Vinted Selling Tips 2026

If you’re finding it hard to sell your clothes on Vinted in 2026, these tips might just be exactly what you’re looking for. Vinted is a second hand clothing site that’s pretty awesome because it allows you to sell your unwanted clothing items with free listings.

These are quick and simple, tried and tested tips that will get you sales in no time. Selling is a piece of cake once you understand the basics. Vinted is very simple to use so give it a try if you can! It’s no wonder why it’s a leading online marketplace in 2026.

Vinted selling tips (2025)

Just got another 5 star rating on Vinted. #grafting

HOW DOES VINTED WORK?

Vinted is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

Most likely you will sell your items for far less than you intended to (or how much it was bought for originally). Cheaper items do better because buyers take into account the buyer protection fee and shipping costs (e.g., imagine buying an item for £1 and then having to pay £4 for it to be shipped, that’s now ~£5).

Compared to Depop, Vinted is more targeted towards the majority, rather than ‘young, trendy’ people. There are all sorts of items on Vinted. You get paid for what you sell, and you don’t have to pay a fee to Vinted. Instead, the buyer pays for the item, buyer protection, and the shipping costs. All you need to do is send your item in reasonable packaging and wait for the buyer to receive it.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SELL THINGS ON VINTED?

To answer this simply, it’s not a one answer fits all scenario. Don’t expect your items to be sold within a couple of hours, days, or even weeks. It can take a long time for items to sell, even if you list it very well, or even if it’s a popular item. Buyers usually like your items and may be waiting for you to lower the price before deciding whether to purchase an item from you. See the key tip in make your presence known if you want to make a quick sale.

This answer depends on what exactly it is that you’re selling and how much you’re selling it for. Some people have items listed for a whole year before they see any sign of interest from potential buyers.

You might find that winter-associated items sell faster at the end of the year, and spring/summer items sell well from April to August for example.

You may have heard of the term BNWT, but what does it mean on Vinted? BNWT means ‘Brand New With Tags’. Items that are relatively new generally sell better.

Vinted is oversaturated; tons of items are uploaded daily, so your listing may never/rarely be seen (unless someone searches/filters anything that relates to your listing). Hence why descriptions and titles are important. More exposure = more chances of being seen by potential buyers. You can also follow your family and friends on Vinted if you’re interested in getting your items seen more. You can probably even join a Vinted group on social media sites to share what you’re selling (according to their terms and conditions).

Read the terms and conditions of what you can sell on Vinted itself here. You will be surprised at what you can and can’t sell. Consistently uploading items that violate the terms and conditions will most likely get you suspended from the app.

TAKE CLEAR PHOTOS OF YOUR ITEMS.

Don’t keep your buyers guessing. A photo speaks 1,000 words. Let the photos do the talking.

Add as little as six photos including the front, back, bottom, sizing label (measurements), authenticity card (if prompted), and any damages or imperfections. You can add up to 20 photos so make use of this.

Good lighting is a must. No amount of carrots can help a buyer determine what you’re selling. Daylight is good for photos, but as long as the photo looks like the item you are selling in person, then there shouldn’t be a problem.

A buyer ideally should be able to see a full length photo of the item especially if they are a long clothing item such as trousers, a dress, or a coat.

Keep your photos simple. No other objects are necessary.

Don’t alter your clothes to make them look like something that it’s not (e.g., moving the fabric at the waist so it looks more narrow in the picture), unless you’ve provided unaltered images. It can be misleading.

Take a picture of the item by itself, whether it be on a table, mannequin, or on a hanger. Make sure items are not sprawled out on your floor. Nobody wants your carpet dust. Also, skip wearing your items in photos. Buyers are more likely to purchase clothes that are not being worn in photos, especially if they’re brand new with tags (BNWT).

Don’t use screenshots from original listings/stores, but you can put the name of the item/item code in the description for the buyer to do their own research.

NEW FEATURE 2026 - Vinted has introduced a reverse image search feature. This allows buyers to upload a photo to find similar items instantly, making your lead image more important than ever. If your photos are clear and well-lit, your items will be the first ones to pop up when a buyer is searching for that specific look.

KEYWORDS ARE A MUST.

Use keywords in titles.

The more keywords, the more chances it will show up in searches.

Try using this title template to list your items:

[BRAND NAME] [COLOUR] [*MATERIAL] [ITEM NAME (if it has one)] [TYPE OF ITEM] *with [ADDITIONAL FEATURE]

*not necessary

For example:

Instead of ‘grey hoodie’ → Sisters and Seekers Grey Holy Hoodie with Pockets

Instead of ‘black top’ → M&S Collection Black Cotton Printed Graphic T-Shirt

Instead of ‘RI top’ → River Island Ecru Limoncello T-Shirt

DESCRIPTIONS ARE A MUST.

After selecting the category of your item, select the correct details about your item: size, colour(s), brand, material(s), condition, and price.

Condition - Don’t lie about the item’s condition. If you’re listing an item as ‘new with tags’ or ‘new without tags’ this means that the item has not been used at all, with the exception of wearing it just for the photos on the listing. If you’ve worn the item ‘a couple of times’ then list the item as ‘very good’. There’s nothing more annoying than seeing someone list an item as totally brand new when it’s not. Just be honest! I’ve bought a few BNWT items myself that have smelled very worn unfortunately...

Material - Please add any materials if you can find them on the label. Many people care about what materials they wear these days.

Colour - Add all of the colours on the item.

The ‘describe your item’ section will allow you to put more information about your item in your own words. Goodness me, please don’t use ChatGPT or other AI tools to write a description, it’s not that deep and it just makes your listing look suspicious and somewhat fake. Here, you can tell buyers that you’re open to offers if you are, if you have other items listed (if you do), whether you have a pet-free home (if you do), the original price you got the item for, etc. List any potential problems with your item such as bobbles, loose threads, scratches, or stains. You can also add the item code on the label.

The more description in your description the better it will show up in searches. Trust me. Better visibility is great!

You can also add the ‘trend’ your item belongs to. Is your item suitable for work? Mention that it’s suitable for work. Did you pass your driving test wearing your item? Mention its magical powers. Is it giving early 2000s fashion? List it as Y2K. Is it giving Christmas season? Write that it’s suitable for Christmas.

Try using this ‘describe your item’ template (delete as appropriate):

Hi, I’m selling this [ITEM TYPE] because I don’t want it anymore/it was an unwanted gift/I wasn’t able to return it.

[BRAND NAME, TYPE OF ITEM, COLOUR, SIZE (UK/EU), RRP, ITEM CODE]

BNWT.

Pet-free home.

List any potential problems here.

I’m open to offers.

I’m open to bundles.

I’m selling other items/having a clear out, please look at my other items.

Message me if needed.

Thank you.

ITEM CONDITION.

I’ve read people’s experiences of receiving heavily soiled and mouldy items, items covered in dust, items covered in hair, and so on. Vinted states that your items should be in hygienic condition.

Humans like looking at pretty things. To make your items look reasonable, you can give them a wipe, a lint roll, spot stain removal, give them a wash (remove odours and stains), sew holes, iron them, shave bobbles, wipe dirt, remove stones from soles, tie up laces, wipe inner soles, use paper to keep items in structure, etc. Doing this will make your items look better in photos. Photos will also feel easier to take!

Put your items that you have listed in a clean area away from the clothes you do use, like in a box, separate drawer, room, etc. Somewhere where you can find them easily. This means when you get a sale, all you need to do is package your item appropriately. No faffing or second guessing about the item’s condition or wondering whether you still want it, involved. Act like it’s not yours anymore.

Now... Think to yourself, would you buy clothes/accessories that don’t look so great?

WHAT PRICE DO I LIST MY VINTED ITEM FOR?

Set a reasonable price for your items. See what price the item is being sold at, at other places rather than Vinted such as eBay, Depop, or the original retailer (if still in stock). Buyers can also make offers in which you can both negotiate a price. Offers can only go lower than the price you list the item for, generally speaking. Take into account if the item is new, rare, still in store, worn, damaged, etc. Sometimes you might even realise that selling your items on Vinted might not be the best option; you might decide to list it elsewhere, donate it, etc.

Keep in mind that buyers go on Vinted to look for bargains (i.e., items that are cheaper than RRP) - List your item at a price that you think is suitable.

Example Description: [Brand name] black cap. RRP: £20. BNWT. It’s all packed and ready to go! Check out my other items please!

MAKE YOUR PRESENCE KNOWN.

Open the app once in a while. Your profile will inform buyers that you’re active on the platform and are ready to be asked questions/respond in a timely manner towards a sale/offer. Would you buy from an account that was last active more than 3 months ago? If buyers see that you haven’t been on the app for quite a while, they might not bother to contact you or purchase your items.

Respond to buyers (nicely). You will get ridiculous questions from time to time, but just acknowledging a buyer’s presence can go a long way with a short and sweet reply.

Poor communication is a turn-off and might drive buyers away.

This proves to buyers that you’re legit, not spam, and not a robot.

On your profile, add a profile picture (anything but the grey person icon) and short description (e.g., Hello, I post whenever, offers acceptable, etc.). No need to add your location or real name to your profile.

Turn on ‘holiday mode’ if you will not be able to send items out. If you miss the ‘send your item off’ period, the sale will get cancelled.

As a buyer, it’s a good idea to send a message to sellers asking if they’re available (if they haven’t been on the app for months), in case you make a purchase and then you realise that the seller is probably not going to acknowledge a notification, don’t read their emails, deleted the Vinted app, etc.

Quick sale tip: If you want to make a sale fast, and notice that someone has liked your listing (therefore shown interest), go ahead and message them an offer. They might just accept it. Don’t harass them though, not cool.

PACKAGING.

Package your items properly so that they aren’t damaged in transit. Items can be placed in a box or a bag like the ones you get clothes in from online shopping. Obviously don’t put something small in a large box; use a suitable size for the item you’re posting.

If you ever receive any packages in the post, it’s a good idea to keep the packaging. The next time you receive a package, open it carefully so that you can reuse the packaging to package your very own items. You don’t need to buy packaging with this method. Surely you have a bag of bags somewhere, or a box of boxes (if not, it’s a good idea to keep some if you can). You can get a marker to cross out any sensitive information such as your address and old shipping labels (or you can use a tiny splodge of nail varnish remover/sanitiser, but wait for the residual ink to dry so that it doesn’t smudge on you or your item).

Recently I’ve seen that people are using empty cereal boxes and tea boxes. Honestly, it’s fine to use whatever as long as it gets your items to the buyer safely and securely.

Kellogg's Corn Flakes...

