20 Ways To Be Frugally Fashionable

I’m about to commence my Diploma in Professional Styling, so combined with the change of seasons and new fashions hitting the stores and lolling across magazine spreads, it’s with interest that I’ve been looking at the prices of these delectable wardrobe fillers. It occured to me that one could easily spend the GDP of a small nation trying to stay stylish, yet never actually get to the point where they always have something to wear in their closet. So with this in mind, I present my top 20 tips for staying stylish whilst watching your cash levels…

1. Never buy clothes for when you’ll lose weight… Lose the weight, save the money and buy when you’re at the weight you want to be. It’ll act as motivation to actually lose the weight, and it’ll prevent you from ending up with a stack of ’skinny clothes’, still with their tags on at the back of the wardrobe if you don’t actually lose it.
2. Do sale recon – if you want to shop the sales, fine, but visit all the stores you’re likely to buy from and try everything on when the stock first arrives. You can try it all on in peace and quiet and you’ll be less influenced by reduced prices. Work out what you want, then when the sales hit you can pick up the things you really want and you know fit you and look great, not the things you think you want when you’ve got sale goggles on. And you won’t have to tackle fitting rooms with about a thousand other people. Bonus.
3. Want that high-end designer item? Fine, but if you want it that badly, it’s worth saving and waiting for – so make sure you’re paying for it in cash and not at the expense of your future or present (bills, savings, investments, etc.)
4. If it’s something frivolous, don’t fork out a substantial amount over it. If you’re going to get a lot of wear out of said item on the other hand, it’s worthwhile choosing the very best you can afford. Yes, it will cost you more upfront, but it will cost you less in the long run.
5. Read the care label, and if in doubt go for the most gentle method of cleaning and ironing you can. It’s all about getting the most life out of what you buy.
6. Don’t go cheap on your cleaning and ironing solutions. If you’ve saved up and buy a Burberry trenchcoat to last you ’til you’re 80, it’s not the item to take to the discount drycleaner.
7. If you’re tired of something that’s already in your wardrobe, consider revamping it – adding new season buttons, shortening it, dying it, relining it and even turning it into a completely new item (a dress into a skirt and top, for example) can all be much cheaper than buying something new.
8. If you really can’t revamp it, store it. If you genuinely loved it when you first bought it and you haven’t outgrown it, chances are it will come back in style or you’ll fall in love with it all over again.
9. If it can’t be revamped or stored, but it’s a fabulous piece, seek out a swap party near you – trade your unwanted items for something you’ll love. It’s practically free shopping!
10. If you can’t revamp it, store it or swap it, consider selling it on eBay – it’s genuinely amazing what people will purchase (one person’s trash is anothers treasure and all that) and it’s money you can put toward something else.
11. Learn the art of vintage shopping. If you’re one of those people who screw up their noses at the thought of vintage because it’s secondhand, think again – and learn what deadstock means. There are bargains with serious style cred to be found if you know what you’re looking for. (And for the record, I’m the happy owner of a genuine vintage silk Hermes scarf that I bought for $3 about 12 months ago).
12. If you see a look you love in a magazine but the things you’re admiring are too pricey, break down the look and search for substitutes in high street stores or via online boutiques and auction sites such as eBay. You’ll be surprised how often you can replicate a look for a fraction of the price. Just don’t purchase knock-offs. They support a plethora of illegal activities and promote the use of labour in appalling conditions. And no amount of prettiness is worth that.
13. Consider shopping for the next season in your alternate hemisphere online. A lot of my wardrobe lovelies come from the US and the UK during their sales seasons. This has the added bonus of seriously minimising the likelihood that you’ll end up seeing everyone in the same thing as you.
14. Ponder the following: if your grandmother would admire it or could have worn it at some point, it’s stylish. If not, it’s fashionable.
15. Learn what suits you aesthetically and what you enjoy wearing in terms of physical and psychological comfort. Purchase accordingly.
16. Considering number 15, purchase classic basics before getting into the latest look. You’ll thank yourself in approximately six months when silk jumpsuits are so six months ago.
17. Keep a list of wardrobe items you need (eg. hoisery). If you feel the need to go shopping, purchase from the list. At the very least, you’ll come home with things you actually needed rather than that tie-dyed tunic the sales assistant talked you into.
18. If you purchase an item and end up wearing it constantly, consider going back for more in different colours. Particularly during a sale period or with some sort of promotional discount.
19. Should you find yourself continuously purchasing items from one store or brand, sign up to their newsletter and find out if they have a loyalty programme. You’ll be kept informed when sales start and in many cases be sent exclusive discount vouchers or coupons (which helps with item 18 on this list too).
20. Take a professional styling course to clue yourself up in the style stakes – you’ll always be able to put together something to wear from your wardrobe and you’ll never waste money again on things that get unworn and don’t go with anything else in your closet.

If you have any further suggestions, I’d love to hear them! Hit the contact link at the top of the page and drop me a line.

Stay stylish!

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