Keeping up with the latest fashion trends can be expensive. It’s also unsustainable given how quickly we see trends come and go. Just because you can’t always dress like the most popular fashion influencers doesn’t mean you can’t look stylish and feel good in what you wear. When you upgrade your wardrobe without buying brand-new clothes, you save money and help the environment by reducing textile waste and lowering carbon emissions from transport and manufacturing. Now that we’ve convinced you to rethink buying new clothes to spruce up your style, here’s exactly how you can level up your wardrobe without spending a fortune.
Explore Charity & Thrift Shops
Almost every high street will have at least one charity shop you can explore, and they’re often where you can find one-of-a-kind pieces for a bargain price. Clothes and accessories in charity shops are great for any occasion as they sell a wide range of clothing items, including summer dresses and winter coats. If the significantly lower price isn’t enough to convince you, buying from charity shops is a good way to make a positive contribution to your community and support charities and people in need. As well as charity stores, second-hand retailers like Vinted offer a digital platform where you can buy and sell used items from users all across the globe.
Pre-owned clothing platforms give users the ability to search for specific items they’re looking for and negotiate prices to get the best deal. An easy way to spend less on these marketplaces is to clear out your wardrobe at the same time. You can sell items completely free of charge, and use the money you make from them to buy something new for yourself.
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Hunt For Deals and Discounts
Both online and in-store retail offer regular cost savings with discounts and deals. When shopping online, use discount finder sites which are frequently updated with a list of all the live discounts you can use on your favourite brands and retailers. Another way to shop for the latest fashion items at a lower price is to trigger the brand’s marketing to offer you a discount. Fill your basket with the items you want to buy and leave the app or online browser shortly after. Although it’s not guaranteed, this can trigger an email to be sent with a discount code aimed at encouraging you to buy.
Get Crafty With Items You Already Own
You don’t have to be a textile genius to get crafty with the clothes you already own. As long as you have a pair of good scissors and an open mind, you can transform items you never thought you’d wear again. Of course, don’t immediately start altering every item of clothing you own. After all, once they’re modified, there’s no going back. But taking the scissors and stitches to clothes that have sat in your wardrobe for months untouched is a great way to bring them back to life at no extra cost.
An easy item to start with is a pair of jeans that you can shape into a stylish pair of denim shorts, or even leave a couple of inches on and turn them into a pair of summer jorts. What about that old shirt that’s collecting dust in the back of your wardrobe? Try removing the shirt’s collar and tying the sleeves around your lower waist to make a trendy asymmetric mini skirt.
Buy Clothes Out Of Season
It might sound bizarre, but buying your clothes out of season can be a perfect way to find items at a considerably lower price. This is particularly useful for online shopping, where you can explore different seasonal items at any time of the year. The only drawback is that retailers typically release new items during the season they are designed for. However, you’re not looking for the latest arrivals anyway – and that’s a good thing, because they usually come with a hefty price tag.
Accessorise
Bringing new life into the clothes you already own can be done by accessorising. There are no rules or limits as to how many accessories you can add to your outfits; that’s why accessorising is so easy to do. There’s also a good chance you have more accessories lying around than you think – even if it’s vintage pieces from your parents. The key to elevating a look with accessories is to pick a single item to be a statement piece, something that stands out and grabs attention.
This could be a chunky necklace, a brightly coloured bum bag or a funky hat, none of which are hard to come by – whether you shop online or at a shopping centre, our statement accessory works best when its colours complement the other colours in your outfit. Then, any other accessories you add should be fairly minimal and complement other items in the look, rather than perfectly matching them.
Author’s Bio:
Lacey Harrow is a dyed-in-the-wool shopaholic. Some say her first steps as a baby were on a family trip to Selfridges after seeing her first Prada mini bag. Now, you can find her frequenting shopping centres in Essex and boutique stores in London, and writing blogs offering advice and detailing her experiences online.