Someone has taken the time to purchase your item so show some consideration by packaging your item appropriately. Slapping your item in a torn up, worn out, musty Tesco carrier bag will probably land you with a negative review. Think to yourself, ‘Would I be annoyed if I received this item in this packaging?’ (especially if it’s on the pricier side; £10~€15~$15). Put your items in suitable, clean, and durable packaging that will not get wet, destroyed easily, and is not see-through.

No crisp packets please.

Last resort, if you don’t have any suitable packaging around, you can purchase packaging from your local post office (boo to single use plastic!!!). The thing with this method is that if you're using Vinted to make a profit and sell items for £1-£5, are you really making a profit?

Before you seal your item, it would be a good idea just to take a quick photo of it, just for piece of mind, or if there's a dispute.

If you’re printing your own label at home, make sure that you don’t stick tape over the barcode/QR code.

If you’re printing your label off in store and have multiple items, it’s a good idea to place a sticky note on them so you know which is which (don’t want to send the wrong item!).

Bags you can reuse.

More bags.

LEAVE A THANK YOU NOTE (If you want...).

It’s recommended that you leave a note in the package with your Vinted username and a thank you to remind buyers exactly what they’ve bought in case they’ve bought many things at once from other sellers. This encourages buyers to leave positive reviews (most of the time). If you’re printing or writing a note, make sure the ink has dried fully before you place it with the item. You don’t want any oopsies. The note doesn’t have to be extravagant, here’s an example of what to write:

Example Note

Hello [Insert buyer Vinted username],

Thank you for buying my item. I hope it arrived safely.

Thanks,

[Insert your Vinted username]

You don’t have to go all out on leaving a note. A sentence will do.

I’LL JUST TAKE THE ITEMS THANKS, NO TREATS PLEASE.

Don’t place any food items in your package, although it may seem like a kind gesture. Firstly, it can be seen as inconsiderate if the buyer has certain dietary requirements. Secondly, would you eat food from a complete stranger? (If you want to that’s fine, no judgement). And thirdly, if it were a hot season, or the delivery driver has their air con blasting in cold weather, think about what could happen to a chocolate bar.

Although you’re technically not ‘selling’ any consumables; you’re not actually allowed to sell consumables on Vinted.

You’re on Vinted to sell your item, and your item only.

P.S. Seen this on TikTok lately... please do not spray perfume on your items either.

CHOOSE THE CORRECT POSTAGE METHOD.

You must understand how postage on Vinted works and how to post your item off.

Select a postage method that you’re comfortable with, from InPost to Evri. If you’re in the UK, Royal Mail is a little more complicated as your shipping label is not autogenerated by the Vinted app.

Ask yourself, can you get to the post office/postal service within a reasonable time? Is the distance suitable for you? Do you know if there are printing facilities there? Do you need to print the label yourself or at a store? What will you do if no locker space is free? Is it easily accessible? Does it make sense to you?

Buyers pay for the label and delivery, the seller’s job is to print the label and send the item off properly packaged.

Items are most likely tracked so both you and the buyer can see where they are.

Updated (August 2023): Vinted made a change where parcel size may be automatically selected - You may not have to choose yourself.

Before (August 2023): Once again, list the correct postage cost - You don’t want your buyer to pay extra fees for collecting their package. It can be disappointing for a buyer to find out that they have to pay an extra fee to collect their package at the delivery office. If this actually does happen, and a buyer refuses to pick the parcel up, it will be sent back to the sender’s address after a certain amount of days (Royal Mail). The refund process for Vinted can be avoided if you list your item correctly and have good communication with your buyer.

If you need any help with complaints, use the ‘contact us’ feature on the Vinted app.

Send your items off within one to two days. There is a timeframe where Vinted expects you to send your items off. Sending them off as soon as possible means that your buyers are more likely to be satisfied and leave a good review for other prospective buyers to see.

Keep the proof of postage receipt for future reference.

RECEIVE REVIEWS.

Once buyers mark that their item has arrived and it’s in good condition, they are prompted to leave a review. If they don’t you will get a autogenerated review and you will shortly be able to withdraw funds to your chosen bank account.

Reviews show that you’re a real person with legit items to sell and are worth buying from.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO LIST ITEMS?

List items when people are more likely to be online/on the app, such as on evenings, weekends, and holidays. ‘Payday’ (usually at the end of the month) is a great time to list as well.

It’s best to sell items at the right time, for example, winter coats in winter, swimsuits in summer, etc.

If you have a ton of items to sell (I mean more than 10), it’s best not to list them all at once. You can lose momentum and get bored pretty fast when you have to take multiple photos, write a description, choose the features, find the right photos, and so on.

CONSIDER BUNDLING YOUR ITEMS.

Bundle your items if you’re selling a lot of similar items. Someone could be interested in buying more than one thing from you. When you bundle items, you can sell them at a discounted price altogether.

PROMOTE YOUR LISTINGS.

If you really want to get your items seen more (or sold faster), there are three ways to promote your listings (for a fee though). You can choose to bump items, spotlight your wardrobe, or create collections. You will find these features on your profile page - Find the blue tab saying ‘Promote your listings’. As mentioned previously, more views means a greater likelihood of your items being sold. However, promoting your items does not guarantee that they will be sold. It will just place them in areas with more traffic.

Should you promote your items? Read the last two sentences again.

Vinted sometimes offers these promotions for free - Keep an eye on your inbox for messages from Vinted.

BUMP ITEMS (NOT FREE)

You can choose to promote individual items on Vinted. This effectively increases the item’s visibility by showing it right at the top of search pages.

SPOTLIGHT WARDROBE (NOT FREE)

If you spotlight your wardrobe, several of your items are shown to relevant buyers on their homepage and in between search listings. Buyers can scroll through these items and have the option to click on your profile.

COLLECTIONS (NOT FREE)

Introduced in Spring 2024, create collections is a new feature on Vinted. You can organise your listings like a Pinterest board basically. Collections can be shown on the homepage - the first page people see when they open the app. Hence the importance of listing your items with good quality photos.

It’s like a bundle and spotlight working together.

You might list all of your coats together in one collection, or maybe holiday clothes, jeans, work clothes, shoes, gym clothes, etc. It’s up to you.

FAQs

DO FOLLOWERS MATTER?

No, followers do not matter. You can sell items successfully on Vinted without having followers. However, if you consistently sell similar items (e.g., of the same category, style, ‘aesthetic’, theme trend, etc.), having followers can be an advantage.

WHY IS MY ITEM NOT SELLING FAST?

• Probably too expensive.

• No one is searching for your particular item.

• Probably niche.

• Your profile probably looks suspicious.

• You have poor reviews, or none.

• Your item shows up poorly in search.

• You don’t have a ‘trendy’ item that’s high in demand at the time of upload.

• You need to be patient and wait.

• Possible algorithm changes.

• Buyers may be waiting to purchase it.

• Buyers are waiting for you to reduce the price.

CAN SOMEONE SEE IF YOU VIEW THEIR VINTED PROFILE?

No!

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Thank you for reading. :)

Not sponsored by or affiliated with Vinted.

Online Shopping Scams

Listen here, je déteste les arnaques. Pardon my French?

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Hello, if you're reading this, chances are that you've come across something rather questionable while online shopping and you're not sure whether to believe it or not.

Shopping online has become a go-to for many of us. Within a few clicks, your items arrive at your doorstep... or your chosen location. No more going into a store. No more shrieking clothing rails (screeeeee). No more... human interaction required. Sounds like a dream (to someone out there).

As convenient as it is, there's always a catch... right?

In this case, that's the possibility of running into scammers.

As we explore the world of online shopping, it's essential to stay informed and alert to protect ourselves from falling victim to scams.

A scam is a fraudulent and deceptive scheme designed to trick people into giving their money or personal information away.

From questionable emails to dodgy links, scams these days come in many forms and are becoming more sophisticated as technology evolves. Scammers use a range of emotional tactics to manipulate and persuade consumers - Scammers try to evoke fear, sympathy, urgency, excitement, guilt, relief...

Anyone can be the target of a scam according to Koning, Junger, and Veldkamp (2024). The researchers wanted to find out what factors could make us susceptible to scams such as sociodemographics, personality, health, internet usage, prior fraud knowledge and exposure to fraud attempts. It's suggested that frequent internet use and low self-control could make us more susceptible, but of course, this is only one piece of research.

By recognising these 5 red flags and staying vigilant, we can enjoy a secure and comfortable online shopping experience (as it should be).

Do any of you remember when you could put your own image on a card? And now they're all mostly blank.

IT JUST SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...

As they say, when something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

If an item that would usually be on the pricier side is discounted greatly, something must be wrong with it, right?

Double check the item's description to find out the reason why.

Examine any photos provided. You may want to carry out a reverse image search to see if the photos have been taken from somewhere else.

In some cases, the item may not be genuine, either a counterfeit or a knockoff, designed to look like the real deal.

Ask the seller questions if you can.

THE WEBSITE LOOKS A LITTLE OFF...

There are a range of checks you can use to establish the credibility of a website.

Look out for poorly designed websites with grammatical errors and low quality photos - A generally unprofessional appearance should raise an eyebrow. Are words spelled incorrectly? Are the fonts and logos inconsistent? Does the page look rather empty or all over the place? Legitimate online stores will invest in their website's appearance.

Take a look through the webpages - Is there a contact page, an about page, a T&Cs page, privacy policy, etc.? Or is it just one page?

Have a look at the footer at the bottom of the page - Is there a physical address? Look the address up online.

Also, take a look at the website's address (URL). This is found in the bar likely to be at the top of your browser. Ideally, the URL should start with https:// - which means “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure.” This basically means that your data is being transmitted securely. In addition, your address bar may display a padlock as well.

Upon checking the URL, also check for spelling errors and be aware if the URL is long.

You can also search for the website online to see what results appear.

Moreover, you may want to take a look at their social media. Do they actually have any accounts on reputable social media sites? Do they have followers and do they look real? Do they have comments? How new are the accounts?

WEREN'T EXPECTING AN EMAIL OR TEXT?

One of the most common scams is known as phishing. 'Phishing' is when scammers use emails, text messages or phone calls to steal your information. Usually, this method guides people into giving out their personal details in some way. Scammers may hide behind the disguise of reputable businesses where calls, emails, and text messages can seem really legit.

Stay vigilant when receiving texts and emails that you weren't expecting.

You should never be asked for your National Insurance (NI) number/SSN, PIN, a one time access code (OTP), or passwords out of the blue.

Here's an email received in late 2024. Using this as an example, here's a few tips and tricks to help you find out whether an email or text may be a scam:

Email in spam inbox.

What is it about? An order confirmation.

