Shopping in St Andrews: The Online Solution

St Andrews University has the unique quality of providing us with the most varied, spectacular and completely weird events. From balls, bops and fashion shows where we are required to wear anything from a formal gown to a pair of wellyboots, being able to find an outfit easily is essential. But unless you are particularly thrifty with something from a charity shop, or even New Look, we are completely out of luck.

So thank god for the Internet! Forget Google, Wikipedia or MMS and let’s say thanks for Asos, Topshop online and many more. But online shopping can be a bit of a hit or a miss sometimes, and knowing how to navigate round the obstacles that each different one poses is simply essential knowledge for life in St Andrews.

My first port of call for all my shopping needs is Asos. It has a huge range of styles, sizes, cuts and colours so you can find something for almost every occasion, and with it being so easy to return then really why not?!

FYI

• Plan your ordering well in advance and take advantage of the emails that inform you of free next day delivery or give you discount codes.
• If you live in a flat with other regular purchasers then give a thought to creating a communal account and splitting the Asos premium delivery package. Splitting £15 between 4 people means that even in your first order you save money on delivery charges.
• After being caught out a few times myself, leaving pressing that ‘order now’ button to the last moment could result in disappointment and then a following frantic panic when it suddenly goes out of stock. Watch out for that low in stock notification!
• Another thing to remember is you get what you pay for. Despite what the dress looks like on the absolutely stunning model a £20 dress may not be made of the nicest fabric or have the most flattering cuts.

Being able to order from Topshop and Urban Outfitters really helps the feeling of detachment you get when living inside the bubble. As I explain to my parents, it’s like a little bit of home!

FYI

• If you are a regular shopper then you will already be familiar with the sizes and styles that you want. This takes away that guessing aspect that comes from ordering from Asos and its million different brands with their own size guide.
• Again planning in advance is always a good idea if you are trying to take advantage of any offers.
• Put your Facebook stalking to good use for once! With most high street stores usually producing a few pieces that seem to catch the eye of everyone, have a check of Facebook first of all. Check it’s not one of your best friends or someone you are likely to see at an event that has the outfit, and secondly see how it looks on them. Use them as a virtual dressing room as, let’s face it, most of us do not have the tiny proportions of the models on the web.
• If you are venturing into civilisation and wish to return a purchase you can always do it in store too.

Need a bit more excitement injected into your shopping? Then try out cocosa.com. It’s an online shopping site where for a limited time they sell small amounts of select collections for a few hours, or at least until they sell out for a reduced price. Before the sale they allow you to look at the items before and inform you of upcoming sales. It is in fact the way in which I bought my Hunter wellies for a mere £30. Granted, I did have to buy them in white which was the only colour in the sale. White is such a practical colour for wellies…

FYI

• Look everything over before you buy. There is no time to hesitate or you will miss out. Have a look on the website daily for upcoming sales so you can plan for future events and snag a bargain.
• Remember the cardinal rule of bargain hunting. It’s not really a bargain if you wouldn’t have even considered it full price. Do not make the mistake of buying a bag of rubbish just because it’s reduced. Spending £20 on something you will never wear just because it was £50 before is not a saving.

Being an expert at online shopping – especially in St Andrews – can save you time, money and stress. When it’s coming up to an event you just need to be a bit brave when you hit that ‘pay at check-out button’, and be smart with your shopping.

Photo © Topshop.co.uk