Tips to save – Attention brand addicts!

A good friend of mine is a brandholic. He never thinks of anything other than a Puma or Nike shoes, a UCB, Rayban…the list goes as he says quality matters more. He might be right, but with the whopping prices of ‘branded items’, a substantial chunk of your income goes into it. With the fashion brands gone global, it has become so easy to shop for the brands any like Versace, Gucci, Dior, Chanel, Armani, etc now. This has considerably affected our choices and now almost every one of us is brand-lover. If you too are one of them, and in case you have a wealthy aunt who has named you as her heir, you have no worries. But if you don’t (and we will go with this one for some obvious reasons), here are 6 tips to help you save your hard earned money without giving up your brand-fetish.

1. Buy the original duplicates: If you scoured the market real carefully, you will find that some manufacturers have gone ultra creative and design unbelievably good fakes of famous brands. As it is seen, it is very hard to notice the difference so you get the brand name in much lesser prices. Brands like UCB, Jockey, Banana Republic, Gap, etc are the most imitated brands and are likely to be found easily. So it means you can actually buy a Gap hoodie for a much lower price.
2. Buy during the clearance sales: Many retail stores as well as online shopping portals offer clearance sales in the beginning of the new season and you should utilize the opportunity. If there is something you need to buy, then keep an eye out; online and offline, and compare before making the final purchase. It does not mean that you give in to the temptation and buy more than you need just because it’s a sale. Remember, the mantra here is save, save and save some more.
3. Stay in contact with your friends working in fashion industry: If you are aware with the workings within the glamorous fashion industry, you must know that there are clothing items, shoes, jewellery, etc of major brands in there which have been discarded by the models and fashion gurus. The mysterious reasons may be anything from being that product fallen out of fashion radar or the dear model, god bless her, got bored with it. You can get these goodies for very cheaper prices and if your friend is on higher level, who knows you may get it for free.
4. Buy the less famous designers’ stuff: In case you enjoy the designer clothes, hunt down the best boutiques in your town and you will get some of the best designer fashion there. It does not have to be designed by Armani; there are some highly talented just less known designers out there who may give you what you are looking for. This is one of the cheapest ways to buy designer fashion and walk haughtily around in your unique style. It all depends on how good you are at browsing and nailing it.
5. Scour the internet for discount deals and vouchers: There are some online websites whose sole purpose is to provide you with the coupon codes, reward points and discount deals. You can brush up your Googling skills and search for the deals available on your favorite brands. Now it must be noted that since we are talking about big brands here, the discounts that are offered are not that frequent but whenever they are around, do make sure to catch them as they are very limited.
6. Look out for your credit card deals: Many banks and credit card providers offer discounts and attractive deals for shopping at some particular brand labels. Find out about those deals from the bank’s official website or contact the customer care services to know more. It must be noted that Visa and MasterCard cards of a higher level such as gold, platinum are offered more attractive deals so if you have a basic credit card but your friend or any family member has a platinum credit card, do not shy away from asking for the favor. Just remember to pay the bill immediately so that they do not mind letting their card use another time too.