← Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
294 | Black Friday Trap or Smart Buy? How To Know When a Sale Is Actually Worth It
00:20:03
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
If you've ever found yourself caught up in the Black Friday chaos, scrolling through deals, adding things to your cart just in case, and wondering whether any of this is actually worth it, this episode is for you. Today I'm breaking down the simple criteria I use to separate the true wardrobe building pieces from the impulse buy traps. And I'm also giving you a quick 10 second test you can use before you check out so you'll know exactly what deserves a spot in your cart and what's only tempting because of a flashy discount. I promise by the end of this conversation, you'll know how to shop confidently, intentionally, and without any of the second guessing that usually comes with the biggest sale weekend of the year. Welcome to Her Style Podcast where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist, ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started Foreign. Welcome back to Her Style Podcast, my friend. And if you are in the United States then I definitely want to say Happy Thanksgiving. And even though it's probably going to sound really corny and cliche, I am going to take this opportunity to let you know that I am so grateful for you every single day. This podcast wouldn't exist if you weren't here to listen in and to share your questions for the Q and A episodes and to help shape what we talk about here on the podcast and and also just to come along for this journey with me. So thank you so much. Whether this is your first time tuning in or it's your 50th or 250th episode, I appreciate you more than you know. So thank you for listening. Thank you for being here today. And with all of that said, tomorrow is Black Friday and I'm already seeing the deals. I don't know about you, but my email has been flooded over the last couple weeks. We don't wait till Black Friday anymore. Everything starts well in advance and floods you the whole weekend long. I know the ads have been swarming my my inbox, my social feeds popping up in all the places, and I know that this week can feel like a lot, especially if you are someone who is working on giving up your impulse shopping tendencies and striving to be more intentional about where you invest in your wardrobe. Every store is shouting about having the biggest sale ever. Your inbox is overflowing just like mine and it feels almost impossible to tell what's actually worth buying sometimes. So I want to help you take the pressure off today and get you set up for success this weekend so that you can navigate sales with confidence, because they're not all bad. We just want to make sure that we're being really smart and strategic about where we put our shopping money this season. And when you understand what's really going on behind the scenes of Black Friday and when you have a simple strategy to lean on, you will be able to shop with clarity. You're going to save so much money for real. And you're going to build a wardrobe that actually supports getting dressed every day so you can take advantage of the right sales and truly tune out all of the extra noise. Now, before we get into your five guidelines or rules that I put together for spotting a smart buy, I do wanna start with a few behind the scenes truths about how Black Friday marketing really works. This entire week is designed to get you to act before you think. So you are gonna see a lot of phrases like biggest sale of the year, limited quantity is selling fast, prices go back up at midnight. And the real, I guess, zinger is that Black Friday is not about helping you save money. It's about convincing you to spend more than you planned. I'm sure you already know that on some level, but oftentimes we just see all of the deals, all of the markdowns, and we think, oh, this is such a great time to save on what I need for my wardrobe. But really, there are so many distractions, so many shiny objects. It's not about getting you to save money. It's really about getting you to spend on things that you didn't need. The stores have their strategy behind that. And so I really want this episode to give you yours. I have five parameters or rules that you can use to pinpoint whether a sale item is actually a good deal or not. And I'm gonna share those in just a minute. But first, I wanna clue you into three sales tricks to watch out for and how to spot them right away. So the first one is fake markdowns. Sometimes retailers will inflate the quote unquote original price so that the discount looks bigger, so it looks more substantial and entices you to buy because it looks like such a better deal. And the way that you can tell that is by checking the price history. You can use Google Shopping or Honey to check that out, see if the pricing has been inflated a bit for Black Friday. If that item is always marked down, it's not a Black Friday deal. It's just a deal. And if the original price list looks unrealistic, it probably is. The second thing to watch out for are perma sales. Certain stores run ever rotating promotions. Old Navy is an example of this. Or like the stores that will give you the coupons if you buy something and then they'll give you more money to come back and shop later. Or they're constantly running friends and family events. It's always like everything's 25% off or 40% off. There are certain retailers that will do that throughout the year. So that will eliminate some of the urgency to get you to buy during this shorter Black Friday window. And I want you to think back and ask yourself, have I ever paid full price from this brand? Are there always deals that I can scoop up when I need them? Does every email they send me include a coupon code? If so, there's no need to rush. The deals will come back. So you don't have to feel pressured to buy everything right now just because it's Black Friday. And then the third thing to watch out for is manufactured stick scarcity. This is going to sound like, you know the phrases on the websites that are like almost gone or limited quantities or only two left. Sometimes that is legit, but you can tell if every size is still in stock. It's not really that limited. You can also check other retailers if they have plenty. It's probably a marketing tactic. Sometimes, you know, different brands are sold across different retailers. So even if something sells out in one place, you might be able to find it somewhere else. For example, if you're looking for shoes, if Nordstrom sells