Was I expecting it? No. Red flag.

Where did I find this message? In the spam inbox... Red flag.

What's the email address? The sender is a random Gmail account. Real legit businesses are likely to have professional email addresses under their own domain. Copying and pasting this email into a search engine shows no results. Red flag.

If you're still not sure what to do, you may view the file attached - However don't download it nor click any hyperlinks on it. You may hover over hyperlinks to see the URL address (which may be a load of waffle anyway).

If in doubt, you may contact businesses directly if you have an account with them and would like to verify the email/message.

Upon viewing the file attached, it seems to be a PayPal invoice for a product bought on eBay. In this case, the receiver of this email did not have an eBay account nor a PayPal account. This email can definitely be determined as spam.

Fake PayPal invoice.

If you'd like to do some further inspection:

• Take a look at the logos. Are they low quality? Both logos do not look correct in this case.

• Search the phone number online. This phone number has been copied and pasted into this document - the text is larger.

• The font is not uniform throughout the document.

• The text uses language that's quite demanding - "call us immediately".

• Look up the shipping address online.

NO CONTACT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE...

Legitimate businesses offer clear and accessible contact information. If you struggle to find a way to reach customer service or the provided details seem off, it's best to look elsewhere.

If a phone number or email address is available, you can search them online.

HOW ARE THE REVIEWS?

Customer feedback is crucial for online retailers. If a website lacks reviews or testimonials, it could indicate that they aren't genuine. However this is not always the case. Look for reviews on external platforms (such as Trustpilot) to gauge a retailer's overall credibility.

Unfortunately, reviews can also be fake, either written by a bot or a person. Here are some things to keep in mind when reading reviews:

• Are there lots of oddly similar reviews?

• Are the reviewers all very new?

• Are the reviews complete nonsense or overly factual?

• Does the retailer have social media? You can check comments under posts this way as well.

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Although this is not a comprehensive list of red flags to look out for, it's important to trust your instincts. Just remember that if something feels off or too good to be true, it's better to be safe than sorry. Do your research before you buy.

If you do happen to find yourself caught in a scam, try not to think of the worst case scenario straight away. Rather, the first thing you should do is contact your bank who will be able to help you step by step. You can call your bank, walk into a branch, or use your bank's official banking app.

If you live in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, you can report scams by visiting Action Fraud, a national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.

Thank you for reading.

Stay safe!

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You may want to take a look at...

Koning, L., Junger, M., & Veldkamp, B. (2024). Risk factors for fraud victimization: The role of socio-demographics, personality, mental, general, and cognitive health, activities, and fraud knowledge. International Review of Victimology, 30(3), 443-479. https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580231215839

Norris, G., Brookes, A. & Dowell, D. (2019). The Psychology of Internet Fraud Victimisation: a Systematic Review. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 34, 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-019-09334-5

How To Deal With Stress As A Fashion Buyer

Being a fashion buyer at one of the UK’s largest retailers means that things can get a little stressful for me at times. On that matter, any job in the fashion industry can be stressful… Any job can be stressful. I love my role because every day is different, and I’m glad to say that most days go by smoothly. But once in a while not so much. I have made a list of four ways that I personally cope with work stress. The advice is quite general so it can hopefully be of use to you too.

This is a tissue.

First, you probably want to know what a fashion buyer does. It’s not as simple as just buying fashion! My job is varied, and may be very different to another fashion buyer’s role in the south for instance. In a nutshell, I help to determine what the retailer should sell for the next season, this includes what we already sell, with the addition of new product lines. I travel up and down the UK (and sometimes abroad) to look for what competitors are designing and manufacturing for consumers. I also attend regular meetings with my team to share ideas on developing new merchandise.

My role is demanding because I have to be at the right place at the right time; there’s a lot of organisation involved. If you have an interest in becoming a fashion buyer, I would say that you need to have a lot of enthusiasm because without it you’ll lose interest in what you’re doing. Communication is also essential because it ensures that everyone on the team knows what’s going on. As you may be able to tell, if I don’t provide my team with the right information, then profits will fall because the merchandise is not what customers are looking for.

Know what the cause of your stress is.

If you’re getting stressed out at work, it’s not an ideal situation. Long term stress is not good for the body, mind, and soul. Try to find out what the cause of your stress is so that you can deal with it from there instead of ignoring it and letting it get worse for yourself. If you don’t know what it is, then most likely it won’t be dealt with appropriately. How we react to stress-inducing situations and events is an individual thing. Some people may feel pressure and get angry, others may feel worried, and some may get a rush of adrenaline, helping them perform better. The point I’m getting at is, how do YOU deal with stressful situations?

The next time you get stressed out, keep a note somewhere of the situation (you can keep a diary or use the notes app on your mobile to help you keep track of stressors), who else was involved (if any), how you felt at the time, and what you did at the time. Did you get filled with rage? Did you raise your voice? If your reaction is not ideal, instead try to make changes towards how you deal and react to stressful situations. You can do things such as going for a walk to cool down, explaining to others about how you feel, and taking efficient breaks. If you cannot cope with stress, it is worthwhile to talk to your employer or manager to voice any concerns that you have. It is essential that an employer is non-judgmental and attentive to concerns and someone you should be able to discuss issues openly with (Toniolo-Barrios & Pitt, 2021).

If your reaction is not ideal, instead try to make changes towards how you deal and react to stressful situations.

Don't take others' opinions and actions to heart.

After the pandemic, I’ve found that people are different, meaning, they’re more direct and stern. I’d like you to think about certain situations you’ve maybe been in, in the past couple of months. If you drive, when was the last time you found the driver behind you eager to sit in your backseat? Or when you politely told someone in the supermarket that you wanted an item on the shelf behind them, were you met with the look of disgust? How about when someone deliberately rushed to the cashier that you had your sights on? Or how about when you thanked the bus driver and they didn’t acknowledge your existence? These situations and actions may be so small and not worth fussing over, but when you’re consistently annoyed or frustrated with other people’s actions, it can leave you feeling like you live in a cruel and unkind world.

I think that people have forgotten how to act in public after not having to socialise as much with others. Rather than letting yourself get negatively affected by other people’s actions, you should instead acknowledge that, that person may not realise how their behaving or they may have things going on in their life that you may not necessarily know about. As annoying as this quote is, everything happens for a reason, and you may not be the reason of other people’s actions and opinions. Don’t take it personally. If one of your colleagues didn’t like a certain input of yours shared in a meeting, so what? Let it pass. You’ll know when enough is enough. Sometimes we may read into things a little too much. We mustn't let a couple of seconds or minutes ruin our entire day, week, or our entire existence for that matter. If you feed it, it grows.

As annoying as this quote is, everything happens for a reason, and you may not be the reason of other people’s actions and opinions.

Planning is important.

Please, try and plan your week in advance. You can’t just rock up to work not knowing what you’re doing for the day otherwise things are just not going to go well for yourself or your team. When we make a plan, we have guidance of what to do instead of winging it. Plans also minimise the risk of mishaps from occurring. I find that this is the most important factor for me in maintaining a healthy stress level. Let me cut to the chase, I need to organise and prepare everything that’s in my control. This helps me out because if any surprises come up at work, I know where to slot them in my diary. I prioritise the most important tasks. I also make sure that I give myself periods of rest and relaxation, and time to not be thinking about work, which I cover in my last tip. Have you got one task that takes up a lot of your time? Make a note of this and move it up your priority list. You don’t have to plan what goes on minute by minute, just make note of a couple of things that you wish or need to do for each day, such as what time you’ll leave, meal planning, upcoming meetings, exercise, grocery shopping, and leisure time. It really does help when you know what’s going on. I tried to use a 6 ring agenda at the start of the year, but it wasn’t my thing. I generally use my iCloud calendar so that I can access it in many places!

You are not just your job.

So, you’ve got a job, well done, it’s a lot of hard work to acquire one these days. When we have a job, sometimes we find ourselves under pressure to perform and be the best. If you live and breathe work 24/7, then who are you as a person? Consistently trying to impress others increases the risk of burnout. Just recently, I’ve come to appreciate having a life outside of work and not taking work home with me, especially if I’m on holiday. The ability to switch off from work (and everything work-related) is referred to as "psychological detachment" (Firoozabadi et al., 2018).

I have also realised one thing that all my friends have in common, they have hobbies and make time for them accordingly. My friends don’t ever complain about work like I used to do (a lot). Having a hobby is quite useful when dealing with stress. One of my favourite hobbies at the moment is taking pretty pictures to upload on Instagram. It gives me something to do, gives me inspiration, and the chance to interact with others. I can’t explain it, but looking at my posts make me feel relaxed. If you find it hard to find a hobby, just ask yourself, what would you like to do if you won the lottery tomorrow and didn’t have to work? Try and turn that into a hobby, or at least a reasonable and alternative version of it that satisfies you.

If you find it hard to find a hobby, just ask yourself, what would you like to do if you won the lottery tomorrow and didn’t have to work?

Another point to add is that during your lunch break, try to step away from your desk, or at least where you work. Humans were not made to sit at desks for long periods of time! When it’s my break, I usually go for walk in the courtyard, especially now that it’s great weather to do so. It’s refreshing and helps me to separate myself from work for a little bit. A lot of people tend to continue working throughout their breaks but that doesn’t work for me. Since the weather is great now, I’ll take a short walk outside.

Lastly, home time is home time. When I get home after a long day, I like to just chill. I don’t like to think about what could’ve gone better or what I should’ve done because the time for that has passed. If you make a mistake, you can learn from it and try not to repeat it! Home should be a place for you to relax and switch-off from work, even if you work from home. Responding to emails can wait, unless you know that it’s important to respond.

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Firoozabadi, A., Uitdewilligen, S., & Zijlstra, F. R. H. (2018). Solving problems or seeing troubles? A day-level study on the consequences of thinking about work on recovery and well-being, and the moderating role of self-regulation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(5), 629-641. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2018.1505720

Toniolo-Barrios, M. & Pitt, L. (2021). Mindfulness and the challenges of working from home in times of crisis. Business Horizons, 64(2), 189-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.09.004

How To Stop Spending Money on Clothes

But mum, I love him. Oops, sorry, I meant shopping.

At the end of the day, clothing retailers, both online and offline, want you to spend as much money as possible. They use a variety of tactics to keep you shopping, just like social media companies use tactics to keep you scrolling. But don't worry, we have some helpful tips to help you spend your money on clothes more wisely.

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Contents

• Don't shop if you're hungry, stressed, or bored.

• Unsubscribe from email lists.

• Don't create accounts.

• Don't save your card details.

• Budget.

• Think about the environmental impact of your purchase.

