Did you know that New Years Resolutions are one of the most notable times of the year when people embark on the idea of making a change? The excitement of taking back control of something in your life can be so uplifting, but keep in mind, statistically, that same spark to resume control can come with some feelings of disappointment.
Unless you are ready to make that change and you are reasonable about your goal, you might be setting yourself up for failure.
We asked our client Hollywood Closet Clothing, an online boutique that has been reselling wardrobe from the studios for over 10 years, what was the motivating reason they decided to get into the business of reselling used wardrobe? They said, it was a no brainer, "it was COST EFFICIENT".
Ok sure, we would all like to save a buck here and there, but was their really a significant savings? You betcha! Buying used items do not come with all the markups of a new retail store item (unless you are vintage hunting), and online shopping has it’s perks too, when buying out of state, sales tax is omitted off of the sale.
HCC continued to share, that with the fashion industry changing so quickly and cranking out new items every season, their clients found it unrealistic to keep up with wearing their purchases before a new trend was already on the sales floor.
Most of us have about 10 outfits we love and recycle, and if we really looked hard into our closets we would be able to purge a ton of items that have not seen the light of day. All this shows us, is that we pay a high dollar on many things, that may not yield the return it should have.
So why not buy second hand when embarking on the hunt for that new outfit? Trust us when we say, that we have also conformed to buying second hand and have never had a compliant paid to us followed with, “was that NEW when you bought it”?
Think about it … how much money can you save if you just let go of the idea that something has been worn before? When actors, yes, highly paid actors show up to work on a project, the go to the wardrobe department. Guess what, about 90% of the items they are dressed in are recycled from previous productions.
Did it do anything to them? Did they get sick? Lose sleep? Become crazy? Anything??? Nope. They looked the part, and cashed a check! So, why are we conditioned to buy new? What is the reason behind it? It’s "new to you" anyway if you have never wore it before, so why pay the full price for it? Do some research, there are several articles out there that write about why we should shop secondhand. If you are looking to be smarter with your money in the year 2019, and you don’t want to set yourself up for failure, you might want to take a stab at shopping second hand, finding something you like, and adding it to your wardrobe. Take a quarter of your normal budget you allow yourself, and see what you can do with it! Think of it as a game. Buy it, wear it, and see if you can tell the difference from the feedback you get on YOUR new outfit.
We bet you will be just as surprised as we were when we first tried it.