out, you might be able to find that same shoe in your size on DSW or Zappos or somewhere else. So just kind of look around, don't feel locked in or again pressured if one place is selling out of something or pretending to sell out of something. Now, if you can see that sizes or colors are going fast, you might want to think a little bit more urgently about those specific pieces. But I still don't want you to just impulse throw them in your cart just because it looks like it's a popular thing. It's the hottest item in the store, it's going fast, and you of course have to have it or you're going to miss out. I always believe that what's meant for you won't miss you. So if something does sell out, take it as a sign that you're meant to find something even better. Now you could also call your local store just to check in to See if they have any quantity in store. Sometimes things will sell out online, but you could still find it locally, or you could have it shipped from an actual physical store location. So your options are not finite or really just limited to what your seeing happening online. So now that we've uncovered the part of Black Friday that you really can't control, I do want to help you move into the part that you can. As I said, I have five guidelines that I think will help you decide very clearly what deserves a place in your cart. It's going to remove some of that emotional barrier or decision making that's coming into effect with the urgency and all of that with Black Friday. So the first rule, and I don't love to save rules, guidelines, suggestions, however you want to take that. Sometimes rules set sound very rigid, but I do think that these are smart to put into practice. So the first one is, it's only a good deal if you already needed it. Now, hold on for a minute. Bear with me, because I know sometimes we do want to leave room for those unique star pieces, the things that just excite us, that light us up, those incredible finds that we weren't anticipating. There is a place for that in your wardrobe. But I think first you need to stop and ask yourself, do you have legitimate things on your shopping list? And is buying this extra thing gonna deter you from getting what you actually need? So I think it's so smart to cover your gaps first, and then if you have a little bit of flex in your budget, if you've already covered those spaces, sure, you could pick up a couple things that you maybe didn't know that you needed. But you can justify using the following rules to come. But I do think that this one is simple and so important. If you didn't want it, you hadn't thought at all about it, or you didn't plan for it before the sale, it just gives you reason to pause. I'm not saying don't get it. I'm saying you've got to stop and really think about this one. Black Friday shouldn't be setting your wardrobe goals for you. A smart buy is going to support your existing plan. It's not going to distract you from it. So if this is something you're really interested in genuinely, but you didn't have it on your radar before, it's going to be incredibly important for you to go through the rest of the rules that I'm going to hand over to you and see if it fits the rest of the bill. But otherwise, I want you to ask yourself, would I be looking at this if it weren't on sale? Or another way to say that is, would I still want this at full price? If the answer is no, I think that's your sign to keep it moving. Okay, rule number two is that it must align with your style, foundations and your real life. If you're not familiar with that phrase, I refer to your personal style, your most flattering fits, and your best colors as your style foundations. So looking at style, fit and color, those are kind of the three things that you really want to put check marks along as you're considering whether this item has a place in your wardrobe. So knowing what flatters you helps you to raise the bar on what you bring into your closet. A great deal on the wrong color for you is not a deal. It's a buy that you're going to end up regretting later when you go to put it on. And it never feels quite right. And a trendy piece that doesn't match your personal style goals is also not a deal. A gorgeous, sparkly cocktail dress for a lifestyle that's 90% school drop offs and working from home is also not a deal. Ask me how I know. I've made that mistake far too many times in the past of buying things just because it was a beautiful piece. I loved the color, it felt exciting, but then I never really had an opportunity to actually use it. So you want to prioritize pieces that support your actual life and your desired aesthetic, not those impulse buys that might look beautiful but are going to take you way off course. So a question that you can ask yourself for this one is, is this aligned with my style, my body, my colors, and the way I realistically need and want to get dressed? All right, number three is cost per wear, needs to add up. And friend, I am so good at doing girl math. I don't know about you, I can always find a way to justify almost any purchase if I really want it. But the key to making smarter shopping decisions and building a curated closet that you love comes down to this guideline. You've got to think about how much it costs and how much you're actually going to be able to utilize it. And that is going to help you really think through the sale price. So a $300 coat that you are going to wear 30 times is a far better value than a glittery $30 going out top that you're only going to wear once. Trendy items almost always have a worse cost per wear than pieces you're going to Love and enjoy for seasons to come. High quality basics, staple pieces. Not saying they have to be boring, but that are going to work with a lot of other things in your wardrobe are generally more likely to give you a better return on your investment. Also, outfit up levelers like shoes, handbags, jackets, coats. Those finishing pieces that you can wear with so many things and that will bring your whole look together. A real deal is something that you're going to keep reaching for. If it's something you can only imagine wearing once or twice, or if you can picture the excitement of it fading after 24 hours, it's not a smart buy period. Rule number four is that if it requires a whole new wardrobe to work, it's a no. I think a smart purchase is going to fit seamlessly into your existing closet, so you should be able to style it with what you already own today. Not after you buy new shoes and then new shapewear or a new jacket, or you step into a whole new life