• Ask yourself this important question.

• Carry a smaller tote/shopping bag with you.

• Go easy on the caffeine.

• Wait on it.

• Have a look through second-hand online marketplaces.

• Beware of exclusivity.

• Free next day delivery?

• Is this really a bargain though?

• Look around for alternatives.

• Clear cookies.

• Read product reviews.

• Discounts.

1. Don't shop if you're hungry, stressed, or bored.

When you go shopping on an empty stomach, or if you're bored or stressed, this can trigger what is known as impulse buying.

Clothing retailers love playing on your emotions.

When hungry, bored, or stressed, you might make decisions without thinking them through first. You could be so hungry that you feel rushed to make a purchase in order to get something to eat as soon as possible.

Research has shown that hunger has the potential to impact us significantly when we shop (see Cazzato et al. 2022; Xu et al., 2015).

Before you go shopping, consider eating first. And, if you're feeling stressed or bored on the other hand, probably do some window shopping instead.

2. Unsubscribe from email lists.

The whole point in an email subscription is so that brands can keep you updated on their latest drops, sales, offers, and discounts.

You may be prompted to agree to receiving marketing emails via welcome pop-ups and when completing an order.

Sometimes you may only sign up to an email list to get access to a discount code, but afterwards, you have the option to unsubscribe if you don't want any further communications in your inbox. You can find this option right at the end of emails in the small print.

Out of sight, out of mind?

3. Don't create accounts.

If you don't make an account with your favourite stores you won't:

1) Feel obligated to purchase from them;

2) Feel pressured into earning loyalty points that expire quickly; and

3) Be able to save your card and address details as easily.

Make use of the 'guest account' options when purchasing items online.

Unfortunately, not all stores give you the option to do this such as ASOS.

4. Don't save your card details.

If you save (auto-fill) your card details on your web browser or shopping app then it makes it a whole lot easier to make a purchase compared to having to pull out your card and enter its details manually every time. The same goes for your shipping and billing address details.

Sometimes when we feel that something is just too much effort, we don't bother with it.

Not saving your information could also be considered more secure than leaving your information easily accessible.

This one is as simple as is.

5. Budget.

If you want to save money on clothes, it's important to set a budget.

Setting a budget will help you to stay on track and avoid overspending. When you know how much money you can spend, you can be more confident about making purchases.

Example: "I'm only going to spend £40 on clothes today."

6. Think about the environmental impact of your purchase.

Many people don't care or know about where their clothes come from and the process to produce them.

Although fast fashion is tempting to buy, convenient, generally cheaper, and easily accessible, fast fashion is not very good for the environment (and a list of many other things such as inappropriate working conditions and the poor treatment of employees).

Fast fashion is a major contributor to climate change and environmental pollution. It takes a lot of water, energy, and chemicals to produce fast fashion clothing and accessories, and many of these harmful substances end up in our water supply and oceans.

Whilst it's easy to blame the consumer, fast fashion retailers are the ones providing the products and services to consumers, and should therefore be more responsible and transparent as to where their products are sourced, honestly. Have you ever heard of greenwashing?

The next time you place an item in your basket, don't just take it for what it is at face value. Take a look at its description and what material it's made from.

Take a little moment to think about where the item supposedly came from.

It's also wise to be grateful for the clothing you own, take care of them appropriately and treat them with respect. We take our possessions for granted.

7. Ask yourself this important question.

Ask yourself this important question before making a purchase:

Will I see myself wearing/using this piece of clothing next year (or at another time)?

If not, then maybe it's not worth it.

Think about a time where you bought a trendy item that is no longer in trend. Where is it now? Somewhere at the back of your closet maybe? It was maybe in at the time, but probably not so much now. On a similar note, if you don't like keeping up with trends, you might want to start a capsule wardrobe.

Clothes that you don't necessarily wear or want anymore need not end up at the back of your wardrobe. There are many things you can do with your unused clothing items such as selling them on an online clothing marketplace such as Depop or Vinted, recycling them, or repurposing them.

If you have a special occasion and aren't particularly keen on wearing the same piece of clothing again, then consider renting items instead of purchasing them. Some retailers such as Selfridges and John Lewis can provide rental services.

Other questions you could consider are:

• Does this item go with my current wardrobe?

• Do I feel good in this item?

• Is this item of good quality?

• Is this item durable?

• Can I resell this item?

• Can I give this item to someone who will love it more than I ever did/will?

• Am I able to maintain this item?

8. Carry a smaller tote/shopping bag with you.

In the UK, a majority of stores should now charge at least 5p for carrier bags. This is to prevent customers from littering, contributing to unnecessary waste, and to encourage customers to carry their own carrier bags. In the UK and Europe, customers generally pack their own bags compared to the USA and some other countries where employees can, oddly, do this for you. (Don't get me started on full service fuel stations.)

Consider getting a tote bag to go shopping with. You can find many cute tote bags online, at stores, and from independent sellers on sites such as Etsy. You can keep your bag folded and placed in your handbag or pocket.

The bigger the bag you have, the more chill you'll feel about buying more. The smaller your bag, the less items you can walk away with.

Trolleys work the same way. The larger your trolley, the more space you'll feel obligated to fill, and the more you'll spend.

Also, maybe don't walk around with a basket during your shopping trip. A basket can encourage you to pick up items.

9. Go easy on the caffeine.

Your iced vanilla lattes could be costing you more than you think.

Intaking caffeine before you go shopping can lead to impulse buying according to a study by Biswas et al. (2023).

If you're going on a shopping spree, maybe think about skipping that trip to Costa beforehand?

10. Wait on it.

If you set your sights on a clothing item you really like then it can be tempting to feel the need to purchase it straight away before it gets sold out.

FOMO (the fear of missing out) drives us to impulse buy.

Sometimes you might see limited time offers in stores and online such as:

• "Free ____ ends in x hours."

• "Only x items left in stock."

• "Selling out fast!"

Wait for sale periods. Don't rush to make a purchase. Sometimes something that you think you wanted might not be as important as you thought it was in the end. Better yet, something better might catch your eye.

11. Have a look through second-hand online marketplaces.

There's nothing to be embarrassed about when shopping for second-hand items, ever heard of thrifting?

Second-hand shopping is a great way to save money and find unique pieces. Sellers can list items for cheaper than you can find them in store. There are many great online marketplaces where you can find second-hand items, including:

• eBay: eBay is a large online auction site where you can find a wide variety of second-hand items, including clothes, shoes, and accessories.

• Vinted: Vinted is an online marketplace for second-hand clothes and accessories. It's a good option if you're looking for gently used items at a discount.

• Depop: Depop is similar to Vinted and is a good option if you're looking for unique and vintage pieces.

• Vestiaire Collective: Vestiaire Collective is a luxury consignment marketplace. It's a good option if you're looking for high-quality (and mostly luxury) second-hand items.

When shopping second-hand, it's important to be aware of the condition of the items. Read the descriptions carefully and ask questions if you have any concerns. You can also take advantage of the return policies offered by many online marketplaces. Moreover, some sites allow you to make offers.

With a little bit of effort, you can find great deals on second-hand items that are both unique and stylish.

12. Beware of exclusivity.

Exclusive? Yeah, right.

Can you find this item or similar items on other websites? Probably you can if you look.

Ever heard of FOMO? Exclusive items play on our fears of missing out.

Are you really missing out on anything though?

13. Free next day delivery?

Chances are, you've probably seen an offer to get free next day delivery, but only when you've spent a certain amount.

Ask yourself whether it's worth just getting the item you want alone with it's delivery fee or whether it's worth spending way more due to adding items to your basket that you don't want nor need just to get free delivery.

14. Is this really a bargain though?

Some retailers may list an RRP alongside an item's current sale price. This is known as price anchoring which highlights a price difference. It may seem like a bargain to know that you're getting an item for much cheaper.

For example, a shirt may be priced at £125 with an RRP of £250. This makes the sale price seem like a 50% discount, even though the RRP is not always an accurate reflection of the true value of the item. After all, RRP means recommended retail price... Recommended by who exactly though? RRP might be intentionally inflated by manufacturers to make items seem more valuable than they really are.

Many clothing retailers use price anchoring such as TK Maxx (TJ Maxx).

It is important to be critical of price anchoring when making purchases. Ask yourself:

• Is the RRP a fair reflection of the value of the item?

• Is the sale price actually a bargain?

• Are there other retailers selling the same item for a lower price?

15. Look around.

You have the option to look around different websites, so do a search online and compare prices across different websites.

If you're looking for a specific item, type its features into your preferred search engine and you will most certainly find alternatives within your budget.

Similarly, you can do a reverse search, use 'search within image' features, or 'view similar items'.

16. Clear cookies (no biscuits here).

Once in a while, clear your browser or social media cookies/advertising preferences settings.

If you're shown clothing that you might be interested in, you'll be tempted to buy them.

If you're in Europe or the UK, you should have the opportunity to disagree to targeted advertisements, which are personalised to you according to your browsing habits on the websites that you have visited before.

If you're using Google, you have an option to turn off your advertising ID in order to show you generic and less relevant advertisements compared to personalised ones that you will most likely be intrigued by and want to explore further.

If you use social media sites such as Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, you should have the option to turn off personalised/targeted advertisements.

Websites can use your date of birth, gender, and location to show you advertisements that may be more relevant to you. Consider whether it's worth providing this information when you sign up to accounts.

You may want to use incognito mode.

17. Read product reviews.

Reading product reviews gives you the chance to evaluate whether or not to consider purchasing an item. People may describe their likes and dislikes of the item, specifications, the purchasing process, flaws, and condition of items.

You can find reviews on product pages themselves and review sites like Trustpilot.

These days, it can be very hard to spot a fake review on websites, so maybe be aware of:

• If the most recent reviews are weirdly all highly rated and includes detail (Would you leave a lengthy and detailed review about your backstory and how you came to purchasing the item you did? Probably not...);

• If the item is sponsored;

• If the profile pictures or names of reviewers look strange or if their accounts are new;

• Whether the review page is officially verified by the owner.

18. Search for those discounts.

The internet is a very helpful place where you can find anything that you want as long as you know where to look.

You can find discounts, vouchers, and promotional codes on a variety of websites just with a quick Google search. Some websites post a list of codes which you can copy and paste for free. However, sometimes you may need to try all of the codes to find a few successful (valid) ones. Some news websites offer discount codes.

Check if you're entitled to discounts through education or employment:

• If you're a student, most likely you'll be entitled to receive student discounts on apps such as UNiDAYS and Student Beans.

• If you're a healthcare worker, you may be entitled to 'key worker' discounts.

