang khaki midriff sweatshirt because it’s ‘in’ and makes sense at the time. Just because something is on sale and looks amazing on the models, doesn’t mean it will work for you when you get home. Don’t get swayed by trends that are not for you, or by items you feel you have to have simply because they’re a designer label on sale. Stop, picture what you love to wear, and only buy into that.

6. Would you pay full price? Ask yourself this: ‘if this item were not on sale, would I still be willing to pay full price for it?’ If the answer is ‘no’, then put it back. The only exception to this is something you’ve genuinely loved and wanted, but couldn’t afford at full price. In this case, grab it now and enjoy the bargain!

Do you have any tips for tackling the sales?

Love, Miss B xx

* Illustration by me

Recipe: Delcious and Healthy Granola

It’s been a long time since I shared a recipe, which isn’t really representative of how much I love cooking. When I’m craving something delicious, homemade wins every single time – it’s always a hundred times more delicious, and the process of creating something (and filling the house with a delicious fragrance) is immensely relaxing and satisfying.

As soon as the weather warms up, I make great batches of granola almost every fortnight. It’s scumptious, healthy and sustaining (read: keeps 11am sugar cravings at bay) as a cereal (just add milk and fresh berries), or wonderful as a topping on plain greek yoghurt with honey or fruit compote, sprinkled on ice cream, or just poured into a little dish as it comes as a healthy nibble when you’re craving a snack, but not a zillion calories (I’ll pick at this when watching a movie, instead of a bag of sugary snacks). Just as importantly, it is infinitely customisable and the combinations of ingredients is entirely dependent on personal taste/what is at hand in the cupboard.

I’m never precise with the measurements – I just throw a pile of oats, some seeds and nuts in a bowl, add whatever dried fruit and juice I have to hand and stir until it looks about right. Feel free to change the ingredients to suit (delicious combinations are dried cherry and hazelnut, apricot and almond, or dried berries with choc chips added after cooking is a delcious combination if you don’t mind the calories, or just omit the dried fruit altogether and serve with fresh fruit instead).

Ingredients:

A few cups of plain rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
1 cup roughly chopped nuts (any combination, such as almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios)
A good handful of mixed seeds (such as pumpkin, sunflower, linseed)
1 cup roughly chopped dried fruit (such as apricots, peach, cranberries, dried cherries, sultanas, raisins)
1/2 cup apple juice (though any juice will do really)
2 tbs honey + 2 tbs maple or golden syrup (or 4 tbs honey if preferred)
2 tbs oil or melted butter
Small handful of dried coconut (shredded of flaked)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
A large handful of rice bubbles, wheat flakes, chocolate chips or any other preferred additives

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius (35o farenheit). Lightly mist 2 large baking trays/sheets with cooking spray.
Combine the oats and cinnamon in a bowl until you’re happy with the proportions (no need to be too precise).
In a separate small bowl, combine the juice, vanilla extract, honey, syrup, salt and oil/butter. Add this to the dry ingredients, and stir well. Taste, and if it seems a little dry or not as sweet as you would like, add a touch more juice or honey (the mix should be moist and combined, though not saturated).
Spoon evenly into two large baking trays, and bake for approximately 20 minutes – or until almost dry and golden. At this stage, add the nuts, seeds, dried fruit and coconut (stirring in to combine and break up the baked mix slightly – you want a mix of small pieces and chunks). Bake for another 10-20 minutes, or until the nuts and dried fruit look slightly baked (do keep checking regularly, as the fruit can quickly burn) and the whole mix is a nicely crisp and golden.
Allow to cool completely in baking trays, then stir through rice bubbles (or whichever ‘unbaked’ ingredients you wish) – these will lighten the whole mix, and add another textural layer against the crunchy oats.

Makes 2 large mason jars worth.

What is one of your favourite versatile recipes?

Love, Miss B xx

Inside My Home, pt. 2: Clever Storage

When short on wardrobe space, turn your favourite accessories into art by putting them on display rather than stuffing them into a closet (just be sure to keep them free of dust and out of direct sunlight). Chanel 2.55 bag and Mulberry bow booties.

As I mentioned on the last peek inside my home, my place might be cute, but it’s also tiny (that would be large by London/New York standards…) – and therefore small on storage space. Alas, I’m still yet to master the art of the 10-piece capsule wardrobe and an abandonment of other worldly goods. As such, I’ve had to be very creative with the space to manage to squeeze everything in in a matter that’s still organised and streamlined (read: not having piles of clutter everywhere).

