The Best Times to Go Shopping
The Best Times to Go Shopping
最佳购物时机
It’s a simple fact that clothing wears out and styles change. This means it’s inevitable that everyone needs to repair or replace clothing once in a while - even those who absolutely despise（鄙视）shopping. For frugal shoppers, this means buying clothing when you can get the very best prices, which often takes a bit of pre-planning. Luckily, there are a few simple guidelines you can follow when trying to get the best deals on new clothing.
我们都知道，衣服总有过时的时候，款式总在不断变换。这就意味着每个人都要时不时地翻新衣橱里的存货——即便是那些极度鄙视血拼的人也不例外。对那些节约的购物者来说，买衣服得趁便宜，这就需要提前规划了。幸运的是，这里就有几条简单的购物指南，有了它们，你就能轻松淘到实惠的新衣服啦。Thursday Evenings
Stores typically reorganize their racks（货架）on Thursdays in order to replenish stocks （进货）for the weekend rush（周末购物潮）. Stores also generally mark down items that will be on sale over the weekend on Thursday evenings. If you want to beat the rush and get to those sale items（减价货）first, Thursday night is a great time for bargain shoppers to hit the malls. You also won’t have to compete for the bargains like you would during the busy weekend.
Six Weeks into the Season
周四晚上去购物
商场往往会在周四整理货架，以便腾出地方补充库存来迎接周末的购物潮。而且，在周四晚上，商场里周末要抛售的商品通常已经降价。如果你想错开高峰，抢占先机，周四晚上不失为一个冲向商场搜寻减价货的好机会。这样一来，你还可以躲过在热闹的周末和别人争强便宜货的情形。
If you’re in need of clothing for the current season, try to avoid giving in to the urge （冲动、强烈的欲望）to buy all the exciting new arrivals when they’re first in the store. About six or eight weeks after an item arrives, the price is marked down（降价）. If you can wait a measly six weeks, you’re lik ely to get a better a price than if you buy immediately. One of the downsides is that some very popular items might sell out over the six-week period. Although, if you’re purchasing from a chain store, you can always ask a sales associate to phone other locations to see if your item might be in stock（库存）elsewhere. Another great perk（好处）of waiting to buy is that it helps
to curtail（缩减、杜绝）any impulse spending. If you’ve completely forgotten about that item before the time is up, chances are you didn’t really need it anyway.
当季第六周购物好时节
如果你想买当季的衣服，尽量忍住冲动，别去买商场新鲜到店的那些。这些衣服到店后的六到八周都会降价。如果你能等过这短短六周，价钱就要比当时立刻买下便宜得多。而缺点在于，一些抢手货可能会在这六周里卖光。尽管如此，如果你是在一家连锁店里购物，总还可以让售货员打电话问问其他店还有没有库存。等待还有一个好处，就是可以杜绝冲动消费。如果你在这段时间内已经把这事儿全抛在脑后了，很可能你根本就不需要这件东西。
End of (or out of) Season
If your clothing size doesn’t change much from year to year, stocking up on clothing at the end of the season is a great way to save money and have a good supply of new clothing available for next year. This works well for many classic or staple items（基本款）, like suits（套装）, pants（长裤）, jeans or cardigans（开衫）that aren’t prone to going out of style too quickly. Trendy items（流行款）may be a riskier purchase, as they tend to become passé after a season or two.
季末（或反季节）购物
如果你的衣服尺码常年不变，那么在季末置办衣服是个省钱的好办法，而且还可以让你在明年此时不愁没新衣服穿。这一招对经典款和基本款最为适用，比如套装、长裤、牛仔裤或是开衫这些不会太快过时的衣物。流行款的风险则要高些，因为它们很可能在一两季之后就过时了。
Keep in mind that fashion seasons are different than the seasons marked on your calendar（日历）. When it comes to fashion, the new season usually begins about two months prior to the official change of season. Given this fact(考虑到这点), if you wait until the end of the season, you should still be able to get a little bit of wear out of a new item before having to pack it away for next year.
