I used to enter a store and head straight to the sale section.

I would try not to look at the pieces on display front and centre, because I knew that also meant Most Expensive.

One day, I decided I was so utterly seduced by the beautiful dress on the mannequin at Anthropologie.

Ehhhh I’ll try it on just for fun. I didn’t dare look at the price tag. I simply asked for my size, and flounced off to that woodland wonderland of a fitting room.

Guess what.

The dress was not nearly as enchanting on me as it was on the mannequin, where it was clipped, tugged, and tweaked to perfection in a way that just didn’t flow on a human body. It wasn’t right, and I was no longer smitten.

What if I hadn’t tried it on?

I would probably still be lusting after it – or rather, the idea of it – wishing I were richer. But this way, I let myself judge the dress before it judged me. As it turns out, it wasn’t good enough for me. Never mind whether I could afford it.

So my policy ever since has been to try on first, and check the price tag once I’ve decided we’re the right fit.

But what if the dress were everything I imagined and more?

Well, sure, this has happened. I go into the fitting room with some bargains from the sale, and a piece or two from the new collection.

If I end up loving the expensive new top from A/W 2016, it’s brilliance puts the mediocre-fitting pieces from the sale into perspective. I could have gotten 3 tops from the sale that were just okay, or 1 from the new collection that I simply adoooore.

And if I still can’t afford that coveted piece, I’m likely to walk away without buying anything, a reminder to save up for when the next time I fall head over heels for a beautiful top.

I apply this concept of ‘trying it on’ to purchases that don’t go in the fitting room.

If there’s an online course I’m aching to take, I ask myself if money were no object, would I truly put in the time and effort? Is it really what I want and need right now?

Recently, I found myself turning down a ski trip because we couldn’t afford it, when really, it clashed with our holiday plans, so we wouldn’t have been able to go regardless of price. Classic mix-up of time vs money values!

So what do you think – should you always try it on?