Flair & Square: Shopping Smarts

A quick walkthrough of the shops proved to be quicker heartbreak. Marks & Spencer’s giant misleading campaigns shouted ‘Upto 50% off’, but all their stores had very few racks offering a small discount. Most of the stuff was at full price. I’ve been coveting a beautiful mohair wool coat from Zara, but they’ve only chopped off Rs 1,000 from the original price of Rs 8,000.

This is also the first year in many that I’ve returned empty-handed from the Ensemble sale. The Pankaj and Nidhi printed blouses were priced at Rs 6,000. A far cry from the clearances India’s best designer store used to host — at embarrassingly low prices.

Whatever happened to fashion’s favourite month? Who ate the January sale?

A slow and confused economy is the most obvious answer. Nothing’s moving, nothing’s selling. Retailers are urged to hold on to their stock for fear of shutting shop. Sales flourish in a healthy shopping climate. When the markets are bad, a sale can cause you to crash.

So what we are left with are discounts that aren’t really discounts. The coveted labels are mostly at a 30-40 per cent off. The ones that offer 50 per cent or more are rubbish anyway. The idea of a sale is to make available something that is high priced and of high value. But the sales this year seem to be all about moving junk.

Much of this dismal month is attributed to the online shopper. E-retail has taken the mickey out of commercial shops. Across the board, if you aren’t available online, you aren’t available at all. Myntra and Jabong are offering discounts at 70 per cent. Even smaller e-stores like Fashionara are showing off some truly smart goodies at genuine markdowns.

Of course real stores could also offer bigger knock-offs but that would only fix things short term. Retailers need to understand the customer is looking for value, not just a cheap rate. India has plenty of unofficial thrift shops where ‘surplus’ goods end up, no one wants to see them at a mall.

But mostly, the bleak environment is because of a huge demand for fast fashion. When clothes are so cheap and quickly moving during the year, what difference is a sale going to make?

Fast fashion gives us a wardrobe that’s made of poor fabric and dull design. It often has lead and carcinogenic chemicals in it (via insecticides, flame retardants and formaldehyde). Fast fashion has truly killed style.

The best way to buy seems to be from your heart. Shop when you need something or truly like an item. Pay the price that you deem suitable. A t-shirt that costs Rs 100 will give you no joy, but a Pankaj-Nidhi blouse at Rs 6,000 may. On the other hand, a hand-made leather wallet for Rs 700 at Adamis is worth so much more.