Change rooms are never very fun places, but there are a few simple tips and tricks I can give you to make the experience a little better…..

Not all change rooms are scary places. The change rooms at Glassons in Newmarket are amazing!

Not all change rooms are scary places. The change rooms at Glassons in Newmarket are amazing!

First as a retail ‘shop girl’, now as a personal style coach (and ALWAYS as a shop-a-holic), change rooms have played a big part in my life, but they still scare the ba-jebbers out of a lot of people, (understandably, the lighting is normally terrible...).

So here are a few expert tips from my MANY hours in change-rooms that will help make the experience less painful in the future.

Use them

Don’t EVER buy something without trying it on (unless you are buying EXACTLY the same thing, in the same size, in the same type of fabric, in a different colour). This is the number one reason so many of my clients end up with things in their wardrobe they don’t wear.

SO many things DON’T have hanger appeal – they are designed to look awesome on your body, not on a hanger, therefore you must try them ON to see how amazing they look. (the amount of times I’ve made my clients try on something that hated before they put on, ends up being their fave piece! It makes a difference trying it on.)

Don’t rush

This comes from the first tip, if you don’t have time to try it on, DON’T buy it. Come back another time when you do have a sec. And before you say “but I can return it” a) most of the time you actually can’t, exchange only. And b) you know that you probably won’t get around to it in the 7 days that you have anyway.

And if youDO take it back, it’s not worth the time and effort you will use up taking it back when you could have saved yourself the stress in the first place.

Come on out

MOST retail staff are actually there to help you, so let them help you! Often they know their product quite well and will be able to give you advice on size and colour. You might love the shape of what you are trying on, but not the colour – the staff will be able to tell you if there are any other colours you didn’t see.

I know that some staff are not so good at telling you the truth, but from my time on a shop floor, I was always REALLY honest with my customers, and plenty of others are too.

Stand back

You need to come out of the change rooms and look from a DISTANCE in a full length mirror.

Change rooms are SO small nowadays, and you are SO close to the mirror IN the room, come on out and use the big one on the outside.

By standing back, you will get a better over-all idea of how the garment you are trying looks. You see yourself as other see you, from a distance, as a whole, not scrutinising over every tiny lump and bump that you may, or may-not, think you see up close.

It’s all about proportion.

Clean up after yourself

If you’ve tried it on and it doesn’t work, put it back. RE-HANG it and give it to the retail assistant, get it out of the change room and it won’t get in the way. DO NOT throw it on the floor in a pile.

How NOT to leave a change room!

How NOT to leave a change room!

This is a BIG one for me. Treat the clothes with some respect in the change rooms and you will start to appreciate the value of the clothes more (and the staff will be more helpful and friendly if they don’t see a huge heap on the floor).

Remember, these are not YOUR clothes yet – you haven’t paid for them. Ever get annoyed when you try something on and there’s already a mark on it? Or the seam is already coming away? It’s more often than not because someone else has tried it on and been rough with it! Get it?

So there are my best tips for navigating the fun world that is change rooms! What is your best tip? I’d love to know, tell me in the comments below….

Until next time,
In Style & Love Always
Cait xoxo

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