Make the most of physical stores

In stores, clever visual merchandising is someones job – or, more likely, a whole team of people’s job. Pieces are laid out perfectly to make it easy to shop and style items together (encouraging people to spend more money, of course). Lighting is used to draw your attention to different items and colour palettes are combined to create a more aesthetically pleasing environment. Zara does this incredibly well, making us incredibly envious of the outfits the mannequins wear, which sends us scurrying off through the shop to find them.

But while the high street may be brilliant at transforming runway trends into lower-priced looks and showing us a seemingly never-ending supply of different pieces, picking out the ones that you’ll actually wear and keep in your wardrobe for a very long time can be the more challenging part. After all, we all have a part to play when it comes to overconsumption and wearing something once is the biggest sign of a poor purchase.

Find out about fabrics

Fashion stylist Sarah-Rose Harrison looks to fabric compositions to find pieces that will last. “Avoid poly-blends that have a short life cycle; they wash poorly and release microplastics into the water. Opt instead for wool blends, organic cotton, linen and more natural fibres where you can, as they’ll wear so much better and you’ll reach for them season after season,” she shared.

Lucy Reber, Stylist’s fashion director, stresses this point too, emphasising that “the most important thing to remember when high street shopping is fabrics. Looking for simple cuts in neutral hues that will slot in seamlessly with the rest of your outfits is essential.” Crisp white shirts, ribbed cotton vests and chic loose linen trousers, for example. “You can then elevate your look with designer or contemporary leather bags and sandals,” she adds, leaning towards the high-low look.

How to shop the high street, according to 3 fashion stylists