• If you work for a company, you may be entitled to a range of employee benefits/incentives.

You may also find codes on clothing retailers' social media pages including Pinterest and Instagram.

Additionally, TV adverts may display promotional codes from time to time.

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Thank you for reading. :)

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References

Biswas, D., Hartmann, P., Eisend, M., Szocs, C., Jochims, B., Apaolaza, V., Hermann, E., López, C. M., & Borges, A. (2023). Caffeine’s Effects on Consumer Spending. Journal of Marketing, 87(2), 149-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221109247

Cazzato, V., Vicario, C. M., & Urgesi, C. (2022). 'When hunger makes everything better looking!': The effect of hunger on the aesthetic appreciation of human bodies, faces and objects. BMC psychology, 10(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00807-7

Xu, A. J., Schwarz, N., & Wyer, R. S. (2015). Hunger promotes acquisition of nonfood objects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(9), 2688-2692. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1417712112

Use Psychology to Make a Successful Clothing Brand in 2026

Ditto.

With everyone creating their own clothing brands these days, standing out can be extremely tough. How does what you have to offer differ to any other clothing brand that you can find easily on Instagram. Worry not, with the right strategies you can grow a successful clothing brand, make sales, and attract loyal customers in no time. Consumer psychology and fashion psychology can help you understand your target customer and create a brand that appeals to them. By understanding these two branches of psychology, you can create a fashion brand that speaks to your target customer's needs, wants, and values.

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In this article, Psychology, But Make It Fashion will discuss five tips for growing a successful fashion brand using psychology, these tips include:

• Show your customers that you have a genuine and trustworthy brand.

• Play on fear(s) of missing out.

• You know when people say less is more?

• Appeal to the needs of your target audience.

• Treat your customers with gratitude and maybe, just maybe, they'll come back for more.

SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT YOU HAVE A GENUINE AND TRUSTWORTHY BRAND.

Social proof is the principle that people are more likely to do something if they see that other people are doing it. This is because we are inclined to follow the crowd and to conform to social norms.

How to use social proof to create a successful clothing brand:

• Use customer testimonials and reviews. When people see that other people are happy with your products, they are more likely to be interested in buying them. Make sure that your reviews are genuine and authentic.

• Feature your products on social media. When people see that other people are wearing your clothes, they are more likely to want to wear them too.

• Work with influencers that match well with your brand. When influencers promote your brand, they are essentially giving your brand their seal of approval. This can be a very effective way to reach a large audience and build trust.

• Get recognition. When your brand is recognised by industry experts, it shows that you are doing something right. This can help to build credibility and attract new customers.

• Be consistent. Use social proof consistently across all your marketing channels. This will help to build trust and credibility.

By understanding and using social proof, you can increase your sales and build a loyal customer base.

PLAY ON FEAR(S) OF MISSING OUT.

The scarcity principle is the idea that people are more likely to want something if they believe it is scarce or in limited supply. This is because we are drawn to things that are rare or exclusive. A good example of a brand that successfully uses the scarcity principle is Supreme. It's intriguing, it creates mystery.

How to use scarcity to create a successful clothing brand:

• Create a sense of urgency. Ever heard about the fear of missing out (FOMO)? FOMO drives urgency. Let your customers know that your products are only available for a limited time or in limited quantities without misleading your customers.

• Use exclusive products or collaborations. Partnering with other brands or designers can create a sense of exclusivity around your products. This will make people more likely to want to buy them.

• Create limited-edition collections. Releasing limited-edition collections is a great way to create a sense of scarcity around your products. This will make people more likely to want to buy them before they sell out.

• Use high-quality materials. Using high-quality materials can make your products seem more exclusive and valuable.

• Be creative with your scarcity tactics. There are many different ways to create a sense of scarcity around your products. Get creative and find what works best for your brand.

• Don't be annoying with it. Misleading your customers is wrong.

By understanding and using the scarcity principle, you can increase your sales and build a loyal customer base.

YOU KNOW WHEN PEOPLE SAY LESS IS MORE?

Think back to a time when you browsed clothing online on any website at all. What did you think about the amount of products displayed? How many colour options could you get of the same item? Were there many popups that you had to close offering you supposed discounts? Have you ever visited the online fast fashion retailers SHEIN or Temu? How do these sites make you feel? Are they overwhelming with the vast amount of products offered?

Having a lot of choice can overwhelm consumers, therefore you need to choose an appropriate amount of items to showcase.

How to use the psychology of choice to create a successful clothing brand:

• Limit the number of choices/display less products. When people are faced with too many choices, they can become overwhelmed and indecisive. This can lead to them not making a choice at all. Give your customers the option to change product display pages (3-4 columns).

• Make the choices clear and easy to understand. People should be able to easily understand the different choices that you are offering. This will make it more likely that they will make a decision. Highlight the benefits of your products. People are more likely to choose products that they believe will benefit them.

By understanding the psychology of choice, you can find out what layout your customers prefer.

APPEAL TO THE NEEDS OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. AFTER ALL, THEY ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS.

If you are planning to sell products or already do, then you should ideally have an idea about your perfect customer. Understanding your target audience is necessary to create a successful clothing brand. If you do not understand your customers' wants and needs then you are going to find it difficult to sell your brand. You will not know how to advertise your brand or communicate your brand with customers effectively.

Understanding your target audience requires research about their:

• Demographics. The objective characteristics of your target audience, such as their age, gender, income, and location.

• Psychographics. The subjective characteristics of your target audience, such as their values, beliefs, and lifestyle.

• Buying behaviour. The way your target audience makes decisions about buying clothes.

Once you know the characteristics of your target audience, it will be much easier to create marketing messages, campaigns, and items that will appeal to them. For example, if your target audience are Gen Z (born in 1997-2012), this audience is concerned about sustainable and well-made fashion, therefore you would build your brand identity on these values.

Here are some of the consumer psychology principles that you can use to understand your target audience and create a successful clothing brand:

• Talk to your customers. The best way to understand your target audience is to talk to them directly. Ask them about their needs, wants, and preferences. What are they looking for in their dream clothing product?

• Use surveys, polls, and focus groups. These are great ways to get feedback from your target audience.

• Monitor your results. Once you start marketing to your target audience, track your results to see what is working and what is not.

By understanding your target audience, you can create marketing messages and campaigns that will be more persuasive and effective.

TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH GRATITUDE AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, THEY'LL COME BACK FOR MORE.

The reciprocity principle is one of the most powerful principles of persuasion. It states that people are more likely to be persuaded by someone who has done something nice for them. This is because we feel obligated to return favours.

The reciprocity principle: People are more likely to do something for you if you have done something for them first.

How to use the reciprocity principle to create a successful clothing brand:

• Offer free samples or gifts with a purchase. When you give someone a 'free' gift, they will likely feel obligated to buy something from you in return.

• Offer a first-time purchase discount for your customers when they sign up to email subscription.

• Provide high quality customer service. When you go out of your way to help a customer, they are more likely to feel grateful and would want to purchase with you again.

• Focus on personalised touches. People are more likely to be interested in products that are relevant to them. Personalise your marketing materials to show people why your products are right for them. Leave a thank you note for customers with their name. Personalise your offerings, your emails, and remember, to use the customer's name. Make sure that your gestures of goodwill are genuine and sincere.

• Run competitions and giveaways. This is a great way to get people excited about your brand and to encourage them to participate.

• Give back to the community. When you support a good cause, it shows that you care about more than just making sales.

The reciprocity principle is a powerful tool that can be used to create a successful clothing brand. By understanding and using this principle, you can increase your sales and build a loyal customer base.

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Thank you for reading.

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References

Bläse, R., Filser, M., Kraus, S., Puumalainen, K., & Moog, P. (2023). Non-sustainable buying behavior: How the fear of missing out drives purchase intentions in the fast fashion industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3509

Chernev, A., Böckenholt, U., & Goodman, J. (2015). Choice overload: A conceptual review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(2), 333-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.08.002

Online Dating First Impressions

He may be holding one fish, but I’m holding TEN.

Swipe left please xxx

What about a person’s clothing makes us swipe left… right? Wait, which one is it? Left? Getting to the point, does what we wear affect people’s impression of us? And how can we possibly boost our matches on online dating apps?

First impressions can be heavily influenced by the messages conveyed by clothing (Howlett et al., 2013). People use clothing to make inferences about happiness, intelligence, confidence, trustworthiness, and sexual interest (Rosenbusch et al., 2021).

The introduction of mobile dating apps in the 21st century has meant that with the flick of a thumb, finding potential partners has never been more convenient for us. We can decide in a split second whether we want to pursue a person or not based on their name, a profile description, and a finite number of pictures of the profile owner’s choice. Cues in both pictures and texts on online dating profiles can affect the impressions people form of the owner of the profile. A profile picture functions as the profile’s gatekeeper (van der Zanden et al., 2022).

A profile picture functions as the profile’s gatekeeper (van der Zanden et al., 2022).

Ward (2017) conducted interviews with men and women, aged 19-52 years, on their experiences of self-presentation practices, profile construction, and evaluating potential matches on Tinder. A majority of the participants used Tinder in order to boost their ego, find a partner, and simply for casual entertainment. When it came to impression construction, how people manage the impression they want to give, participants expressed that they cautiously considered how they could be seen by others because they did not want to be seen as something they were not. Participants constructed their profiles to avoid certain appearances such as appearing too sexual. According to one male participant he had experimented with his profile picture to see if a shirtless picture would garner more attention from women than a picture with a shirt on. Whether or not it worked for him was not mentioned unfortunately. One study has shown that sexualised profile owners are evaluated lower on social attractiveness, perceived to have an increased likelihood of experiencing cyber dating abuse, and perceived as less likely to seek long-term relationships (Yan et al., 2022). Overall, participants of Ward (2017) wanted to display their authentic self and chose pictures that they liked or their friends recommended.

Participants expressed that they cautiously considered how they could be seen by others because they did not want to be seen as something they were not.

When participants evaluated others’ Tinder profiles, they regarded appearance as being the most important factor in making the decision to swipe left or right (Ward, 2017). Selecting partners on Tinder is driven by physical attraction. Attraction is subjective. Remember that. Participants stated that they paid attention to superficial characteristics present in pictures, regarding it as not so different to real life. Superficial characteristics referring to age, height, assumed ethnicity, hair, etc. Besides appearance, many participants expressed specific things that they disliked seeing in pictures. This included men with fish, men with cars that aren’t their own, men with alcohol, animals, pets, landscapes instead of a person, pouting, and more than one person in the photos where it’s hard to determine who the profile owner is.

Attraction is subjective. Remember that.

