Create your own style

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TODAY'S shopper is an individual who's more likely to wear a pair of designer shoes with a $30 top than dress head-to-toe in Gucci.
She's also astutely aware of key trends, thanks to the styled-up celebs gracing the pages of glossy magazines, but is likely to devote just as much time trawling through op shops as she spends in upmarket department stores stocking up on big brands.

With the mid-year sales in full swing, the stores are teeming with this new breed of shoppers and their strategic spending patterns.

So much so that winter stock is flying off the shelves and forcing clothing stores to bring in spring/summer stock early to satisfy fashion-savvy customers.

Judy Coomber, merchandise director for apparel at Myer, has noticed a difference in the way women shop in recent years and calls it the "three" theory. She says today's shoppers are more likely to buy a $30 Miss Shop knit tunic, a $300 pair of Bettina Liano jeans and a $3000 Marc Jacobs handbag to create a unique look than spend all their money on budget clothes or designer gear alone.

"I think it's become much more obvious over the last two or three years, when people were more about the brand, whereas now they're about the individual look," Coomber says.

"They are much more aware of what the looks are and how to put them together, but they want people to think they've been able to put it together with their own individual handwriting.

"They want the brands there in accessories, but don't necessarily want to be dressed head to toe in Prada."

So why the sudden change in their shopping habits?

Brisbane personal stylist Di Cant, who has worked with big names including Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Richard Tyler, says women's priorities have changed, as they are tired of splurging their money on a wardrobe of designer clothes that can go out of fashion as soon as a celebrity decides to change her style.

"I think women are more clued up," Cant says.

"They're still prepared to buy some brands, but not prepared to buy the whole brand story.

"For a long time, people would buy a whole look and go in and buy four or five relating pieces of one brand. It's now a brand plus cheap and cheerful equals stylish, confident girl."

But Cant says it's not necessarily better to spend the money you would have spent on a designer brand on a cheap one that might not be flattering or suit your body shape.

"For a lot of women who have a body that may have changed a little or might not be tall enough or wide through the hip, they sometimes need to put a little bit of money into a trouble spot," she says.

"I still say you have to get your shapes right.

"You can still do that with cheap and cheerful, but it takes a bit of expertise and shopping around."

Westfield celebrity stylist Fiona Milne (Fifi) believes shopping to create an individual look is fine, as long as customers are well informed of what suits them.

"People are definitely rejecting the mass-produced look for an individual look, which is great because it really is a form of expression and a reflection of your personality," Fifi says.

"On the other hand, because the look is about eclectic dressing, women need a lot more information.

"Ninety per cent of the population would have trouble creating that look because there's so many choices now."

Coomber says the change in shopping habits doesn't apply to men. "Men are driven more by the brands they know and love and know fit them and feel comfortable in," she says.

David Jones general manager womenswear David Bush agrees that customers have become more fashion-savvy and more confident in creating their own look, but says he doesn't think shopping patterns have changed much.

"Certainly we have a customer who prefers to create their own look, but equally we have many customers who are absolutely brand-loyal and would prefer to create a look from one particular brand," Bush says.

He says this year's winter stocktake sale was more successful than expected, and as a result, the spring/summer stock will start appearing on the shelves over the next month.

Similarly, the start of the Myer stocktake sale last week coincided with Queensland's first cold snap, and 50 per cent of the winter stock on sale sold in the first day of the sale.

Jackets, especially trench coats, scarves and electric heaters have been the biggest sellers.

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