Many people complain about the massive difference in sizing especially when it comes to women’s fashion. You may be a size 12 in one shop but a 10 or 14 in another. This can make it very hard to buy anything without trying it on first.
Even sizing within the same shop can vary and sometimes it’s due to the style of the item but other times it is due to the manufacturer. If the clothing is manufactured in different places then they may class a size 12 differently to what another manufacturer does.
When ordering online you will often find a size guide which gives you the actual measurements used to determine the sizes. This may be a more reliable way of checking which size you need to order.
Before making a purchase online or instore it is important to check what their returns policy is. Many retailers will offer you the chance to return the item but you may not be eligible for a refund. Instead you may have to accept an exchange or a credit note.
If you cannot try the item on due to the fitting rooms being closed or they do not have any, then confirm with the shop if they would be willing for you to return the item for a refund if it doesn’t fit.

With Christmas out the way and New Year almost upon us, some people have already started to take advantage of the sales that often start as early as Boxing day. Many shops have lots of stock that they want to clear from the previous year and slash prices to get rid of it quick. You will often see sales where prices are discount by up to 70% meaning you really can save a bundle.
If you are looking for a new wardrobe, then now is time to shop. It’s not only summer clothing that is sold off cheap at this time of year, you will also get some great bargains on winter and spring clothing meaning you can stock up for the whole year. If you have received any vouchers at Christmas time then now may be a great time to spend them as it is not only clothing that gets reduced at this time of year. Shops such as Boots often have fantastic savings on gift sets, meaning if you are super organised, you could even start your shopping for the following Christmas or for birthdays that come up throughout the year. Be sure to check how long you get to return any items that are in the sale and if you can get a refund as some shops will only offer you an exchange or credit note.

Lots of people love fashion and like to take an interest in the latest trends to storm the high street, but for many of us, the chance to go out every week and shop for a new wardrobe is simply off the cards. If you are up for grabbing a bargain then there are things you should look out for to help you snap up the item that you have had your eyes on. When heading into a store, have a look round to see if they have a sale section. Many shops always have a number of reduced items and they may be in with the other clothing or out on selected rails. You may be surprised just how much you can save by only shopping in the sales aisle of clothes shops.

If you are a savvy online shopper then you may be the envy of all your friends, always managing to get something for less and filling up your wardrobe with new but not expensive items. Before making any purchase online, be sure to shop around and compare prices. Some items or clothing are sold at more than one retailer, and by comparing the prices before you buy, you may be able to save yourself a few quid. Voucher codes and promo codes are also a must for shopping online. There are a number of websites that collate known voucher codes and publish them for you to use.

If you have been blessed with wide feet you will already know how hard it can be to get shoes that fit you properly. You may find that you need half sizes as you are in-between two sizes or that you need to find a shop that sells wide fit shoes.

On the high street there are more and more shops that sell wide fitting shoes than years ago, but still often the range is quite limited. Most of the “going out” shoes seem to be designed for people with very narrow feet and if you have wide feet you may find that the style you like simply isn’t available.

Shopping online does often give you a better choice but it is sometimes hard to tell exactly what a shoe looks like until you have tried it on. You also may not know what size you are as some people still have to go up a size even in some wide fitting shoes.

If you are ordering from a catalogue then you may decide to order both sizes to try on, check the returns process before you do this to ensure you can return one pair for free and to get a full refund.

The debate over whether real animal fur should be used in fashion has been with us for much of the 20th Century, and it’s clear that there are passionate arguments on both sides. Fur wearers have even been subject to abuse in public, being coated in red paint and the like. Whilst we can all see that there’s evidently some moral argument that it’s wrong to breed and slaughter animals purely for their skin, and many of us would support a ban, surely there can be no issue with fake fur?

Well, no. Whilst it obviously doesn’t involve the breeding or death of an animal, fake fur does still need to be produced and there are costs involved to doing so. Businesses are always on the look-out for ways to cut costs and not all do this ethically. As people have become more conscious about fur, demand for it has fallen meaning prices fall. In addition, with much production now overseas, quality control has got much more complex.

Ultimately what this means is that real fur is now cheaper to produce than fake fur. It’s perhaps no surprise then that real fur is being passed off as fake fur, leading to a cross-party group of UK MPs calling for a total ban.