Beat the buyer

One of my clothes shopping bugbears is when the buyers have clearly got it wrong. After all, brands have distinct personalities. Even with fashion-forward brands like Topshop, which are constantly pushing for innovation, you pretty much know what you're getting before you enter the shop. It might not all be to my taste, but I see where it's going and what it's trying to do, and that makes me recognise it's brand personality. But have you ever been browsing through a shop, admiring the latest range, when you spot something so hideous, tacky and out of place that you can't even fathom what it's doing there? This happens to me more often than not in one particular shop *cough - River Island*, when among the fab denim shirts, pleather-sleeved parkas, tweed blazers and skater dresses I'll spot a neon pink, netted monstrosity which is so grotesque its presence looks like an accident. And every time this happens I can't help wondering what on earth the buyers were thinking.

After a recent run of these experiences, I questioned whether being a buyer was perhaps a very tricky job. After all, as a buyer your job is to make a brand stand out from the crowd. They want the public to ask their friends, "ooh, where's that from?" but when taking these gambles, there's a fine line between getting it completely right and completely wrong.

So could I be a buyer? Could I head over to wholesalers like City Goddess, be let loose with the company credit card and buy up some brilliant trends? I thought I'd give it a go, and found it quite fun. Putting myself in the shoes of Topshop, I chose these six pieces from City Goddess wholesalers and put my buying skills to the test.





If you could be a buyer for a day, which brand would yhou want to rescue?

Liked what you read today? Then why not subscribe? Just click the button: