Wardrobe of your dreams - 10 tips for affordability to keep you trendy this winter.
With the cost of living steadily rising and inflation hitting all-time highs, for the fashion forward person, gathering a fresh and exciting wardrobe is more expensive than ever. With the emergence of TikTok, Pinterest and other social media websites, styles and trends fluctuate like wildfire and it's hard to think affordable when seeing big brands on everyone and their granny.
Don’t worry, I’ve come to your rescue. I’ve curated 10 tips and tricks I use every day to gather an affordable wardrobe and spare some change for your rainy day, while still dressing your best.
Gather your inspo!
My Pinterest page is my baby and I use it to style every outfit I wear. This amazing free site gives you the ability to create a board designed around your specific aesthetic. Pinterest is a fantastic way to gather specific styles and discover how to co-ordinate different items into an outfit. Affordability-wise, it will help you find affordable alternatives to expensive branded items. Most importantly, it will help you avoid falling into the trap of having a million items of clothing but no outfits! Focus on gathering inspiration to assist you in reusing items you already own in new, fresh ways. When people ask me how I look like I have new outfits every day, I point them towards Pinterest. Take a peek at the link below or search “Sorcha’s closet” on Pinterest to see some of my own personal boards for extra inspiration!
https://www.pinterest.ie/sorchascloset/
Basics. Basics, Basics!
So now you have your Pinterest page, but do you have your basic clothing staples that you can reuse with every outfit? If no, go get some! It’s no good spending the big bucks on flashy items if you can’t pair them with everything. What good is it having an expensive top you can only wear with one specific pair of jeans for instance? That outfit will get tired very quickly. Spend your money cleverly, focus on basic items that you can reuse with multiple outfits. Basic white tees, black jumpers and blue jeans can be re-worn with every type of clothing under the sun for instance, while still looking fresh and new. These items are also timeless, they will never go out of fashion. Basics, basics, basics!
Quality over Quantity!
Don’t spend your money on clothes you’ll have to replace every month. There’s a common quote stating that the man who can buy the single €50 pair of boots will save more money than the man who must buy 5 pairs of €10 boots. Better quality items will last longer and can be reused more often— they’ll survive the washing machine! My motto in this regard is jeans, boots, coats: purchase higher quality jeans, coats, and shoes, especially for winter. These will be your most worn items and will be more likely to need replacing— buying quality will save you more in the long run. Opt in for higher quality items and learn what these options look like! Some tips to notice higher quality items is to take a peek at the materials and stitching used throughout the piece. Stronger denim for jeans for example, heavier materials and strong, sturdy stitching for coats as well as thicker soles and seams for shoes. This will keep them from breaking down and will avoid the nasty surprise of having to replace an item a month after you bought it.
Adapt to the season!
Clothes are not for a season; they are for a year. Your staple summer pieces can be adapted and reused to fit autumn, winter, spring etc and vice versa! Learn how to layer your clothes to reuse summer items for different seasons and how to adapt staple pieces to fit multitudes of conditions. Short summer dresses can be worn with tights and a turtleneck underneath. Heavy winter jeans can be reworked for warmer weather by pairing it with a cute t-shirt or blouse. Get the maximum amount of use from your pieces all year; you don’t need separate wardrobes for each season!
Ignore those TikTok trends!
A new term has been coined in the fashion industry following the emergence of TikTok, Instagram and other social media sites: microtrends. A brilliant article by Maggie Zhou for goodonyou.com defines this phenomenon as “taking what you know about trends and accelerating the process.” Because of microtrends, clothing trends or aesthetics circulate out of fashion faster than they stay in rotation. You may spend a fortune to catch up with a particular style only to realise that the popular culture has dropped it in lieu of a brand-new style emerging on social media. Don’t spend your paycheck on these super trendy items as they will age super quickly and will overall be a loss. Instead, take a walk around fast fashion stores such as Bershka and Stradivarius. These stores make it their mission to predict longer -staying trends for the next few seasons and can be a fantastic way of gathering an idea of what to focus your wardrobe on. Even if you do not want to buy from here, they can be a great learning resource. Furthermore, keep an eye on the big fashion houses such as Gucci and Versace. I am aware most of us cannot justify spending €800 on a pair of shoes, but most fashion trends are birthed from these expensive brands. You’ll see that cheaper brands will gather their inspiration for their next collection from these brands, so why can’t you do the same?
Give some love to pre-loved items!
Fantastically, the fashion world has put a huge focus on developing towards sustainable options. Look at Love Island for example, and their move away from fast fashion brand sponsors towards sustainable options such as Ebay’s preloved section. This is a brilliant and affordable option to gather a wardrobe. Download apps such as Depop and Ebay to have a peak at pre-loved items sold in your area. Visit second-hand, vintage and charity shops in your area as well; they are a wonderful way to find bargains on clothing, sometimes branded, while also returning benefit to the community and important charities. Bear in mind that thrift shopping is trendy now and some vintage outlets may be hiking up their prices. Focus on charity stores more as you won’t be feeding into consumer profit, and you will be feeding your precious pennies into a better cause.
Fast Fashion is not ideal but not shameful!
Don’t be ashamed of shopping fast fashion sometimes. Don’t be ashamed if the affordability and accessibility of this option is beneficial to you. Second hand is ideal for sustainability; however, this is not always realistic for people in certain areas or circumstances. When buying fast fashion pieces, focus on items you know will rotate in your repertoire for a longer time. When you have grown out of it etc, don’t dispose of it straight away. Instead donate it to second-hand shops or charity bins, or sell it on Depop to make a bit of money to feed back into your lifestyle. Furthermore, it is giving your pre-loved clothes a new lease of life. Buying fast fashion is affordable and okay if you do it responsibly and mindfully.
Reuse and Repair!
The biggest loss suffered by the fashion forward person relates to disposing of clothes items that may be damaged or broken, without seeing if they can be repaired or reworked to save some money. Rework and repair your items to avoid disposing of them at a loss. A focus on reworking old items can keep your wardrobe fresh and interesting without necessitating extra cost. Perhaps consider investing in a sewing machine, which is an expensive purchase, but a one-time investment that can save time and money overall. Alternatively, YouTube has some amazing free tutorials to teach you how to sew and mend clothes or shoes, which is fantastic way to get the maximum amount of use out of the item, affordably.
Gender is so last season!
Throw the idea of gendered clothes out the window, buy what you need from wherever. The ideal of gendered labelled clothes is outdated anyway and venturing into the traditional “men's” section can give you access to a goldmine. Men’s labelled clothing is better quality, with stronger seams and larger pockets to last longer. Their size collection is also significantly more accessible to all body types, an issue that is still very prevalent in women's clothing. Men’s styles don’t tip toe around the trend cycle as much either, so you will find more timeless and on trend pieces.
Fashion is a cycle!
The biggest mistake you can make regarding saving money with your wardrobe is disposing of your “out of style” clothes. If the clothes still fit well and look good, who cares if they out of trend! Fashion is not linear: it is a continuous circle. Keep those old clothes and watch as the trend cycle brings them straight back into fashionable rotation.
These times can be tough and often, fashion and style are stressful endeavours, but they do not have to be. The most important way to have good style and make a statement is to be yourself, dress in a way that makes you feel powerful and individual. This can be done affordably by applying the above tips to your fashion endeavours, while also working around your individual circumstances to get the maximum use out of your wardrobe. Be wild and wilful and your clothes will reflect it.
