How to Get Fashionable Frugally
Many of us follow fashion – it can feel great to be walking around wearing the latest trends. You may be a fully-fledged fashionista, who scours the magazines each month and enjoys shopping for designer gear, or you could be a high-street shopper, who buys cheaper on-trend clothes more regularly. If you’re into fashion then it’s likely that you’ll know just how expensive it can be. Depending on how seriously you take it, then you may need almost a whole new wardrobe for each season, which does not come cheap.
Stay fashionable and save
If you’re struggling for cash, then it’s likely that you will have cut down on some ‘non-essential’ spending. If you’re used to conducting a bit of retail therapy on a regular basis, then cutting this out of your life can be hard. You need to consider just how much you can allow yourself to spend and stick to it. Don’t over estimate just because you want some nice things – be strict with yourself. There are always ways to stay fashionable and save.
Assess what you’ve already got
The first thing you should do is to review the clothing that you already own. Take everything out of your wardrobe and put it in a big pile. This can seem counter-productive at first but it will make you look at each and every item in a mindful way. Think about items of clothing that can be worn in all seasons and will never go out of fashion. Simple pieces which suit your body shape and which can be layered up with more fashionable things or accessorised to bring them forwards are worth their weight in gold. If you have some high fashion pieces which are clearly ‘out’ and can’t be ‘upcycled’ or used as a base for an outfit then ditch them. Take it as a lesson to never buy ‘in your face’ pieces which you’ll only wear a few times as this is essentially a waste of money. Follow that trend in a different way, perhaps by accessorising with a scarf or piece of jewellery instead.
Check out charity shops
Charity shops are often the cause of many divided opinions – some think they’re a great way to get clothes cheaply whereas others won’t step foot in them at all, branding them dirty and cheap. Granted, some charity shops may be a bit dingy and full of clothing you wouldn’t touch with a barge pole, but many are clean, vibrant places with a great turnover of stock and some genuinely fashionable pieces. Depending on where you live, you can get a whole outfit for under a tenner if you know where to look. Shopping in charity shops is like a big treasure hunt – you’ll have to rifle through a few dud rails before you find anything worth buying, but when you do strike gold it’s a great feeling.
Think twice
Target stores which are near the nicer areas of your town and you’ll find plenty of brand name and high-end clothing. However, don’t fall into the trap of buying something simply because it’s cheap – if it doesn’t fit you and you’ll rarely wear it then it’s not a saving at all!
This is a guest post by Coral Pearce-Mariner on behalf of UK Credit Limited. Coral recently published an article titled Borrowers want Payday Alternatives – take a look.
Category: Saving Money, Shopping
