I have observed that most people follow fashion trends. Newly released fashion items are usually prohibitively expensive and not pocket friendly. I have a very simple strategy to get around this loophole. I usually purchase fashion items when they are not in vogue, just after they have slipped out of the limelight. This enables me to save alot especially if the items are durable. This applies especially for clothing items.
True, items are most expensive when they are just released, therefore only buy them when they are not in season already. The same rule goes for electronic items such as gadgets.
Fashion trends hardly ever interest me. They did when I was younger but those times are gone. My advice to those who must keep up with the trends is to buy cheaper knock offs. I've seen some Chinese knock-offs which would fool anyone. Their quality however . . . but that shouldn't matter though because before the clothes are worn out, something new will have hit the markets.
This thread reminds me of my nephew who is a fashion follower. But he cannot afford expensive products so he is trying to be smart. With the iPhone, he would scout among his friends who owns an iPhone and when a new model is coming out, he would offer to buy the older model. Now there is a new iPhone coming out and I am thinking of buying it for his birthday this month of May. However, I was surprised that an iPhone here costs more than $500.
I think there are ways to follow the trend without having to pay much for it. Buying last season's trend is also not such a terrible strategy and it certainly has its advantages, but for those that want to be as current as possible but not spend too much I believe it's also possible to do so, but just with a little more research and maybe a lot of flexibility and resourcefulness. I think this is especially more possible nowadays when you can learn more from others who are like minded and are also more than willing to share their secrets and strategies online through blogs and youtube videos.
