After 2 months of interning at REFASH (and enjoying the monthly staff discounts), I’ve come to realise that one of my favourite things about buying from REFASH, is the sheer variety! 🥰 Our stores - both online and offline - bring together the trendiest pieces from all walks of fashion <3 from prominent staple names, to the most underrated blogshops! But the huge amount of variety also makes finding the right size and fit incredibly challenging sometimes 😔 so I’ve henceforth curated a (non-exhaustive) list of tips on how online shopping noobs like myself, can seek out and find the perfect outfit!
I hereby present… the Online Shopping Guide for Dummies — REFASH Edition!
1. Take advantage of measurement guides 📐
My first and most major tip would be to use measurement guides! It’s really beneficial to understand how measurements work in online shopping. I recently began taking my personal body measurements, and it’s been much more accurate than my previous approach of going with XS when in doubt (I’m a shortie lol).
Some of the more commonly-used measurements are PTP, Waist, Hips and Length. But to keep things short, I’ll only be running through the PTP measurement here. This post here actually provides a solid run-down of most of them.
PTP
One of the most important and versatile types of measurement that you have to be familiar with, is the PTP (short for Pit-to-pit) measurement! It is most commonly used in measuring shirts, dresses and other full-body pieces like overalls and jumpsuits.
One of the most common and reliable ways of measuring PTP involves measuring a well-fitting garment from one armpit to the next, across the chest.
Step 1: Button up or zip up the garment (if needed).
Step 2: Lay the garment out flat, face up with the arms in "T" shape.
Step 3: Measure from the edge of the armpit sewing to the other.
Source: Tate + Yoko
In essence, knowing your own personal measurements will go a long way in helping you find the right size and fit! So it’s worth it to put in the time and effort to do so!
💡 And here’s a bonus, REFASH-specific tip: as mentioned in all our clothing listings, don’t forget to allow for a 0.5-1” difference in our given measurements! It can be tricky to measure second hand garments, and our team strictly does not try on our items to ensure they are preserved in their initial conditions.
2. Dress to your body type 👗
Another big part of finding the right size and fit, is understanding how to dress according to your body type!
There are many resources out there that explain the various body types and how to pick clothing items that flatter them, but my personal favourites are fit finder quizzes! Some of such quizzes as shown here are more technical, requiring you to provide your exact measurements, while others are less structured and more interactive.
As we’ve said before in a previous blog article on dressing to your body type, all bodies are beautiful, and understanding your body type can help you buy the right clothes! Because you should always remember: you are not meant to fit the clothes, the clothes are meant to fit you 💕
3. Use tags and filters 🔖
All online shopping pages have filters and tags in place, and they exist for good reason! So remember to use them to customise your browsing page to your liking, you guys!
Did you know that REFASH sells other items besides clothes? No? Well, me neither! I actually only found out after joining the team 😉 But REFASH actually sells accessories - bags, wallets, shoes and brooches among other things - under the Local Market and Celebrity Closets tags!
I, for one, particularly enjoy browsing the Celebrity Closets tag! Celebrity Closets was a campaign we launched just this year, which curates and sells preloved items donated by local celebrities, with part of the proceeds donated to Daughters of Tomorrow! I like how its items are on-point, yet sensibly-priced! <3
Photo Credit: REFASH
Another huge tip I have is to filter items by availability! Any newly-sold items remain listed on our site for a short period of time, so to avoid viewing items that are unavailable, you can check our “In Stock” filter!
Photo Credit: REFASH
4. Take note of the return and refund policy ⚠️
Last but not least, take note of your online store’s return and refund policy! Every store has its own quirks, and you can read up on REFASH’s return/refund policy here.
But after a month or two of handling customer return/refund requests, I’d say that some of REFASH’s most important rules are that all return requests must be within 7 days of receiving/collecting your purchase and that change of mind returns are not accepted for items bought under 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free' sale campaigns.
But as with other online stores’ return/refund policies, our return policy by-and-large accords you some flexibility, and ensures that any purchase you make doesn't have to be a binding decision. So don’t worry too much, and have fun, okay? 😉
And that concludes my online shopping guide! With this in mind, I hope you can thrift with wisdom and confidence 💞
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