Women spend £71 in the sales on clothes they will never wear

By FIONA MACRAE FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Updated: 03:45 EST, 6 January 2011

When is a bargain not a bargain? When it is too tight to wear.

Waste: Women hope to 'slim into' sales purchases.

The average shopper splashes out £71 in the sales on clothing that is too small to squeeze into, research has revealed.

Across the country, this amounts to £3.5bn of 'bargains' consigned to the back of the wardrobe each January, bought in the hope that they can be 'slimmed into'.

While many husbands might raise an eyebrow at how low the £71 figure is, they won't be surprised to learn that women were the main culprits when it comes to bargain blunders, with 27% admitting they regularly bought clothing in a too-small size.

But before men get too smug, the poll also found they too were guilty of vanity buys, with 17% owning up to wasting cash on unwearable items.

The poll, on behalf of weight management brand Slim Smart, also found 12% were so conscious of their bulging waistline they will only shop in stores which subscribe to vanity sizing - warped dress sizes which flatter customers into believing they are slimmer.

One in 20 of the women who do succumb to buying the right size said they are so ashamed of their girth they will cut off the offending label, the survey found.

A snug waistband is the main motivation behind 53% of diets, with the average woman aspiring to be a size 10.

Many diets are, however, doomed from the outset. Some 21% of women said they had started a New Year diet - but the vast majority did not expect to succeed.

If past experience is anything to go by, 57% predicted they will give up by January 22 - while five per cent will lack the willpower to last 24 hours.

Mary Strugar, a nutritionist and behavioural therapist, said: 'Many of us set unrealistic goals when it comes to weight loss, which is why so many of us give up on new healthy eating resolutions within a month.

'Feeling lethargic after the holidays and not seeing immediate results is partly to blame but the availability of cheap clothing doesn't help, for many making it easier to buy new clothes in the next size up rather than putting in the effort to shed the Christmas pounds.'

But it seems women are equally happy to fall back on an old tried-and-tested fashion trick - just wear black. The colour's ability to camouflage bumps and bulges means 21% of women - and 10% of men - refuse to wear anything else, a separate poll, for diet brand Shape Smart, found.

Psychologist Dr Jane McCartney said the right cut can be as important as colour. She said: 'If you're happy in what you are wearing you carry yourself with much more confidence.'

Michael Van Straten, author of the Little Black Dress Diet, added: 'An awful lot of women wear black because they think it is chic and sophisticated.

And no matter what you've got in your wardrobe, you can accessorise it.'