How to shop the high street

It often happens to me that I see someone walking in a wáánzinnig piece of clothing and when I ask where it's from, I get “oh that's just from Zara!” HOW THEN I wonder. I really haven't seen that piece hanging and you can bet I would have bought it otherwise. Look, if you have the budget to empty net-a-porter, then it's not too difficult to look good. But those with a normal to small budget have to approach it more creatively. I went on how to find the gems among the thousands of pieces in stores like Zara, H&M, and River Island.

So I'll just start with that. You don't buy basics at Zara or H&M because your basics need to be good. Really good. T-shirts from T by Alexander Wang for example, a white blouse from Agnes B, a trench coat from Burberry, a cashmere sweater from Totême or J. Crew, and a large warm cardigan from Acne. These are pieces that form the basis of the rest of your wardrobe, so you buy them once and enjoy them for years. The ‘nice sweaters’ from the big chains are nice until you wash them. Or wear them more than twice.

H&M and Zara often have pieces hanging at normal prices that are just a bit more expensive, but also just a bit more special. These are bought in smaller quantities, so they sell out faster and you won't see them on every corner of the street. So be alert for that one top piece and run straight to the checkout.

Zara for example receives new pieces multiple times a week and they also change the layout of the store faster than you can say net-a-porter. This way, every time you come, you think OMG I MUST HAVE EVERYTHING. If you come regularly, you see the changes, but you also see what's new and can strike immediately.

As in, try to figure out when those new deliveries come in and make sure you're at the front.

Or just buy everything online if you know your size. The thing is, the clothes in the store have already been tried on by a hundred million people and are therefore no longer sparkling new. I like to try on extensively in the real store first and then quickly go home to order everything online. You get everything completely new and fresh and oh that's so lovely.

For people with a full-time job, it's quite difficult to realize, but still, the best time to shop is Monday morning. Or actually every morning. During that peak time, you'll soon be standing outside screaming in madness.

Do you have something on and think, “yeah, pretty nice, and not expensive, but yeah...” No. Don't. You're never going to wear it anyway and you only buy it because it's a piece for little money and that's not a good motivation.

Fijne winkelervaring!