Does great styling ever lead you to a poor purchasing decision? - YouLookFab Forum

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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Does great styling ever lead you to a poor purchasing decision?

RoseandJoan

Veteran

One of the main advantages/ disadvantages of shopping on line is the little catalogues that find there way to your door step every week. Sometimes they are fabulous and other times grim. This week it was the turn of country style label Joules which specialises in wellies, rugby shirts and such. Usually this is so NOT my look but the styling has really grabbed me.

This waistcoat is probably all wrong for me but I think the ensemble rocks, if I had a spare £90.00 I may be tempted.
http://www.joules.com/en-GB/Wo.....il.raction
Are you so easily swayed? In my defense the country look is on trend.
Over to you and as ever I thank you for your time.

(Edit: you may need to click on a thumbnail to view the styled version)

Shopping

14 replies

Latest reply was from Marigold

catgirl

Veteran

All the time. Anthropologie is great at capturing a whole way of life that goes with the clothes, but is SO unrealistic! YLF has really helped me filter out what I just want and what I actually will use or need...

taylor

Veteran

That is such a great question. Pre-YLF I would buy things I loved and then try to put them together, if it didn't quite look right, I had a really hard time pinpointing the problem. Angie and the YLF'ers have made my life so much easier and shopping much more productive

Isabel

Veteran

I love the way AG puts it. It really is aspirational. I used to be very susceptible to Vogue : running horse back through herds of sheep in an emerald, green gown, worth about $50,000.

I am totally over it now. Back then it didn't matter, I couldn't afford a horse or the gown and there were no sheep in Boston.

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

I can't look at catalogs for that very reason. I have more restraint with blogs and magazines, because I am less likley to start dreaming of a whole new lifestyle I could build for myself, starting with those riding boots...and the pony...

But advertisers have known for years how powerful a catalog can be with purchasing decisions. I remember growing up pouring over the LL Bean and Lands End catalogs like mad, dreaming of owning a summer cabin where everything matched and we wore madras and stripes and had perfect white teeth. And I lived in Connecticut, land of the preppy! They still had me hook, line, and clamdigger.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I like Jcrew styling but I feel their quality has taken a serious nosedive. If something is overstyled I become suspicous. My problem is I seem to fall for cocktail dresses but I do not have the lifestyle for them.

Queen Mum

Veteran

I've given up the thought that anything would ever look on me the way it looks on any catalog model, so I don't think that is an issue. I am much more more tempted by things when I see them modeled here.

kellygirl

Veteran

I still struggle with being a sucker for styling although I am getting better. Like Kim said, I'm most susceptible to items I see modeled here.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

This is such a great question! I run into this challenge with clients all the time

We look at catalogues and the merchandising is dazzling - but once we receive the item, it often disappoints.

I have therefore banned my clients from buying off catalogues! J. Crew is a serious offender these days - high five, Anna.

Sparky

Veteran

This can certainly be a challenge for me. I am getting much better at resisting the siren song though. Recently I started looking through catalogues as inspirations rather than for shopping, and am cutting out what especially calls to me. I'll hang on to those to figure out how to achieve the same (or similar) look with what I already have, help me figure out how to wear certain pieces, and to help me define my style. That keeps me busy and keeps me from pulling out the credit card!

Sihaya

Veteran

Isabel - your post made me laugh out loud! This used to be the case for me but I'm much wiser post YLF. Also I rarely shop online (I need to put the item on my body to decide if it will work) and almost never from catalogs. Victoria's Secret is a great offender in this area - their stuff looks so wonderful in the catalogs and I often find them to be of inferior quality.

Refugee

Veteran

Oh yes, this has happened to me. This combined with my raised quality expectation (since I came to YLF) has caused me to have to take a 'catalogue, get thee behind me' attitude. Sometimes it's very hard because things look fab in the catalogue but when they arrive at my house my response is often 'ick.'

Tanya

Veteran

I have fallen for it many many times, but am getting much better at it now. Quite often I would be disappointed at the fit/quality of an item, and even it worked fine, I would usually lack the necessary pieces to style it as seen in the catalog.

Isabel, you are hilarious!

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Angie, as a potential future client (I will win the lottery) I will now discard all of those catalogues too.

Ladies your comments are fantastic, I also remember falling for the ballgown horseback look and even as a child the secret key Clarks shoes had me dreaming of autumn leaves and fairy kingdoms.

A local boutique does stock Joules and I know that the quality is A1 but just not me, I think my credit card is safe.

Marigold

Yes! That's also the problem I have when 'trying' to buy clothes online... They're always styled nicely, pinned and such on the models. When they get to my house, nothing like I imagined! Wandering through stores takes so much time though and I get overwhelmed fairly quickly. You made a great point