25 Investment Pieces To Shop From The Summer Sales

By Dan Ahwa

Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023

Viva

Shop the summer sales mindfully. Photo / Supplied

When it comes to shopping for clothes, we understand it’s not always easy for some people right now. There’s inflation, rate increases and the unlikely respite from rising costs. Budgeting for essential, everyday needs is a priority for many, and for those looking at investing in a new item of

If you haven’t done so already, it pays to take a look at your existing wardrobe and make a cull of what you don’t need. It’s also worth considering how much of your actual wardrobe you wear on a regular basis — many of us never end up wearing a majority of our wardrobe so when investing in a sale item, shop for something that you know you’ll actually wear more than once.

Read: Viva’s Guide To Swimwear For All Bodies And Budgets

If you’re a working professional who needs to look smart, there are plenty of trans-seasonal fabrics you can look at when purchasing an investment item. If there is anything the latest weather patterns are teaching us too, it’s that climate change is real, and that can influence how much we spend on a new item of clothing.

Consider your year ahead — will you be travelling or spending time in warmer or cooler climes? Think about what activities you’ll likely be doing and what you can’t already find from your existing wardrobe or even find at an op-shop or vintage store.

Summer sales are a great way to shop for holiday clothes, so by the time your holiday arrives, you’ll have prepared well in advance and avoid the inevitable waste that comes with panic shopping.

On that note, do avoid impulse buying. This is often why we’ll avoid the chaotic frenzy of Black Friday sales at Viva. When shopping for a sale item, always consider it with as much care and thought as you would buying something at full price.

Read: 15 Pairs Of Sneakers In Plenty Of Versatile Styles

If you’re in need of casual clothes, there’s plenty on offer, but again, focus on items that you can style and wear with a multitude of outfit variations and that are versatile enough to last the distance — it might be a crisp shirt to wear with jeans or a skirt, or perhaps a pair of tidy sneakers that serve hybrid working lives well.

Sale season doesn’t necessarily mean cheap quality either, so avoid the trap of trawling sale stock from chain stores as this is the antithesis of shopping mindfully. Think twice about your decisions when you shop and don’t forget the actual impact and power you have in making that choice.

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Like everything we shop right now, investing in a sale item still requires us to part with our hard-earned money, so make sure you shop with a little more thought in mind. But be quick though — sales will often be limited with size and colour, so prepare for the possibility of disappointment, in which case it probably wasn’t meant to be.

As the late and great dame Vivienne Westwood imparted on us all, “Buy less, choose well, make it last.”

Retailers and designers are now preparing to usher in the first deliveries for autumn over the coming weeks, so we’ve taken a look at what’s on sale and found some great investment items that will put you in good stead for a wardrobe built to last.