商場裏血拼時避免犯錯的五個方法大綱

HELL HATH NO FURY like a woman with ill-fitting designer pants and a receipt bearing the hateful red block letters: 'FINAL SALE.' That woman, dear reader, was me-standing before a full-length mirror in my bedroom, puzzling over the inexplicable combination of a gaping waist and narrower-than-comfortable legs on a pair of Celine tuxedo trousers, and, of course, getting madder by the minute. Shopping well requires information, which of course takes time to acquire. Here are some of my own rules.

一條不合身的名牌褲子和一張印有“清倉特價”字樣的發票可以讓一個女人極度抓狂。親愛的讀者，那個女人就是我。我站在臥室的鏡子前，苦苦思索自己爲什麼要購買這條Celine西褲，繃開的褲腰和過緊的褲腿讓這條褲子顯得超不合身。穿上它，每時每刻都讓我抓狂。成功的血拼需要豐富的資訊，當然，這些資訊需要花時間去累積。以下是我的血拼準則。

Believe in Love at First Try.

相信第一次試穿時的感受

This is not as head-in-the-clouds romantic as it sounds. What it means: If a piece-particularly a high-end designer one-doesn't immediately make you feel fantastic, walk away. Those pesky bugs, like a collar that doesn't sit right or a too-snug fit, will only bother you more as time goes on. I still recall the experience of trying on one of my most winning purchases-a black wool coat by Stella McCartney that I still wear some three years later. I felt like nerdy Clark Kent changing into his Superman tights: cooler, chicer, smarter. That's now my bar with expensive clothes. When you get that feeling, take the plunge. Missing out on something great is a mistake. Incidentally, this was the first rule broken with the aforementioned Celine pants. In the store, I fidgeted endlessly with the flawed fit, which should have been a blanket-sized red flag.

這句話並不像聽上去那樣浪漫。它的實際意思是：如果一件服裝（特別是大牌設計師的作品）並有馬上給你很棒的感覺，那就趕緊走開。如果衣服設計上存在一些煩人的小問題――例如衣服領子看上去不夠端正、領口太緊等，那麼隨着時間的推移，這些問題會更加困擾你。我仍記得我試穿Stella McCartney設計的一款黑色羊毛大衣時的感受。我感覺就像書呆子Clark Kent穿上了他的超人緊身衣：自己變得更酷、更時髦、更聰明瞭。大約三年過去了，我仍穿着大衣。現在這已經成爲我購買高價衣服的標準。如今這是我決定是否購買昂貴衣服時採用的一個準則。當你有那種很棒的感覺時，就買下它。錯過一件很棒的衣服是一個錯誤。順便說一句，這就是我買上述Celine西褲時違反的第一條準則。當時在店裏試穿時，我穿着這條不合身的褲子糾結了半天，這本應該是一個再明顯不過的警示信號了。

Sales Are Suspect.

不要相信促銷

This is the second rule I violated in La Affaire Céline. What are the odds that a classic piece from a coveted fashion brand would drop to over 50% off? Zero. Well-made wardrobe builders rarely languish on racks. What lingers there are irksome skirts and troubled tops that 20 people tried on and rejected. 'I would see the pieces left at the end of the season at Mick Margo,' said Ms. Ferber. 'It wasn't like they weren't pretty, but something was a bit off.'

這是筆者在購買La Affaire Céline時違反的第二條準則。作爲一個高檔時尚品牌的經典款式，折扣幅度超過50%的可能性有多大？當然是零！大品牌做工精良，基本上不愁銷路。剩下的都是不怎麼樣的裙子和有問題的上衣，估計有20人試穿過最後又不要的那種。費伯說，季末Mick Margo會有些沒賣出去的貨，這些衣服也不是不好看，就是有點不對勁。

Tailors Are Not Fashion Wizards.

