You’ll never believe it: Addicted to bargains. How one reader has a packed wardrobe on the cheap!
Savvy shopper Alison Stankard, 44, got a heaving wardrobe on the cheap
Standing at the checkout, I jiggled with excitement as the shop assistant scanned my items.
A smile spread across my face as, one by one, the discounted prices flashed up on the screen.
‘I can’t believe that top was £25 and now it’s only a fiver!’ I gushed. And when the cashier announced the grand total, a sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through me.
In 10 minutes, I’d swept through the sales rails and bagged four tops, two dresses and an on-trend leather jacket for under £100!
As a self-confessed cut-price fashionista, I find nothing more thrilling than picking up a bargain – I rarely wear the same outfit twice.
Even as a teen, I was one of those kids who loved to bend the rules.
I was the first one in my class to own a pair of Red Or Dead platform shoes, and by 15, rocked flares, silver shirts and velvet jackets.
Fashion forward
In my twenties, working as an estate agent, I bought what I fancied. But, when I got married to my husband Anthony, then 41, and had my three children – Bella, in September 2007, followed by her brothers, Oscar three years later and Ted in October 2011 – I realised I had to curb my spending.
Thing is, I didn’t want to give up on my fashion fix, so I started to hone my bargain-hunting skills instead…
By now, working as an estate agent in Manchester city centre, I became an expert at dashing into the shops on my way to a viewing and quickly scouring the sales section.
I became hooked on the high of picking up a bargain.
I grew to know when the sales were about to take place as I’d eye the shop floor being re-arranged in preparation for the big event. And if I saw something I liked that cost £5, I’d buy it in an array of colours. While some women see a dress at £150 as an investment, I can get a week’s worth of clothes for that. I get so excited by bargain hunting that sometimes my emotions have bubbled over… Recently, I went to a friend’s charity event where we all had to pay £10 and bring a garment to swap. We could browse everyone’s donations for half an hour and then take an item. I was beside myself when I spotted a Victoria Beckham dress dotted with cats, and giddy from a few glasses of bubbles, squealed, ‘That’s mine!’ But, to my horror, another woman picked it up, and to my shame, I burst into tears. It wasn’t my finest moment.
The woman felt so guilty that she handed it over. ‘That’s awful!’ my mum chastised when I told her, but my friends are used to me being like this – they even give me their cast-offs.
Styling it out
Unsurprisingly, my two walk-in wardrobes are practically bursting.
Shopping is my number one hobby – I don’t drive a fancy car or have my nails done, so why not? As long as my children want for nothing, I don’t see the harm. And I’ll often pick up cute cut-price clothes for them too.
Fashion is a way of expressing your identity, and today, I run a Facebook page called ‘Totes Inappropes’ which features my daily outfits and has amassed 106,000 likes.
It started as an act of defiance after a woman came into the estate agents one day and told me my silver hot pants were inappropriate for the office! At least I don’t look like a fuddy-duddy.
The fact is, I love clothes and adore bargains. That’s why I wouldn’t – couldn’t – live my life any other way.
‘I got hooked on the high of picking up a bargain’