Fashion is fun but it can be difficult to know how to stay on trend when you’re on a tight budget. Glossy fashion magazines can be quite pricey and often tantalise readers with beautiful clothes which are depressingly out of the budget of your average fashionista about town. Fortunately, there are plenty of great ways to keep your look up to date without breaking the bank. Let’s take a look at the best financially friendly ways to stay fashion forward.
Use Vouchers
Money-off vouchers and discounts are some of the most popular ways to save cash. There are plenty of sites offering special deals on fashion and beauty treats, from haircuts and highlights to clothes and shoes. If you’re studying, be sure to take advantage of student discounts in high-street stores or online. Fashion stores typically offer 10% discounts to students, though some can give you as much as 20% off at certain times of the year.
Do Charity Shop Chic
If you’re looking for some unique new pieces for your wardrobe, then why not hit the charity shops? Charity shopping is a fun way to spend an afternoon with friends. You may have to dig deep to find something that suits you, but the thrill of a bargain when you find the right thing is hard to beat. You can find some great clothes at bargain-basement prices in charity shops, from vintage high-street pieces to desirable designer clothes. The best part about charity shopping is that you’re likely to find some unique pieces that won’t be found anywhere else.
Customize!
You don’t have to buy new clothes to revolutionise your wardrobe – you could simply transform the clothes you’ve already got. Customising your clothes is a great way to update your look without spending a lot of money. Simple tricks such as changing buttons or adding sequins and other embellishments to a plain top can add that personal designer touch to a high-street piece. Head to your local haberdashery and pick up some ribbon, buttons, sequins, laces and whatever else there is that you can be creative with; there is great satisfaction in creating something unique for a fraction of the price you’d find it on the high street.
Knit
Learning how to knit and crochet can save you a lot of money in the long run on your fashion favourites. You can get great prices on wool and yarn, and a set of knitting needles can be a good investment. You will no longer have to pay out for scarves; these are extremely easy to knit and you can design your own too. Other things that you can crochet include detachable collars. These are on trend at the moment, looking great with long shirts and leggings. There is an abundance of free patterns on the internet to choose from which could potentially save you a lot of money.
Accessorize!
Accessories are the key to keeping your look fresh without breaking the bank. Even the plainest of outfits can be transformed with the addition of jewellery and a hot handbag. Head to places like Primark or have a browse on Ebay for good quality, fashionable jewellery and create yourself a jewellery box. Organise it by colour and you’ll have a great fashion resource ready to go when you feel your outfit is a little drab. Another great accessory is the humble scarf. Not only are they pretty handy when it gets chilly, but you can also wear the chiffon type as a headband, a belt or even tie it to your handbag for that extra flare. You can pick these up fairly cheaply to create a small collection.
While it would be nice to have designer jeans and expensive t-shirts, you can pick up some great basics from high street stores. Wherever you shop, make sure you have a good base of wardrobe staples, such as some plain tees and a couple of pairs of skinny jeans in black and denim. These clothes will never date and can serve as a blank canvas from which to build up a fashionable look. Animal-print scarves are bang on trend right now and are perfect teamed with a black tee and black skinny jeans, while chunky gold jewellery looks great with a plain white tee.
Even if you’re being extra frugal with your fashion purchases, you should stand back and take a look at all of the items in your wardrobe. There is bound to be a couple of thousand pounds worth of clothes, shoes, coats and accessories there. What would you do if something happened to your collection, like a fire or flood? It’s important for fashionistas to consider this when choosing their contents insurance policy, whether you live on your own or are in student accommodation. Even if you are frugal when it comes to fashion, don’t underestimate how much your collection is worth in total; every little item soon adds up!
Please note: the photographs in this post do not belong to the writer or to Scarlett London. We do not take credit for them.