On to clothing specifically now, it has been found that people make rapid judgements of others based on their clothing alone (Howlett et al., 2013). Howlett and colleagues examined whether minor modifications to clothing style made a huge impact towards how we are perceived. Participants rated images of a man in two suits of different cuts (bespoke vs. ready to wear) on five dimensions (i.e., confidence, success, trustworthiness, salary, and flexibility). Both suits were formal, the same colour, and the same fabric. The model’s face was blurred so that facial features did not influence ratings. In the bespoke suit, the man was rated more positively on confidence, success, salary, and flexibility, but not for trustworthiness. Therefore, it is suggested that clothing that is well-fitted and well-tailored, can positively enhance one’s image. Wear clothes that fit you well in your profile pictures.

Studies have suggested in the past that wearing red can increase the attractiveness of women in person, but Hong and Kim (2022) were interested to find out whether this was true for digital photos. The results suggest that different shades of red may enhance female attractiveness to men on a digital photo. What is interesting is that both men and women wear more red clothing during a first date in comparison to non-date contexts (Kramer & Mulgrew, 2018). Wearing red or black during meeting someone for the first time implies that the wearer is seeking to increase their attractiveness.

One study has examined the perceptions of women on women in different coloured clothing (i.e., Sidhu et al., 2021). Sidhu et al. (2021) found that women reported higher body attractiveness and slimmer body size ratings for women in black and red clothing. Green and grey clothing however were associated with the lowest body attractiveness and overestimated body size judgements. Race also influenced body perception where 'African' avatars were rated as more attractive in white, blue and green than for 'Caucasian' avatars.

We even use shoes to infer others’ characteristics. Gilliath et al. (2012) asked a group of participants to take pictures of their most used shoes, and to self-report aspects of their personality and demographic factors. Another group of participants were then asked to look at the images of the shoes in order to make judgements about the owners. The shoe owners’ age, gender, and income could be accurately determined based on the images of their shoes.

What is the takeaway message from these studies? Well, the message is to wear what suits you. Try to wear well-fitting clothes, wear a smile, and have confidence in yourself if you want to appear attractive. Be your authentic self and the rest will fall into place.

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Gillath, O., Bahns, A. J., Ge, F., & Crandall, C. S. (2012). Shoes as a source of first impressions. Journal of Research in Personality, 46(4), 423-430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2012.04.003

Hong, H. R. & Kim, Y. I. (2022). How different shades of red T-shirts enhance the perceived attractiveness of Asian women in digital photographs. Fashion & Textiles, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-021-00279-0

Howlett, N., Pine, K.J., Orakçıoğlu, I., & Fletcher, B.C. (2013). The influence of clothing on first impressions: Rapid and positive responses to minor changes in male attire. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 17, 38-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612021311305128

Kramer, R. S. S. & Mulgrew, J. (2018). Displaying Red and Black on a First Date: A Field Study Using the “First Dates” Television Series. Evolutionary Psychology, 16(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704918769417

Rosenbusch, H., Aghaei, M., Evans, A. M., & Zeelenberg, M. (2021). Psychological trait inferences from women’s clothing: human and machine prediction. Journal of Computational Social Science, 4, 479–501 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-020-00085-6

Sidhu, N., Qualter, C., Higgs, E., & Guo, K. (2021). What colour should I wear? How clothing colour affects women's judgement of other women's body attractiveness and body size. Acta Psychologica, 218, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103338

van der Zanden, T., Mos, M. B. J., Schouten, A. P., & Krahmer, E. J. (2022). What People Look at in Multimodal Online Dating Profiles: How Pictorial and Textual Cues Affect Impression Formation. Communication Research, 49(6), 863-890. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650221995316

Ward, J. (2017). What are you doing on Tinder? Impression management on a matchmaking mobile app. Information, Communication & Society, 20(11), 1644-1659. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1252412

Yan, K., Terán, L., Gahler, H., Salmon, J., Dajches, L., & Stevens Aubrey, J. (2022). The costs of sexualization: Examining viewers’ perceptions of sexualized profile owners in online dating. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000391

The Psychology Behind Lucky Girl Syndrome (And Manifestation)

What does lucky look like to you?

#LuckyGirlSyndrome has become the latest TikTok trend in 2023, but what is Lucky Girl Syndrome exactly? We'll take a look at what this is, how we can learn from it, and of course, the psychological perspective of it.

What is Lucky Girl Syndrome?

You've heard of manifestation right? Manifestation is the concept of turning your dreams and ideas into reality, by intention. You have to think about what you want, and you have to put in work for it to become true. We all 'manifest' to a degree, e.g., thinking of what we want to eat for dinner, and then cooking it (or ordering in). Some people apply this to actual goals such as buying a dream car, getting good grades, travelling, and even just being happy. It's all about mindset. Lucky Girl Syndrome is simply just manifestation. You have to be able to change your mindset, which in turn changes your behaviours and actions to those that can help you in the process of achieving your dreams and ideas.

A person who adopts the Lucky Girl mindset would say something along the lines of:

"I am capable of achieving what I want and more."

If you believe you can achieve whatever you want and you have an open-mind, you're going to believe that, and your actions will change accordingly such as taking opportunities, meeting new people, and instead of watching TV show reruns, learning a skill or hobby. The Lucky Girl mindset is where you believe that your possibilities are infinite. It's about opening up avenues to explore and even running into those you didn't know existed. Don't expect to see results if you stick to your current habits and routines. You are in charge of your beliefs and how you see things.

On the other hand, if you believe that you can't achieve, there's only one route to 'success', the world is a bad place, and everything takes a hell of a lot of effort to do, you're going to believe that. And so, your behaviours in reality will be a reflection of those thoughts and beliefs, which in turn will make you feel ultimately unsatisfied and upset. A mindset like this will only hold you back from your potential. It's as simple as that from a social media standpoint.

What is the psychology behind Lucky Girl Syndrome?

In terms of psychology, the manifestation we hear about on social media fits into the realm of 'pop' (popular) psychology, topics related to psychology that make it big in society originating from social media and well, the media itself. Manifestation is actually a pseudoscience; it's not backed up by evidence, but it's cool and fun to talk about on your coffee break. It's not good for psychology to be associated with such because a long term goal of psychology is to be taken seriously as a real science, with real research, involving real scientific methods...!

Don't even start about MBTI. However, there are many similar concepts closely related to manifestation, motivation, and attaining goals that psychologists have been using in therapy, educational settings, work settings, and other areas. Try and see how a few apply to Lucky Girl Syndrome, you'll be surprised.

Growth Mindset

The growth mindset is a theory in 'positive psychology' where if you believe that you can do something, you're more likely to do that something successfully regardless of talent, intelligence, or education - You just need to put in the work. Dweck (2006) termed it, the psychology of success. Having a growth mindset means that your skills and abilities have the opportunity to develop rather than staying fixed and unchangeable. This mindset can make you resilient to setbacks because you believe that you always have opportunities to learn and experience. How to use the growth mindset? The key is to take fixed mindset beliefs and associate them with growth and learning instead. If you catch yourself saying something along the lines of "I'm not seeing results!", add 'yet' to the end of that statement.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

The term self-fulfilling prophecy is simply when a person's expectations or beliefs about an event influences their behaviour to match that of the expectations or beliefs. To put it simply, if you think you're unlovable, you're going to act unlovable and push everyone away. If you believe that you're never going to get your dream job, you're not going to put effort into getting it or take appropriate actions to get it, making it more likely that you'll not get that job. This is similar to confirmation bias.

Self-determination Theory

Self-determination theory is a framework to understand internal factors that motivate us and shape how we behave (Ryan & Deci, 2017). We have three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and connectedness. When they're met, they lead to greater motivation and life satisfaction. Autonomy is when we control our own behaviour and actions. Competence refers to growing and learning new skills that are important to us. Connectedness refers to interacting with others.

Locus of Control

Locus of control is an individual difference concerning how we understand and perceive events and circumstances. This can be internal (i.e., what happens to me is determined by my own behaviours and actions) and external (i.e., what happens to me is determined by other people, society, chance, the 'universe', and maybe even spiritual forces). Our lives are determined by both internal and external factors, and it's important to keep in mind that what might apply to you, might not apply to someone else. (Read more: Stressed out about work? Learn how to deal with it).

An internal locus of control is associated with more positive outcomes according to many studies (Iles-Caven et al., 2020). When we believe that fate will determine what happens to us, we don't take the initiative to work towards our goals nor feel connected to what we want, nor what we are doing. It's like expecting someone else to do the work for you.

Where is research heading in terms of manifestation itself?

Surprisingly, there has been research on the psychology of belief in manifestation (i.e., Dixon et al., 2022). The researchers explored the psychology of those who believe in manifestation in three studies. They developed a 'Manifestation Scale', and participants who scored higher on it perceived themselves as more successful and believed they were more likely to achieve success in the future as well. They were more likely to be drawn to risk, experience debt, and believe that an unlikely level of success could be achieved pretty fast. Research is never 100 per cent reliable and/or valid, and we should never walk away accepting conclusions for what they are. It's important to take such research and evaluate it. Firstly, manifestation is hard to define, the scale is new, and the small sample size (N = 1023) is ethnocentric (USA-focused). However, it's a good basis for further research on this topic.

How can I get the Lucky Girl Syndrome mindset?

Remember, if you have goals that you want to achieve, you have to put the effort in yourself. Here are some things to keep in mind to achieve your goals based on the original idea of Lucky Girl Syndrome and the evidence-based concepts and theories in psychology as discussed previously.

• You're going to know what exactly it is that you want to bring into your life and write it down somewhere. This could be on your phone, a piece of paper, or in a journal. Write about whatever you want no matter how big or small, write however many goals you want as long as they do no harm, make you happy, make you feel in control, and feels right to you. You have to be able to know exactly what you want so that you know you achieved exactly that.

• You're going to make these goals clearer for yourself - Understand what it is exactly that you want, when you want it, and if you have a plan. It's alright to say you want the latest designer items, but what does that really mean to you? A handbag? Sunglasses? What brand? What colour? Why do you want it in the first place? How much do you need to save up?

• You're going to accept opportunities, don't just 'be open' to accepting them. Put yourself out there, learn new skills that you find fun and engaging.

• You're going to apply to opportunities whether you're suited towards them or not, what's the worst that could happen? If you don't succeed move on and you might find an even better opportunity afterwards. Put it this way, let's say if you want to get your dream internship - If you submit your application, you have a higher chance of succeeding compared to not doing an application at all, right? If you actually buy a lottery ticket, you have a higher chance of winning the lottery than someone who hasn't got a ticket, right? It's that simple.