that you don't currently have. Now, I will say tailoring is an exception if you are otherwise obsessed with it, but it needs a little adjusting to fit you like a glove, that's okay. I'm always in favor of doing some alterations if you want to get that fully custom look, but if it's not a piece that you can easily put on and wear, if it needs a lot of other things or finagling to make it work, I think it's worth reevaluating. Your wardrobe should be effortless. It should function as a complete system, and you don't want to be on a never ending scavenger hunt for missing pieces to make your other pieces work. So ask yourself for this one. Can I style this with pieces I already have? And is it going to be easy enough to throw on and wear on a regular basis? If the answer is no, it's not a deal. Even if it's 60% off. All right, our final rule number five is if you have to talk yourself into it, it's already a no. And this one is rooted in your style, intuition and learning to trust your own opinion. So if you are negotiating, if you're hemming and hawing about it, if you're trying to justify why it could work, if you're again imagining a different version of your life where it would work better, if you are mentally editing your body and saying, well, this will work after I lose five or pounds, or once my schedule shifts to this other thing that I don't know for sure is going to happen, all of Those things are telling you that it's not aligned. A true yes is uncomplicated. You cannot wait to wear it. You're imagining all the events and all the ways that you'll be able to wear it. You love the way that it looks on you. It makes you feel excited to get dressed. It's one of those pieces that you almost want to go up to the counter and say, can you just clip the tags off so I can wear this right now? I'm so excited about it. And if it feels meh, or if you're trying to convince yourself that it might have a place in your closet, it probably doesn't. Remember, we are not necessarily striving for a minimalist wardrobe, but I think most of us really do want to have less but better. So we're just raising your standards, making sure that when you open your closet doors every day, you are seeing only yes pieces, things that you cannot wait to wear, things that work well together. It is just going to make your life so much easier and the art of getting dressed so much more fun. So for this one, ask yourself, is this an easy yes, or am I trying to convince myself to buy it? If you're convincing yourself that is the clearest no you will ever need. So go ahead and raise the bar. Hold out for something that you are really going to love and feel good in instead. Even if it means waiting for new merchandise to roll out after Black Friday and you don't necessarily get it on a great deal steal. It's so much better to invest in something you are truly going to love and be excited to wear. All right, as I promised, I'm going to give you a 10 second is this worth it Test. I want you to write down these questions. If you need to put it on the notes app on your phone, write it on your palm. I don't know, like you did in elementary school when you were or maybe high school when you had a big test and there were so many dates and facts and things to remember wherever you want. To make sure that you actually look at this while you're shopping, put it on a sticky note on your computer screen. If you're shopping online this weekend and before you click checkout, run through these five quick questions. These relate to what we've already talked about before. But if it helps, I just want to give you one quick list of questions and kind of checkpoints that you can touch base on before you finalize your purchase. So number one, was this already on my shopping list? Number two, is it Aligned with my personal style and my best colors. And I guess bonus points, is it going to work for the body I have today? That's kind of all under that style foundations umbrella. Number three, can I instantly picture three upcoming occasions or outfits I could wear this with? Number four, does it work with what I already own? Remember, we want to think about your closet as a cohesive collection. So you've got to picture it fitting in with the pieces you already have. And if you kind of feel like you're starting from scratch right now you're working to rebuild your closet because you don't like where it is currently, then you want to think about whether it align with the vision that you have for your closet. And then number five, is this an easy yes? Does it feel like a no brainer? Is it something that I am so excited I really genuinely feel like I have to have? If you can't say yes to at least four of those questions, it's not worth it. I want you to just delete it from your cart and move on with your day. And if you want more support with figuring out your best colors, identifying your signature style, understanding what flatters your body, and curating a wardrobe that makes shopping so much easier, not just during Black Friday, but all year long, that is exactly what we do together inside Her Style collective. In just 90 days, you are going to know exactly what's worth investing in and what's worth skipping in a way that's custom tailored to you. No two wardrobes are the same. No two styles are the same. This is a process that really aligns with who you are, how you want to show up, and all of the personalized details to make your wardrobe work so you get to have and enjoy a closet that supports your life, your style goals, and of course your everyday confidence. When you shop intentionally, you don't just avoid the traps. You actually build a wardrobe full of pieces you love and you reach for again and again. You are fully capable of making smart, aligned decisions this weekend with all the knowledge you have right now. Just trust yourself. And now you have the simple rules and reflection questions and to guide all of those decision making purchases. Friend, I want to thank you so much for hanging out with me today. Stay strong this weekend. Remember to shop with intention. If you can give yourself even just an hour, let things hang out in your cart. I know you might risk them selling out, but just give yourself that little bit of window of time to think through things more rationally rather than just emotionally or impulsively, and I will meet you right back here on Monday for another episode. I'll see you soon. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram eatherrigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in Style and service. Until next time.