衣服改動無法複製潮流

In the face of something marked down to 70% off, some shoppers resort to a form of magical thinking in which they doggedly conclude that a size 12 piece can be transformed into a size 2 in a Honey-I-Shrunk-The-Frock way. Major tailoring surgery changes proportions, and can turn the trapeze coat you thought you were buying into a capelet. And it still might not fit. Co-founder of clothing label Apiece Apart Laura Cramer recalled buying a size 12 Chloé dress at Neiman Marcus's Last Call sale store years ago to wear while pregnant. Her belly quickly expanded beyond its limits, and when she tried to have the dress tailored to a size 4 post-pregnancy, the sleeves ended up far too slim. 'I'm waiting for the perfect person to give it to, someone with really skinny arms and a bit of a belly,' joked Ms. Cramer, whose line, launched with her friend Starr Hout, is grounded in essentials designed to help women avoid fashion mistakes.

面對一些打折幅度低至70%的商品，一些顧客一廂情願地認爲，一件12號的衣服可以神奇地縮小到2號。進行重大裁剪一般會改變衣服的比例，一件梯形大衣經過改動後，可能會讓你以爲自己買了一件披肩，而且改動後還未必合身。Apiece Apart的創始人之一克拉默(Laura Cramer)記得多年前在尼曼(Neiman Marcus)的大清倉活動中買過一件12號的珂洛艾伊(Chloé)品牌的衣服以便在懷孕時穿。她的肚子很快就長得穿不下了。後來孕期結束後她嘗試着把這件衣服改成4號大小，結果衣服的袖子緊得不得了。克拉默開玩笑稱，自己等着將這件衣服送給一個最合適的人，這個人得有很細的胳膊還得有點肚子。克拉默和朋友豪特(Starr Hout)共同創立了Apiece Apart，該品牌的設計主要幫助女性避免時尚誤區。

Hold Grudges. Remember Your Friends.

愛恨分明

As tempting as it might be to sweep your mistakes under the rug and forget them, I'd suggest keeping a list of blunders to avoid repeating the error. I learned the hard way with a black cashmere crew neck from contemporary line Equipment that, within a few wears, turned into a pilled mess. It was purchased under duress-I was leaving for a round of fashion shows in Europe and needed a sweater fast. In my closet, Equipment knits are now verboten, as are those from any brand I've found don't go the distance. (Equipment did not respond to a request for comment.) On the flip side, keep a list of labels which have done you right. (I later found my perfect black crew neck from Ann Mashburn.) You'll efficiently narrow the overloaded market.

儘管將買錯的東西藏到角落裏並忘掉它們的做法很有誘惑力，但我的建議是，記下犯過的錯誤以免重蹈覆轍。我買過的一件Equipment品牌的黑色圓領羊毛衫給我留下了教訓。穿過幾次之後，毛衣起球嚴重，簡直是一團糟。當時買下它也是情勢所迫――我需要動身去歐洲參加一系列時尚秀，急需一件毛衣。現在我的衣櫃裏不允許出現Equipment的針織衫，就像其他我發現不耐穿的品牌一樣。（Equipment沒有迴應置評請求。）另一方面，也要記下適合你的品牌（我後來在Ann Mashburn找到了完美的黑色圓領毛衣）。這樣你就可以在繁雜的市場中有效縮小選擇範圍。

The Internet Giveth, the Internet Taketh.

互聯網有利有弊

Knowing what's out there is crucial to shopping error-free. That's never been easier with the myriad e-commerce sites that let you sift through new merchandise in minutes, as well as tools like the shopping section on Ms. Davis's Keep It Chic blog where she posts an authoritative selection of pieces from Net-a-porter, Barneys and others. And new e-commerce site the Line has such a sharply focused offering that, if I shopped solely from it, chances are I'd never err.

瞭解情況對於避免購物失誤至關重要。但這並不容易，無數的電子商務網站讓你可以在幾分鐘內挑選新品，還有類似Ms. Davis的Keep It Chic博客等購物相關工具可做參考。Davis會在博客上發佈權威的Net-a-porter、Barneys等商家的精選單品。而新的電子商務網站the Line所提供的商品有着統一的主題，如果你只從這裏購物，幾乎不會有犯錯的機會。