• You're going to be realistic, but this doesn't mean you need to engage in negative self-talk. Although Lucky Girl Syndrome is based on reducing self-limiting beliefs, you don't have to treat them as 'self-limiting beliefs'. Instead, incorporate them into your goal setting - think about how you can overcome them. Do your research on how to achieve specific goals - See how others have achieved it and apply this to your goal setting. Learn the skills required. If you're way too optimistic, you're going to eventually lose momentum.

• You're going to remember that there is no one way to achieving your goals, you might find an alternative along the way, or something you enjoy more.

• You're going to persevere and test your patience - We're used to instant gratification, and unfortunately goals aren't achieved overnight. Keep believing and you'll find ways to get to where you want.

• You're going to follow people and accounts that inspire you, motivate you, match your beliefs, and make you want to be a better version of yourself.

• You're not going to be envious of others or want to be a particular person. You are you.

• You're going to be grateful and be happy with what you have already. Doing this will keep in a positive frame of mind and motivated to achieve more.

• You're going to create a vision board. Visualisation is powerful and has been shown to be effective in sports (Predoiu et al., 2020). Creating a vision board is a fun and simple way to keep your goals in mind and keep you happily motivated. Take a look online at images (or your own) that resemble your goals and then just put them all together. You can make a physical vision board by sticking pictures to a board or you can make a digital one using PowerPoint or Word. If that's not your thing, just create a new photos folder on your phone and keep the pictures there so they are in one place.

• As an example, if you don't know where to start, if you want to be happy let's say, you could find a picture of a smiley face. Want to go to cafés more this year? Include a picture of a café and imagine yourself being in that picture. The trick here is to look back at this board every now and again to remind yourself of your dreams and to also see what you've achieved so far. Keep it in mind, but don't feel the need to have to look at it everyday.

• You're not going to be constantly attached to your goals - Check them once in a while.

What are the drawbacks of having the Lucky Girl Syndrome mindset?

One thing to remember is that just writing down a goal and not doing anything about it won't make it come true, unless you put in the work. Although Lucky Girl Syndrome is about believing you can achieve every single thing and reducing self-limiting beliefs, you need to be realistic, and you will think about the pros and cons of getting there. We evaluate decisions we make to keep us safe. Also, it's inevitable that you'll become disheartened if you can't reach your goals or they don't seem like they're getting closer, and that's OK, it will help you in future planning.

It can be very easy to get carried away with the manifestation you learn via social media if you are going through a tough period in your life or if you have a mental health disorder. If you find yourself becoming too interested or pre-occupied with trying to fulfil your goals - it's wise to step away. It shouldn't interfere with your daily life nor make it miserable.

Manifestation is a journey and not a quick fix for your problems.

Not every single thing that happens to you is a product of manifestation or can be manifested, good or bad.

Keep your goals to yourself or with your closest friends and family, because this way, you'll have no one to talk you out of your goals and dreams, and make you feel incapable of achieving them. We have quite a lot of potential to achieve anything we want, but we're usually told we can't or not to bother trying.

Don't take what you see on social media seriously. The 'Lucky Girl Syndrome' that you learn about on social media has its own flaws (e.g., Do bad things happen to me because I thought of them? Why do some people of certain backgrounds achieve greater results? Etc.).

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Having goals is a wonderful thing; it keeps us curious, motivated, and it gives us something to do. In order to achieve our goals, fulfil our wants and needs, and turn our ideas into reality, we need to be able to take control of our own actions and change our mindset from believing that dreaming is enough, to actually doing with belief in ourselves that we can do whatever we want when we put our mind towards it. Curiosity is the best outfit. Work it.

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Dixon, L. J., Hornsey, M., Hartley, N. (2022). The secret to success? The psychology of belief in manifestation. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.18696.90881

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.

Iles-Caven, Y., Gregory, S., Ellis, G., Golding, J., & Nowicki, S. (2020). The Relationship Between Locus of Control and Religious Behavior and Beliefs in a Large Population of Parents: An Observational Study. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 1462. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01462

Predoiu, R., Predoiu, A., Mitrache, G.,... et al. (2020). Visualisation techniques in sport–the mental road map for success. Physical Education, Sport and Kinetotherapy Journal, 59(3), 245-256.

Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. The Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28806

Worth, P. & Smith, M. D. (2019). Positive Psychology And Luck Experiences in The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck (1st Ed.). Routledge.

How To Get A First Class Psychology Degree

SPSS?

I don’t know her.

It’s been five months since my friend Ash graduated from her Bachelors in Psychology (with Education). I met up with her at her local café in Manchester to ask how she gained a first. Yes, she is residing in Manchester now after expressing her hunger for a change in scenery, one that is less “bos-lin” (bustling) she giggles.

As we have a chat about our lack of knowledge on the FA Cup (a bar across from us was airing a match between Chelsea and Liverpool), two large iced lattes are placed on our table. The café serves American-inspired cuisine—and the sun is directly in my face—we move to a table at the back—the weather is surprisingly nice for an evening in mid May.

JH: I wanted to start off and ask—what are you wearing since this is a fashion magazine?

AS: Oh right. I’m wearing my Veja V-12 Marsala Nautico Leather shoes gifted to me by my sister. An En Route necklace and ring. And a Levi’s denim jumpsuit.

JH: I just wanted to say well done, it must feel great to finally finish your degree after the past few hectic years. What are you up to now?

AS: Thank you! I know right, uni was all over the place last year but it’s all done now, thankfully. I’m working in a primary school at the moment and I love it. You’re not going to get your dream job straight away after you graduate, so don’t fret about it.

JH: How did lockdown affect you?

AS: It was pretty tough adjusting to online study. But not having to travel to uni was refreshing because it gave me time to do other things. I was kind of sad at first but then I got used to a different lifestyle. I don’t think working from home is a bad idea at all and it’s made me appreciate just being in the moment.

JH: What would you say to students studying from home?

AS: I would say that studying from home and being physically at uni are not entirely different. Since psychology is mostly independent study you can be by yourself writing essays and reading most of the time. If you’re only online at the moment and you live on your laptop, it would be a good idea to get a laptop stand and a separate keyboard and mouse to reduce strain on your eyes, wrists, and neck. My laptop stand actually helped me so much—it really encouraged me to be at my laptop. It’s also super important to get up and move every 30 minutes. Another thing is, make sure that your software is updated whether it be Teams, Zoom, or SPSS. If you have any questions or you don’t get something, it’s really important that you let your lecturer, tutor, or uni know because leaving it last minute can make you feel lost and helpless.

If you have any questions or you don’t get something, it’s really important that you let your lecturer, tutor, or uni know because leaving it last minute can make you feel lost and helpless.

JH: What would you say is most important for a student?

AS: Out of all? Sleep. Yes, sleep is so important. If you’re sleep deprived you’re not going to concentrate well on anything. You’re going to be grumpy, you’re going to snap when you don’t mean to. I know that it may not be easy for some people to sleep, but just getting a few good hours in can really improve your quality of life.

JH: And how can a student get some good sleep?

AS: As mean as it sounds, if you live in halls, you have to tell your roommates to shut up (politely) if they’re being inconsiderate. First year was eye-opening for me as I got a taste of living with people that weren’t my family. I had to wear earplugs because the halls next door to me would play loud music until 4AM every other night and my roommates would have an endless Riverdale marathon every Monday night which included lots of sighing... and pining.

JH: Speaking of Riverdale marathons, is procrastination something that you had to deal with?

AS: All the time. If I didn’t procrastinate I would have achieved much more by now. I do regret procrastinating but I still procrastinate today. For me, I think I’ve always been like this. I’d leave my homework until the last minute. I’d walk to secondary school scribbling away in my notebook. I would say go on and procrastinate as much as you'd like. You know you’ll feel bad, but you’ll do it anyway. If I tell you to not procrastinate, what are you going to do? Just do whatever gets you through, but just know that your work isn’t going to write itself.

JH: Hard truth. I wasn’t expecting you to advise procrastination.

AS: I’m really passionate about routines—I don’t mean getting up at 6AM on the dot and making yourself a green juice. What I mean is that you shouldn’t be studying, working, or doing something university related 24/7. Make some time for yourself. You don’t need to follow routines that are currently trending on TikTok—just do what’s right for you.

You can’t always be work, work, work all up in your head. It’s going to take a toll on you at some point. This goes for your future career as well. Find something that takes you away for a bit such as a good game, exercise, going for walks, cooking, reading, whatever you like. Consistent and steady progress is what worked for me—I would set aside a couple of hours a day just to focus on assignments and prep work for seminars.

JH: I totally agree. Where did you spend the most time at uni?

AS: Honestly, it’s turning into a blur. I remember being in my room a lot. Or I would be on the bus. I also remember being in open spaces seated around uni—on my laptop—before lockdown. I’d pick a nice spot by a window to sit and enjoy the view whilst typing away. I was alone most of the time—everyone had their own thing going on. I rarely visited the library—maybe just to print something occasionally. One thing I would say is to have a good place to study, one where you can concentrate, especially when you have limited time. This should not be your bed, sit at a real desk, otherwise you’ll want to get under the covers, rest your head on the nice fluffy pillow, take your phone off the bedside table... start scrolling through Instagram... eyelids are getting heavy. You see where I’m going with this.

Sit at a real desk, otherwise you’ll want to get under the covers, rest your head on the nice fluffy pillow, take your phone off the bedside table... Start scrolling through Instagram... Eyelids are getting heavy. You see where I’m going with this.

JH: You don’t mention spending time at lectures?!

AS: I didn’t realise! I actually didn’t spend much time in in-person lectures because we didn’t have many and they were short. But they were super helpful to meet your lecturers and other people in your class. When the whole lockdown fiasco happened, no one really contributed to lessons, you’d just be looking at a screen of mini people icons. I had lots of prep work and reading though which covered mostly everything in the syllabus. This is what I meant when I was alone most of the time.

JH: You missed out on a lot. You mention that it was super helpful to be physically in a lecture. Could you share a little more on that?

AS: Lectures are important no matter how you attend it, online or offline. If you don’t attend any of your lectures at all—you’re not getting what you paid for and you’re not learning. It’s as simple as that. Somehow when you attend your classes a bit of knowledge manages to absorb in your brain whether you’re paying attention or not. Attending your classes gives you a chance to meet your peers who you might study with, do presentations and group work with, etc. They’re most likely in the same boat as you—make a group chat with them or at least make a little effort to get to know them.

