*This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Whenever people go through a period of financial uncertainty, they always try and cut costs and expenses wherever they can. And one of the very first cuts that people make is to their wardrobe. Shopping for new clothes is out as trying to save some extra cash each month comes in!
But you don’t need to give up your fashion and style just because you are trying to save money. In fact, it is possible to get a gorgeous wardrobe on a very small budget. You just need to know how to make your finances fashionable again! Read on to find out how to do this.
If you had all the money in the world, what kind of clothes would you wear? It’s important to take a few minutes to think about how you would dress if money were no object. This can help you figure out exactly which clothes are worth spending money on when you are out shopping. For instance, if you are looking through a shop and see a $10 sweater and a nicer $50 sweater, you might feel that you should buy the cheaper one even if you prefer the more expensive one. However, if the pricier sweater is more in line with your ideal fashion and style, you should go for that one. That’s because you probably won’t be happy with the cheaper one and will only end up a cheaper replacement. If you continue to replace a few cheaper ones, you will end up spending more than you would have if you had paid for the better, more expensive sweater!
Now that you know exactly the kinds of trends and styles you want in your wardrobe, you need to go out and invest in staple pieces. Staples are items of clothing that you can mix and match with other items to create different outfits. Most of them also come in timeless styles, so there is no way they will quickly go out of fashion. You will find that, once you have a few staple pieces in your wardrobe that your shopping bills will start to reduce. That’s because you’ll just have to top up your wardrobe with one-off trendy clothing items and accessories.
This might sound obvious, but some people still don’t realize that they don’t have to pay full price for all their clothes. If you search online, you will find lots of great coupon websites like dontpayfull.com that feature lots of discounts for popular clothing stores such as Target, Nike, and Tommy Hilfiger. It’s also worth signing up to your favorite brands’ newsletters as most big names send out discount codes and vouchers to their loyal customers and newsletter subscribers. Don’t forget that all clothing stores also regularly hold in-store sales. This is when some or all of their clothing items are reduced to clear.
If you feel like you could do with an extra injection of cash to use when you are out shopping, you should think about reviewing all your clothes and seeing if there are any items that you rarely wear. Firstly, this is a great way to create a lot more space in your closet and drawers. Secondly, you will be able to save up all the money you make by selling old clothes to go out and buy some new ones. There are loads of different websites you can use to sell you clothing items, such as eBay and Vinted. Remember that you can only sell clothes that are still wearable and in good quality. The better quality and more on-trend they are then the more money you will be able to ask for them.
It’s a good idea to get a subscription to a fashion magazine such as vogue.com and Harper’s Bazaar. You can then flick through every month to see what all the latest trends and styles are. This is one of the best ways to stay in the know about everything fashion! By increasing your fashion knowledge this way, you will be able to shop a lot smarter and find pieces of clothing that have the potential to stay in fashion for a lot longer.
Are you aware of what body shape you have? It is very important that you know this as this is another way to shop a lot smarter when you are in fashion stores. If you look in a fashion magazine or online and see that your favorite pop singer or celebrity is wearing a fabulous dress, there is no point trying to buy it if it won’t suit your body shape. If you don’t know your body shape and go out to buy a very similar dress for a lot of money, you will only be wasting your cash on something that you won’t want to wear so much. So, regardless of what other fashionistas are wearing, you always need to wear clothes that flatter and suit your body size. That way, you are a lot more likely to buy clothes that you will keep for a lot longer, and you won’t have to go shopping for replacement pieces so often!
One thing that can make clothes a lot more expensive than what they first seem is their method of cleaning. If you buy something that needs to be professionally cleaned at the dry cleaners, then you might end up spending a lot of money just to clean it. So, when you are looking at clothes to buy, you should always look at the labels to see how they need to be washed. Ideally, look for items that can be washed in a machine or by hand.
Staying ahead of fashion and style doesn’t have to end up draining your bank account completely. You will find that if you follow all of the above tips, your finances will stay healthy and your wardrobe will stay stylish!