Shopping research & my new dress!

It may not seem like it from reading my blog but I rarely treat myself to new clothing. Honestly, almost everything I buy I end up writing about so you can probably tell from my blog that I’ve only got about three new dresses this year (though I make up for this with shoes). I’m almost proud of this fact and I’ll tell you why; I’ve been trying to give up shopping.

Okay, not all shopping. Make-up, hair products, toiletries and underwear are everyday essentials that need to be replenished. But when it comes to shopping for clothing and things I’ve been trying to cut back on how much I buy, and I think I’ve been doing quite well. I’ve been trying to keep my shopping to a minimum for two reasons; firstly, I want to save some cash for summer adventures, and secondly, I already have too much stuff and it’s spilling out of my wardrobe!

That said, I really did need a dress to wear for my friend’s wedding next week (above, which I wrote about last month – I didn’t buy new shoes though, I’m reusing my old faves) and I couldn’t resist this striped dress from Blue Vanilla when I spotted it online last month. I decided that, if I was only going to invest in one dress this summer, this gorgeous shift dress would be my best bet as it will be great for promenade strolls with a denim jacket in the summer and would be cosy with tights and a cardi in the autumn and winter. A sound investment, I’m sure you’ll agree!

I recently read an article on the shopping habits of UK consumers and was pleasantly surprised to find out that many shoppers would be happy to pay more for a product if it were produced in the UK. I’m a big fan of supporting local makers and UK-based companies so I totally agree with the 58% of surveyed adults who would rather buy British-made items.

Most respondents to this survey would prefer clothing and accessories to be made in the UK and I think may be a result of the horror stories we hear about factory conditions abroad. I know that I would feel happier spending my money on just one piece of clothing that had been produced in good working conditions rather than lots of low-cost items.

I wonder whether this research on shopping by MyVoucherCodes is showing a similar shift in shopping habits of UK consumers already? Will customers be more likely to give up shopping and saving for one well-produced item instead? What do you think about this? Let me know by leaving me a comment below.