By: Sayanti Banerjee

For ages there have been fashion gurus and experts telling us what patterns will make us look slimmer, what silhouettes will make us appear taller, what colours are bound to compliment our complexion best and rest of the encyclopedia to that credit…But when you take a look at that irresistible little yellow dress or a pair of pink hot pants or a one shoulder floral printed jumpsuit calling out to you – ‘Try Me’… do you give a damn about the ‘check list’ above? I don’t! Now who cares to live by a ‘rule book’, specially when it comes to shopping?At times you should simply slip into things that catch your attention first and let the mirror decide! Yes, a second opinion from a friend (in this case girls are better judges) is welcome, but it is you who should take the final call whether it’s your style or no. It can get a bit stressful I know specially when there are more options in colours or the price is higher than what my budget was, but then here’s a trick that I follow… don’t be impulsive, keep the stuff on hold, take a walk around and come back after 10 minutes if you still can’t take your mind off it, you better buy it. It works for me always! But the irony is that, I either like something at the first go or I don’t… so I always know that I will be picking it up for sure, may be after trying to look for a replica of the same at a better bargain… it may work at times, specially in the context of street shopping. And that’s one aspect of shopping that I always love. For those who believe that a fashionista needs to be ‘Oh so fashion conscious’ hey, like they say- it is you who make things look fashionable and not the other way round! So let your style quotient get the better of you while you pick up whatever catches your fancy, simply mix and match them and be the unique Diva that you are!

That’s what makes Shopping an Art! You can be creative as much as you want to. Do a bit of home-work, look up the hot trends across magazines, websites and blogs, the ones you really feel ‘wow’ and make note of them with little scribbles. It is one of those ‘Me-time’ activities that you can explore more creatively. Shopping can actually help you to revamp your self-image and how, without spending a bomb and yet playing smart.

So your shopping needs to be in fine tuned with the different wardrobe categories that you are looking for upgrading, instead of random shopping. It is like working backwards the entire look you want to put together. For instance, if it is partywear you know the kind of dress, shoes and accessories you want to buy and keep it to just that, instead of shopping for everything at a go like we usually end up doing. To make a set back at home limits your choices compared to doing the reverse. So when you know that today you are just looking for ‘partywear’ options you go bling bling and all that jazz instead of stopping by for cottonwear, floral motifs or flip flops. Trust me it works best when you focus on such details instead of coming across as a confused fashionista.

But then you do not go blindfolded when you are shopping for one particular fashion wear category, you must take a note of what else the store has to offer and you can always come back for more. According to your budget, decide if you want to hit the high-street or the mall. In fact you can actually try both, it just requires a bit of extra effort and oodles of energy. From my personal experience I have come to believe that it is better to go shopping alone in order to make the best use of time you get, selecting your stuff without getting bugged with ‘Your time is up’ signals!

Though there are no RULES as such to learn what I call ‘the art of shopping’, if you have a few smart tack ticks up your sleeves, then you can be more creative with your fashion quotient. Shopping is one of those things that we simply love to do… For women it is a pure indulgence while men might claim that it is mostly need based. Thankfully shopaholics like me feel elated to believe that it is a ‘retail therapy’ with numerous benefits! So just groom yourself to become a ‘smart shopper’…

Here’s wishing you bags full of fun!