HELL HATH NO FURY like a woman with ill-fitting designer pants and a receipt bearing the hateful red block letters: 'FINAL SALE.' That woman, dear reader, was me-standing before a full-length mirror in my bedroom, puzzling over the inexplicable combination of a gaping waist and narrower-than-comfortable legs on a pair of Celine tuxedo trousers, and, of course, getting madder by the minute. Shopping well requires information, which of course takes time to acquire. Here are some of my own rules.
一条不合身的名牌裤子和一张印有“清仓特价”字样的发票可以让一个女人极度抓狂。亲爱的读者，那个女人就是我。我站在卧室的镜子前，苦苦思索自己为什么要购买这条Celine西裤，绷开的裤腰和过紧的裤腿让这条裤子显得超不合身。穿上它，每时每刻都让我抓狂。成功的血拼需要丰富的资讯，当然，这些资讯需要花时间去累积。以下是我的血拼准则。

Believe in Love at First Try.
相信第一次试穿时的感受
This is not as head-in-the-clouds romantic as it sounds. What it means: If a piece-particularly a high-end designer one-doesn't immediately make you feel fantastic, walk away. Those pesky bugs, like a collar that doesn't sit right or a too-snug fit, will only bother you more as time goes on. I still recall the experience of trying on one of my most winning purchases-a black wool coat by Stella McCartney that I still wear some three years later. I felt like nerdy Clark Kent changing into his Superman tights: cooler, chicer, smarter. That's now my bar with expensive clothes. When you get that feeling, take the plunge. Missing out on something great is a mistake. Incidentally, this was the first rule broken with the aforementioned Celine pants. In the store, I fidgeted endlessly with the flawed fit, which should have been a blanket-sized red flag.
这句话并不像听上去那样浪漫。它的实际意思是：如果一件服装（特别是大牌设计师的作品）并有马上给你很棒的感觉，那就赶紧走开。如果衣服设计上存在一些烦人的小问题――例如衣服领子看上去不够端正、领口太紧等，那么随着时间的推移，这些问题会更加困扰你。我仍记得我试穿Stella McCartney设计的一款黑色羊毛大衣时的感受。我感觉就像书呆子Clark Kent穿上了他的超人紧身衣：自己变得更酷、更时髦、更聪明了。大约三年过去了，我仍穿着大衣。现在这已经成为我购买高价衣服的标准。如今这是我决定是否购买昂贵衣服时采用的一个准则。当你有那种很棒的感觉时，就买下它。错过一件很棒的衣服是一个错误。顺便说一句，这就是我买上述Celine西裤时违反的第一条准则。当时在店里试穿时，我穿着这条不合身的裤子纠结了半天，这本应该是一个再明显不过的警示信号了。
Sales Are Suspect.
不要相信促销
This is the second rule I violated in La Affaire Céline. What are the odds that a classic piece from a coveted fashion brand would drop to over 50% off? Zero. Well-made wardrobe builders rarely languish on racks. What lingers there are irksome skirts and troubled tops that 20 people tried on and rejected. 'I would see the pieces left at the end of the season at Mick Margo,' said Ms. Ferber. 'It wasn't like they weren't pretty, but something was a bit off.'
这是笔者在购买La Affaire Céline时违反的第二条准则。作为一个高档时尚品牌的经典款式，折扣幅度超过50%的可能性有多大？当然是零！大品牌做工精良，基本上不愁销路。剩下的都是不怎么样的裙子和有问题的上衣，估计有20人试穿过最后又不要的那种。费伯说，季末Mick Margo会有些没卖出去的货，这些衣服也不是不好看，就是有点不对劲。
Tailors Are Not Fashion Wizards.
