Five shopping rules

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 25, 2006. Shopping

It’s been an unintentionally numeric week here (Top 10 Australian fashion blogs, 5 people you need to talk to about money, 4 rules for enjoying trends responsibly) so I’m going to finish on the same note — with someone else’s great numeric-themed post.

Over at the Buffalo State Fashion blog, Julie has posted 5 rules of shopping. Her rules:

1. Look beyond what you always buy.
2. Always try it on.
3. It’s gotta be comfortable and flattering.
4. Ask yourself: can you afford it? do you really need it?
5. If you still love it, buy it.

More on her blog.

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Top 10 Australian fashion blogs: UPDATED

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 23, 2006. Fashion, Links

An update to the ‘Top 10 Australian fashion and shopping blogs’ list I posted a couple of days ago, because I accidentally left someone out! Oops!

Here’s the updated list:

1. Coolchiq (fashion)
   Style is everything, comfort is nothing.
   Technorati rank: 41,891 (186 links from 76 blogs)
2. The Bargain Queen (shopping)
   The ‘babe on a budget’ blog. (Me! Yay!)
   Technorati rank: 59,192 (112 links from 54 blogs) (new URL); 49,673 (189 links from 64 blogs) (old URL)
3. Karina XOXO (fashion)
   Style, beauty, retail therapy & more… All brought to you by a self-confessed cosmetic & fashion addict.
   Technorati rank: 68,617 (100 links from 47 blogs)
4. Style Space (fashion)
   Clothes, shoes, models and designers from hobo chic to high-end.
   Technorati rank: 79,048 (110 links from 41 blogs)
5. The Style Police (celebrity fashion)
   Pop culture for dummies.
   Technorati rank: 128,934 (34 links from 26 blogs)
6. Camarilla (fashion)
   The hottest in Australian independent fashion.
   Technorati rank: 171,739 (35 links from 20 blogs)
7. Sassybella: The Column (fashion)
   The latest fashion news from Australia and around the world.
   Technorati rank: 192,556 (28 links from 18 blogs)
8. I Heart That (celebrity fashion)
   All the latest fashion, style, celebrities, and trends.
   Technorati rank: 218,175 (187 links from 16 blogs)
9. ModaMuse (shopping)
   Showcases Australian and New Zealand designers and artisans with a fresh, modern outlook. From fashion to stationery to furniture.
   Technorati rank: 218,175 (33 links from 16 blogs)
10. Slave to Shopping (shopping)
    A Canadian who recently moved to Sydney blogs about food, shopping, restaurants, design, travel, books, movies and other fun stuff.
    Technorati rank: 320,688 (17 links from 11 blogs)

Have I missed anyone else? Please let me know if I have!

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Enjoy fashion trends responsibly: four rules

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 22, 2006. Fashion

Do you feel as conflicted about following fashion trends as I do? On the one hand, new trends mean pretty new things, and I love pretty new things. On the other hand, changing trends make perfectly functional items completely undesirable, which is bad for both the wallet and the planet.

It is possible to enjoy the latest trends, save money and look after the environment, but it takes a little effort. After years of working to find the balance, I’ve whittled it down to four rules (and some tips for sticking to them):

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We’re in this week’s Festival of Frugality

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 16, 2006. News

We’re in this week’s Festival of Frugality, over at Experiments in Finance. For some great money-saving tips, go and take a look.

My personal favourites this week are:

• A guide to book swapping services online. I never knew these existed but they’re a brilliant idea — I’ll have to give it a go!
• 5 ways to save money on haircuts. For the boys of course. The Bargain Queen never skimps on haircuts!
  
• Don’t make this shopping mistake at the grocery store - it’ll cost you. Bigger quantities aren’t always cheaper.
• New York City on a budget. Fantastic tips for the traveller!
• Adult allowances. A great idea for making room in your budget for the fun things in life. Mr Bargain Queen and I do this too — we each have a ‘play money’ allowance every week that we can spend on anything we want. We don’t account for where it goes and don’t have to justify what we spend it on to one another (no matter how frivolous). It’s money we can afford to spend as we please, so that’s exactly what we do.

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Christmas gift idea: gorgeous bargain bags

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 15, 2006. Bags, Bargains

I’ve been deliberately ignoring the impending Christmas season for as long as possible because I hate the way it takes over retail in September and doesn’t leave ’til January… but I had to pass this on for all the males out there who don’t want to think about gifts for the woman in their life until at least December 23rd. (You know who you are!)

If you’re looking for a wonderful, extravagant Christmas gift for your wife or girlfriend, here’s an idea: a designer handbag. If you can afford one, they’re an appropriate ‘thank you’ for the woman who makes you happy, loves you to bits, bears your children and only nags occasionally!

At full price, they’ll still break most budgets — but I’ve found some lovely bags at 70% off, which is a little more realistic (as well as a cheaper option at the end). Remember, this isn’t an everyday purchase. Any of these bags will last for years and look beautiful the whole time, so the cost-per-use works out to be reasonable.

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I’m in the paper!

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 10, 2006. News

Our local paper, the Inner-West Weekly, has a story about The Bargain Queen in this week’s issue called Sara just loves a bargain (definitely an accurate headline!).

If you’re in Sydney’s inner west you can see it in the print edition, or click the link above to read it online.

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Sale, clearance or quit stock: which is best?

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 10, 2006. Shopping

So you’d like to go bargain shopping for some fabulous cheap clothes — sales are great for that, right? Well… maybe.

In retail, there are three main types of ’sale’ and knowing the difference makes it much easier to find the best bargains.

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Meet the Queen!

By Sydney's Bargain Queen, Sara. November 9, 2006. News

Mr Bargain Queen and I will be going to the inaugural Sydney Weblogger Meet-up on November 23rd and we’d like to personally invite any other Sydney bloggers reading this to come too.

We’re taking it upon ourselves to try to balance out the geek factor by encouraging all the lovely ladies and hot blokes blogging about fashion, shopping or anything remotely related to attend.

If Mr Bargain Queen and I aren’t enough of a draw, Australia’s #1 fashion blogger Coolchiq and our newest great shopping blogger Slave to Shopping will also be there. The fine people from Camarilla and Sassybella have also said they’ll try to make it, schedules permitting.

As for other potential attendees, the people behind Limes & Lycopene (a nutrition blog), Mr Science Show, OnVoiceOver (news for Australian creatives) and Hoyden About Town have all RSVPed ‘maybe’, so there should be a diverse and interesting bunch there… including my dear friend Cathy from BloodyKitty and fellow former Adelaidean Benn from Royaltech.

Plus the people from AustralianBlogs.com.au have said they might attend — so all Sydney bloggers should attend to suck up and get a better spot in their directory. (Joking!)

If you’d like to attend, details are:

When?

Thursday, Nov 23, 2006, 7:00 PM

Where?

Paddy Maguires Pub, George St (Cnr Hay St) Sydney

You can sign up to attend here.

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