A mother of two beautiful girls, each uniquely different from the other, can be such a great challenge.  I guess being a single parent worsens the situation.  All mothers would want to buy the latest styled clothes for their girls.  But looking for the budget for such can sometimes be very tricky.

We are all aware that women’s fashion can be as fast changing as the way women make decisions or choices.  Thus, under limited circumstances, buying clothes is a major event in a mother’s life.  So, through the years, I had developed certain rules on acquiring clothes for my girls.

Iron-free clothes

I go to great extend to convince my girls to choose iron-free clothes so we can keep our electricity bill down.  Now, how do I do this?  Simple!  I just keep reminding them that the ironing opens chances for ruining the clothes.  There would surely be creases I will not be able to iron enough.  And there are the daydream burns, mobile phone call burns, and remembered-something burns as well. 

Another tactic is looking at them with tired eyes and whispering, but loud enough for them to hear, how much time I’ll have to allocate ironing the dress.  The ironing board, due to its long years of service, can at times have bumps which are difficult to manage when ironing women’s clothing.  More time, I would lament until something works with the girls.  If the first ploy does not work, the second surely will!

Hoarding and recycling

I would ask my ladies, on a quarterly basis, to give me the clothes that they have grown tired of wearing.  In the guise of donating it to some charity needing women’s clothing, I would neatly fold and keep it in a box at the attic.  There was a time when my eldest daughter discovered my hidden treasure.

To appease her hurt feelings of being deceived, I gave her the following reasons:

·         The women’s fashion keeps coming back in cycles.
·         Women’s clothing usually fit again with the dawning of modern diets.
·         Shirts, trousers and pants may be remodeled or altered for certain occasions.

Bargain hunting

As much as possible, I buy clothes on bargain.  I always tell the girls that the money you save can be used for accessories that can transform the clothes to be trendy.  I always remind them that we should learn to spend money on what matters.  As they are still in college, then education is our top priority.

I assured my girls that they can buy all the clothes they like when they finish their education and land a stable job.  They have all the right to enjoy the fruits of their labour anyway.  But for now, we need to be practical and live within our means.

Anew trend emerging nowadays is purchasing shirts and suits online.  People are starting to get hooked to this kind of shopping because it had been found to be convenient, competitively priced, wide choices and more informative.  Buying stuff online also connotes a certain pride with the buyer’s market no longer limited to its country or city.

Let us consider a design for suits.  Displayed suits in retail stores in malls and garment stores stand the chance of being outmoded.  Of course it can be a bit frustrating, even when shopping online, if the buyer has no idea of his own preferred design.  But with the assistance of well-trained sartorial staff, an album of designs can be presented to you to choose from.

In a meeting with tailors, usually held in plush hotels in the city, the element of elegance is felt.  They came to your country to assist you make up your mind and take your measurements to produce that suit just for you.  You don’t get this kind of service when you physically walk into a garments store!

Online businesses focus more on long term client relationship as compared to the traditional physical shopping.  Strictly by appointment, meetings are conducted with the highest level of service through full attention to the client’s needs and queries.  Shopping to stores will definitely pale by comparison as sales attendants entertain the client while their eyes are to the door.

Another is the feeling after the purchase.  Dealing with representative of an online clothes company will give you the feeling of knowing you got the shirt or suit that you really want.  While shopping at department stores may give you a feeling that you got their best shirt as highly recommended by the sales representative.

Often times, physical shopping results to the shopper buying what is on sale or the item pushed by store attendants.  At the end of the day, that feeling of having come home and not really have purchased what you intended to buy can be devastating.  This rarely happens with online buying as customer requirements and expectancies are of prime value.

As a person is unique, so is his preference.  This is the secret of the online clothes company which made it a profitable enterprise.  It will not be a surprise to know that this kind of endeavour will continue to exist for the next centuries.  As they have evolved to be updated in their methods, they will continue to surmount any effect brought about by change.