衣服改动无法复制潮流
In the face of something marked down to 70% off, some shoppers resort to a form of magical thinking in which they doggedly conclude that a size 12 piece can be transformed into a size 2 in a Honey-I-Shrunk-The-Frock way. Major tailoring surgery changes proportions, and can turn the trapeze coat you thought you were buying into a capelet. And it still might not fit. Co-founder of clothing label Apiece Apart Laura Cramer recalled buying a size 12 Chloé dress at Neiman Marcus's Last Call sale store years ago to wear while pregnant. Her belly quickly expanded beyond its limits, and when she tried to have the dress tailored to a size 4 post-pregnancy, the sleeves ended up far too slim. 'I'm waiting for the perfect person to give it to, someone with really skinny arms and a bit of a belly,' joked Ms. Cramer, whose line, launched with her friend Starr Hout, is grounded in essentials designed to help women avoid fashion mistakes.
面对一些打折幅度低至70%的商品，一些顾客一厢情愿地认为，一件12号的衣服可以神奇地缩小到2号。进行重大裁剪一般会改变衣服的比例，一件梯形大衣经过改动后，可能会让你以为自己买了一件披肩，而且改动后还未必合身。Apiece Apart的创始人之一克拉默(Laura Cramer)记得多年前在尼曼(Neiman Marcus)的大清仓活动中买过一件12号的珂洛艾伊(Chloé)品牌的衣服以便在怀孕时穿。她的肚子很快就长得穿不下了。后来孕期结束后她尝试着把这件衣服改成4号大小，结果衣服的袖子紧得不得了。克拉默开玩笑称，自己等着将这件衣服送给一个最合适的人，这个人得有很细的胳膊还得有点肚子。克拉默和朋友豪特(Starr Hout)共同创立了Apiece Apart，该品牌的设计主要帮助女性避免时尚误区。
Hold Grudges. Remember Your Friends.
爱恨分明
As tempting as it might be to sweep your mistakes under the rug and forget them, I'd suggest keeping a list of blunders to avoid repeating the error. I learned the hard way with a black cashmere crew neck from contemporary line Equipment that, within a few wears, turned into a pilled mess. It was purchased under duress-I was leaving for a round of fashion shows in Europe and needed a sweater fast. In my closet, Equipment knits are now verboten, as are those from any brand I've found don't go the distance. (Equipment did not respond to a request for comment.) On the flip side, keep a list of labels which have done you right. (I later found my perfect black crew neck from Ann Mashburn.) You'll efficiently narrow the overloaded market.
尽管将买错的东西藏到角落里并忘掉它们的做法很有诱惑力，但我的建议是，记下犯过的错误以免重蹈覆辙。我买过的一件Equipment品牌的黑色圆领羊毛衫给我留下了教训。穿过几次之后，毛衣起球严重，简直是一团糟。当时买下它也是情势所迫――我需要动身去欧洲参加一系列时尚秀，急需一件毛衣。现在我的衣柜里不允许出现Equipment的针织衫，就像其他我发现不耐穿的品牌一样。（Equipment没有回应置评请求。）另一方面，也要记下适合你的品牌（我后来在Ann Mashburn找到了完美的黑色圆领毛衣）。这样你就可以在繁杂的市场中有效缩小选择范围。
The Internet Giveth, the Internet Taketh.
互联网有利有弊
Knowing what's out there is crucial to shopping error-free. That's never been easier with the myriad e-commerce sites that let you sift through new merchandise in minutes, as well as tools like the shopping section on Ms. Davis's Keep It Chic blog where she posts an authoritative selection of pieces from Net-a-porter, Barneys and others. And new e-commerce site the Line has such a sharply focused offering that, if I shopped solely from it, chances are I'd never err.
了解情况对于避免购物失误至关重要。但这并不容易，无数的电子商务网站让你可以在几分钟内挑选新品，还有类似Ms. Davis的Keep It Chic博客等购物相关工具可做参考。Davis会在博客上发布权威的Net-a-porter、Barneys等商家的精选单品。而新的电子商务网站the Line所提供的商品有着统一的主题，如果你只从这里购物，几乎不会有犯错的机会。