记住，时尚季和你日历上标记的季节可不一样。说起时尚，它的新一季通常比正式的季节变换提前两个月。考虑到这点，如果你等到季末再出手，还是能穿一阵子新衣服，而不是立刻就要把它收进衣柜里等待来年。
In January or February, you can start looking for cold weather clothing（冬衣）. Jackets and winter accessories often start to go on sale（开始降价）around this time. August is the month to find bathing suits（泳衣）, summer clothes（夏装）and sandals on sale as the summer starts to come to a close(快要过完了). Athletic footwear（运动鞋）usually goes on sale in January when people are looking to get going with New Year’s resolutions（计划）, though you may find sneakers（板鞋）on sale again in April. Jeans go on sale in October, after the back-to-school rush（返校热潮）has subsided（平息）.
在一月或二月，你就可以开始逛冬衣了。夹克还有冬季配饰这时候通常已经开始降价。八月是买打折泳衣、夏装和凉鞋的好时候，因为这时夏天快要过完了。运动鞋总是在人们开始新年计划的一月打折，而板鞋则是在四月。牛仔裤的折扣是在十月，返校大潮平息之后。
Scout the Sales Online
Many popular clothing retailers allow consumers to subscribe to their newsletters online. Many stores send out advance notice to（提前发送通知）their subscribers of big sales, or perhaps even allow subscribers to pre-shop（提前订购）at special events （特殊活动）. If you get the newsletter, you’ll know when all the promotions（促销）are happening at your favorite stores and you will be able to anticipate a markdown on those clothing items you’ve been admiring. You may also find that some stores offer discounts at their online stores（网店）that may not be available at the brick-and-mortar stores（实体店）.
在线追踪打折货
很多流行服饰零售商都允许顾客在网上订阅他们的简报。很多商场都向它们的订阅者提前发送打折信息，或者甚至让订阅者在一些特殊活动里提前订购。如果你拿到了简报，就会知道你最喜欢的商场里何时会有新的推广活动，而且还可以预测那些你喜欢的衣服什么时候降价。你还会发现，有些商场的网店会提供实体店里没有的折扣。
Discount and off-Price Retailers
Not interested in planning your shopping trips according to seasons and sales? Discount and off-price clothing stores（折扣店）can be a great choice. These stores typically buy large volumes of clothing from stores that have excess inventory, are clearing space for new merchandise or have gone out of business. You may not always be able to find what you need and you might find that some of the clothes on sale in these shops are completely out of season. But if you’ve got the time to spend and the
desire to dig, you might find a few gems（好东西）. Keep in mind that many of these discount retailers also sell staples like socks, hosiery（针织品、袜类）, t-shirts, active wear（运动服=sports wear）and other items that are not as prone to seasonal changes. 折扣店里去淘宝
不想照着季节和大甩卖安排你的购物行程？那么折扣店便是你的佳选。这些商店一般是买商场大宗尾单的，有些是为了给新品腾地方，还有些是已经不好卖了。你不一定总能在这种地方淘到自己想买的东西，而且你可能会发现这里的有些衣服已经完全过时。但如果你有闲又有心，也是有可能从中淘到好东西的。不要忘了，这些折扣店还卖袜子、T恤、运动服一类的基本装备，它们通常不会过季。
The Bottom Line
Whether you find shopping to be the most entertaining activity in existence or whether you d etest it more than anything, we all need clothing. Not only is it a good idea to buy once a season has already started, it’s typically best to avoid buying too close to a major holiday, when many clothing items are purchased as gifts. On the other hand, once these major holidays have passed, clothing items usually go on sale to liquidate the excess stock (sales after Christmas, for example). Though it’s prudent(谨慎的、精明的) to follow these guidelines for frugal shopping, also keep in mind that bargains can be found at any time during th e year and in every season. It’s just a matter of scoping out（对…的灵敏嗅觉）the sales and having the courage to battle the crowds.
探底购物
不论你是购物狂还是恨购族，人总是要买衣服的。除去季节开始后再下手购物之外，最好还要避开重大节日这种人们为送礼而购物的时候。但反过来说，一旦这些节日结束了，衣服总是会清仓降价（比如圣诞节后大甩卖）。尽管按照这些指南来节俭购物是明智之举，也不要忘了一年中的任何时候、任何季节都是有甩卖的。这只是对减价的灵敏嗅觉和在人群中抢货的勇气的问题。