If you really struggle and get bored with your lectures, take modules that you’re interested in, otherwise you’ll sit in your 9AM class one day and think to yourself, “Why did I take this module? I could be sleeping in right now...”. You can also ask your tutors questions and some may even hint what exactly they’re looking for in your work. If you’re worried about looking like you have no friends, at the end of the day, you’re there for you. Got a question, ask it. If you have recorded lectures and you’re playing them on 2x speed it’s totally acceptable and works wonders. If it’s up then it’s stuck? In the context of memory that is…

JH: I see, you’re paying to be there so you might as well use it to your full advantage. How did you manage your expenses?

AS: I applied for a student loan and used that for uni expenses only. I had a part-time job so I used that to cover food and clothes. I’m not that much of a big spender. When you’re studying psychology, in the words of most of my lecturers, you shouldn’t be buying or really using books (maybe only for definitions). You should be using peer-reviewed journal articles to show your understanding of up to date research. Your university should have an online database with access to psychology/science journal libraries (such as Frontiers, SAGE, JSTOR, Taylor & Francis, and ScienceDirect, just to name a few). Any search engine is your friend though—PDF files can readily be found online (antivirus software advised).

When searching for a journal article it’s all about the use of relevant keywords. For instance, let’s say you want to write an essay on fruit preference and the personality of young adults (because that’s all I can think of at the moment), you would type into the search bar: fruit personality psychology journal article or even fruit big five journal article. You can use filters to screen out languages and years (2013-2022 and unpublished articles hit the sweet spot).

Any search engine is your friend though—PDF files can readily be found online (antivirus software is advised).

JH: It’s one thing to know how to search for journal articles, but another to know how to read them. How many articles have you say... read through over your three year course?

AS: A psychology degree involves lots of reading. I would say that I downloaded around 20-30 articles for each essay then checked if I had full access to them, they were recent, and that they were peer-reviewed. Once I made these checks—I would be left with 15-20 articles that I could use for definitions, comparing research, and to search for further references. It’s also enough to show your marker that you’ve done some reading—which means you’ve put in some effort.

Because it’s so much reading, it’s important that you know the basic layout of a published Psychology journal article; it usually comprises of an abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. Never copy articles word for word because it will flag up on your university’s plagiarism detection software. Plagiarism is bad and a big no-no. A helpful tip to search through articles is to use the find shortcut on your keyboard “ctrl/cmd-f”. Organisation is also important here, you can create a new folder for each module and assignment—and then stick your articles in them.

JH: Psychology uses the APA layout, so it’s super important that you know the right version to use.

AS: Yes, it is super important that you use the correct version of the APA format because there are a lot of differences between each version. APA format is the layout that psychology students and researchers use for their research papers in the UK, this includes the reference layout. APA 7 is probably what you should be using now. I used 6 because when I started uni 7 wasn’t really used yet. You should save a template of the APA 7 format so that you can refer to it.

This includes references, citations, headings, font, font size, where your page numbers should be, tense, headers, footers, quotes, things like that. Saving a template will save you from having to type in the same thing over and over. Correct layout, grammar, and spelling accounted for 10 per cent of my final grade so it makes a huge difference. The content of your work can be a little crap, but at least it’s spelled correctly. Speaking of what contributes towards your grade, you have to know how your modules are graded and what grade you’re at (so you know how many marks you should be aiming for). Know what your assignment, coursework, etc. is asking from you—this should be outlined on your module guide. This is what your lecturer is going to mark you on.

Correct layout, grammar, and spelling accounted for 10 per cent of my final grade so it makes a huge difference. The content of your work can be a little crap, but at least it’s spelled correctly.

JH: Any tips on finalising a piece of coursework?

AS: I would say make sure that you’ve read through your work twice fully a few days before it’s due. It’s really easy to misspell something or type words twice. Tweak your Word settings to detect incorrect grammar. I’ve seen lots of students get caught out because they didn’t know how to upload their work correctly.

I used Turnitin, it’s one of those websites where multiple lecturers (admins) dip in and out and change things around. Make sure you’re enrolled to the module you’re doing, you know when your assignment is due, and if you’re allowed to resubmit preferably 24 hours before your assignment is due (not 24 minutes). This is in case you want to change something. Time is one of your greatest tools.

JH: Have you ever gotten a grade you didn’t like? What came out of it?

AS: Yes, a couple of times. We had a reflection piece of coursework we had to do every year and my grade never improved. I let it go though. I used the feedback and all but it didn’t improve my work. Feedback is given for a reason, so it’s wise to use it. You’re not going to be happy with your grades all the time—and it’s not always your fault. If you’re really not happy with a grade, it’s probably best to ask your lecturer to go through your work with you—book a meeting with them. Emails can get you places, and sometimes not. It used to happen quite a lot where you would ask a lecturer two questions and they would end up not answering your questions at all! The lecturers at my university used to get anno—can I say that?

JH: Yes, that’s great, go on.

AS: Yeah, they used to get annoyed when students would send them an email stating something like, “hi nic, what do you mean by asdgdsrgsrsrgwhdt. thanks. g.” No name, an inappropriate email address, no class name, no context. But when you send a nice and clear email, you may get the reply you’re asking for, and your lecturers will also get to know you as a student. Keep it to the point. Writing emails is a great skill to have. Don’t get stressed about writing emails though, lecturers get a lot of emails daily and genuinely don’t look deep into what you wrote. If your email is urgent, don’t forget to send it as high importance.

JH: How often did you ask for help from other students and your tutors?

AS: Quite a lot really. Just be careful not to share your work with others too much otherwise you’ll end up writing the same thing! There’s no shame at all in asking for help, we’re all different with different abilities and skillsets. There used to be a poster in the university that said something like, “Ask a question and you’re a fool for five minutes, don’t ask and you’re a fool for life”. Also, don’t be afraid to use your university’s services. You matter.

Sometimes you may need some help whether it be for career advice, counselling and wellbeing, general concerns, or academic assistance. Your library has many resources to offer such as books, articles, and quiet places to study when you want to be on your own. If you really can’t find an article from your own university’s database, you can ask your librarian for help. You can also join societies where you can meet other people that share your interests. You should’ve been assigned a personal tutor—they’re meant to be there to help you with your progress at university.

There’s no shame at all in asking for help, we’re all different with different abilities and skillsets.

JH: Did you have any group assignments and how did it go for you?

AS: Honestly, I dreaded group assignments. I had one proper group presentation in first year but it didn’t count towards my classification. It was a bit of a shambles because no one was answering their texts and we weren’t prepared to present on the day. I’m quite go all in or nothing so I was bummed after we presented, but it was an alright grade in the end. There’s always going to be someone in the group that does more and one that does less. That’s just how it is. You might have to pick up the slack for others, but don’t get taken advantage of, because you’ll get burned out.

JH: You talk about uploading assignments and presentations - Did you ever have any written exams in a hall?

AS: If you have a timed written exam, I’m sorry to hear that. I loathed exams, I never saw the point in them. You can have all of the expertise in a subject area but completely lose yourself on the day and forget everything. One way I used to prepare for exams is literally to write them out and memorise them. This is good if you know the questions beforehand. I knew what I was going to write and how long it took. Draft your exam on your word processor of choice, make sure it’s good enough for your liking, then make sure it can be written in a set amount of time. Then number the each line. Your job is to then memorise the exam line by line. You shouldn’t really be asked for references—that’s mean. Oh, and remember how to read an analog clock.

JH: Did you study psychology before your degree?

AS: Yes I did, it was a big help, but psychology is quite a wide subject so you’re never going to fully experience psychology for what it is. You just need to know the basics and how to be critical. One thing my psychology teacher taught us in sixth form is the acronym GRAVE. It’s used for critiquing articles and it stands for generalisability, reliability, applicability, validity, and ethics. If you’re new to psychology it’s pretty simple to use. Generalisability - Is this research generalisable in terms of its methodology and/or its findings, or is it only applicable to one or few populations? Reliability - Is the method used reliable? Are the findings similar to other studies? Are any measures used measuring what is intended to be measured? How well is the study replicated? Applicability - Has the research findings been implemented in the ‘real world’? (Education, healthcare, policies, etc.). Validity - Here we’re talking control measures, extraneous variables, order effects, demand characteristics; things that could have an effect on the DV. Ethics - Think about confidentiality, deception, (informed) consent, debrief, withdrawal, and protection. Ethics is super important when it comes to designing studies - you will have to prove your understanding of ethics when planning your own dissertation.

JH: What would you advise students who have never done psychology in their life?

AS: Don’t be afraid of SPSS—a statistics software that you will definitely use more than a couple of times in research methods. To tell you the truth, I love SPSS but that’s because I’m done with it. The software is pretty minimal but using it for the first time can be a little daunting. The best thing to do is to make everything as simple as possible. Make little guides that you can refer to. Take each type of data - name it - give an example (e.g., nominal data = Flavours of ice cream). Take each research design - name it - give an example - write the procedure. Take each statistical test - name it - give an example - write the procedure. See where I’m headed? Some really handy books (PDF files of earlier versions can be found online) are: Dancey and Reidy - Statistics Without Maths for Psychology, and Howitt and Cramer - Research Methods in Psychology. YouTube has many useful tutorials as well. When it comes to planning your dissertation keep in mind whether you’re more comfortable doing qualitative or quantitative research.

The best thing to do is to make everything as simple as possible.

JH: Summer is here.

AS: Yes.

JH: What should a psychology student do during summer?

AS: It would be a good idea for you to gain some experience—in anything you want to do. You can do this by applying for internships or volunteering. Even a few hours can make a big difference to your CV. Just make sure that you apply early. It’s easier said than done though, it can be competitive and that sucks considering all the things going on at the moment. Ask your university’s career service for advice and if there are any companies in your area that offer internships.

JH: Takeaway messages to sum up the uni experience?

AS: Do your best. Just do your best, that’s all. It’s your degree at the end of the day. If you know that you did your best then you can’t kick yourself in the bum after... And sometimes you just need realise things. If you have to deactivate your socials, do it. If you have to put your hand on the window of the bus, and gaze longingly at passing cars as you listen to ballads through your airpods, fine. Time at university goes by quickly and spending 10ish hours of your time on a piece of work you’ll never have to do again is pretty great if you ask me... Can I add one more?

It’s your degree at the end of the day. If you know that you did your best then you can’t kick yourself in the bum after...

JH: Go ahead.

AS: Save your work in at least two places whether it be a USB, your email, your laptop, or an external hard drive. My sister lost her work once. You never know when you can lose your work—and it can be really disheartening if it happens. Good luck everyone!

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IF YOU’RE FEELING OVERWHELMED OR WOULD LIKE SOME ADVICE, SPEAK TO YOUR UNIVERSITY’S WELLBEING SERVICE, THEY’RE THERE FOR YOU.