Before I make my confession, I want to start by affirming my love for Perth. You are not too busy, but not too isolated. You have fabulous beaches and weather. You are very social. BUT… its pains me to say you tend to lack in the retail shopping department. I know you are trying, Claremont Quarter, Leederville and Beaufort St are great, but they are also stressful, limited and expensive.

My dilemma with you Perth is that when I work full time there is very little time left to get to the shops. By the time the weekend comes around popular items have sold out or sizing is limited. When it comes to shopping in Perth, it is definitely a case of “First in Best Dressed”.

I have strayed from the shops of Perth (and I don’t just mean a casual weekend fling in Melbourne).  Online shopping. It is an art, and over the past year I am still perfecting my technique. But there is no better feeling, than the feeling you get as you receive your parcel in the mail, and the dress, skirt, top, shorts, jeans, jacket, shoes or all of the above (guilty) fits!

If I am completely honest with you, there have been a few occasions when the item is received and I think, “Oh My Goodness, what was I thinking?” And back it goes to where it came from within a few hours so that said item can no longer taunt me.

Here are my Top 10 Tips to achieving a 99.9% success rate when it comes to online shopping.

1. Know your fashion style. Google a celebrity or celebrities that have a style you like. There are thousands of online shops that stalk celebrities and what they are wearing.
*NOTE It is important to google celebrities and NOT models. Models look good in everything, unless you have their body type, it is too deceiving to base the clothes you like off of what they wear.

2. Go window shopping (in actual shops). Try on everything from high waisted, to cropped to floral to lace. What makes you look slimmer, how do you elongate your legs, what should you stay away from. Know which colours suit your skin tone.

3. Online Returns Policy. Once you have established the fundamentals, run a background check on the online store you are looking to purchase from. The most important aspect is their ‘Returns Policy’. Never buy from an online store that doesn’t allow returns. Being able to return an item is your safety net.

4. Check the websites shipping rates. A lot of websites ship for free to Australia, if yours doesn’t, google the item or brand you are looking to purchase because there is a high chance that another website will be offering the same item, with free shipping.

5. Look at the materials the item is made from. If you have a basic understanding of the cost of materials you will know not to pay $200 for a polyester top (maybe if it was silk).

6. Try not to make impulse purchases. Always put the item in your shopping bag or add the page to ‘Favourites’ on your computer. Leave it for a day or two and if you still want it just as much, you know it’s a keeper!

7. Don’t be fooled by online sales. While there can be great bargains, try to make sure you are not purchasing the ‘Best of the Worst’.

8. What size is the model wearing? Some websites will state what size the model is wearing or if it runs small or large. These websites will often have comments from others that have purchased the item. It is all useful to make sure you are purchasing the right size.

9. Don’t be afraid of ebay! Just check comments of past buyers and their rating. There are some great online start up stores.

10. If you are uncertain of any small detail on the item, whether it be in store or online, don’t buy it!

Happy shopping!

Ali x

P.S Remember Creatures are always updating the online shopping page on the site. If you would like to be featured, give us a bell.