Regardless of the size of my space, I’m a terrible geek when it comes to organising (I could read Martha Stewarts tips for hours, and happily spend rainy weekends knee deep in clothes having a good wardrobe purge) and like everything to have a home, even if that home happens to be in an unexpected place. My golden rules, especially applicable to all small and/or rented spaces are: declutter (own only that which you love – there’s no point trying to find space for something you don’t actually need/want); categorise (store similar items together, making it easier to find everything you do have); think creatively (if you don’t have the space to store something in the normal way, find a new way to house it, or turn it into an aesthetic feature).

Top-bottom: Sort jewellery and small pieces by style and store in teacups, bowls and dishes (you can pick up pretty, mismatched china for a steal at flea markets and on ebay); turn otherwise unused spaces (in this case the top of the toilet cistern!) into a display for a cluster of pretty toiletries; organise your wardrobe by season, and then streamline by colour/style/occasion.

Wardrobe: Begin by having a good wardrobe purge – donating/selling all those pieces you don’t absolutely love, which are unflattering or that are worn out. There’s no point taking up valuable closet space with things that either don’t get worn or that don’t make you feel good. Second, store all your out-of-season clothing, as well as pieces you’re not currently wearing, in storage boxes (I have inexpensive, shallow plastic tubs that slide under my bed for this purpose – you can buy these anywhere and they are perfect for keeping dust out). With what’s left, hang clothes on good quality hangers (silk padded hangers for delicate clothes, wooden hangers for the rest where possible) by colour and style – this will not only look more streamlined, but make it easier to put together an outfit in the morning. If you have shelves/drawers, adopt a similar approach and fold everything neatly then stack by style and colour.

Accessories: Store most of your shoes in their boxes (stuff the toes with tissue to retain their shape), and stack these at the bottom of your wardrobe. Hang scarves on hooks (either inside the wardrobe, or over the door). Store jewellery in pretty dishes and boxes (I sort mine by style/colour, and store the pieces I’m not currently wearing in golden boxes at the back of my jewellery drawer) - this will not only make it easier to find each piece, but protects them from damage and becoming one tangled mess. For your favourite accessories, why not turn them into art and place them on show? I stack all my Vogue magazines along my wall, and sit favourite pieces atop the piles (that way even when I’m not wearing treasured pieces, I can look at them – some accessories are just too pretty to be hidden in dustbags!). For all other accessories, store them in sturdy boxes in the wardrobe or under the bed (I use my glossy black Net-a-Porter boxes for this purpose).

Toiletries: Given I’m a beauty junkie, I always have far more products than I’ve ever actually been able to fit in my bathroom. As such, I have yet more plastic tubs filled with the excess, and display the rest in the most organised/pretty way I can. In the case of tiny bathrooms, think laterally and use little-used spaces such as windowsills, unused corners, the top of toilet cisterns to cluster similar items together in a nice way (a flower or a candle won’t hurt to make it look nicer). For my benchtops, I’ve got most of my bottles and potions stacked atop a big white porcelain cakestand to keep it from looking cluttered, with lipsticks and eyeshadows in little porcelain dishes, and brushes and lipglosses in vintage Moroccan glasses.

Kitchen: As with your accessories, where you are lacking in cupboard space, then put your favourite items on display and make a feature out of it. I’ve got a little cluster of gorgeous teapots, tea canisters and silly things that don’t fit in my kitchen cupboards, but look beautiful on a bench. Similarly, if you don’t have a bar, then group cocktail ingredients together on a vintage silver dish and turn it into a feature.

Books and other collections: If you’re like the Clever Boyfriend and I, the bookshelves in small/rented places are never adequate enough to house a good collection of books. As with the other rooms, choose a collection of favourites and turn them into a feature by making a big stack of them beside the couch, or to become a mini-table (top with a lamp, and a vase of flowers and it’s practically furniture).

Top-bottom: In the absence of a bar, a vintage print and a silver tray on a corner of the kitchen bench becomes a makeshift cocktail station; over-door-hooks give a home to scarves, ribbons and sashes, as well as a current bag or two (in this case Marc Jacobs).

Do you live in a small place that requires you to be creative with your storage? I’d love to know your savvy tips!

Love, Miss B xx