Making Fashion Affordable for All

So you break into your savings for the month or season to see what you can afford from the new fashion, to realize you can’t really afford much. All friends show off in new outfits and garments on nights out on all social media, and you don’t want to be caught dead wearing repeats. Now what?
Well, there’s a couple of tricks in buying into new styles without it costing a fortune, yet without looking cheap.

First step, bring out the whole closet and make two piles. The ‘Keeps’ and… ‘Goes’! Always in consideration to others who can’t afford the previous fashion…or any fashion in that matter, it’s always nice to donate our old stuff than throw it out. This way, our loved designs don’t get wasted and get appreciated by someone that needs it more. Much better than feeding them to the bin, and that way we know our cherished clothes we had so much fun in, are still ‘alive’ and appreciated by someone else!
Second step is to think through the ones kept.  They might seem lovely but can anyone else see it? If not, how do we revive them?
There’s many ways of doing so. Now that the forgone trends left, there is more space for the new so you’re already a step ahead. The wardrobe has been somehow cleared out of clingy outdated trends and for the ones kept, they need to be rejuvenated by being accessorized with the new trends, to bring a new look altogether. Respectfully, the old accessories we chose to keep, need to be accessorized with new outfits! 

Next move is to count all savings down to the last penny that was put on the side for this purpose. It’s important to know how much we can spend before compulsively buying everything we would like to own, specially when our purchases are a few clicks away. Although this step is much harder for women than men, we should prioritise our ‘needs’ before we buy into our desires, otherwise we end up with a wardrobe full of clothes you don’t have any occasion to wear to or items we don’t really have anything to match with, hence never get to wear.
Although it’s easier said than done, there needs to be discipline into buying priorities first. This means making accomplishing complete sets for our main activities with what we already have, by buying complementary items for what we decided to keep.

Now for the rejuvenation; add a few splashes of new fashion into the old and see everything transform. Either it’s a new scarf  for an old outfit, bohemian splashes in accessories, asymmetrical tops to complement an old pair of pants or an asymmetrical dress. Have a dress that you like but seems too outdated to wear out…seasons ago? Add some chunky necklace or buckles to accessorize it and see it smiling in confidence again.
If something you liked has been ruined but you never had the heart to throw it out waiting for Cinderella’s godmother to wave her magic wand and make it shine again…well, we all know she’s on holiday since her last Premier, so if you want to see it done you might now have to make that decision and take them to get altered or repaired yourself. Try getting it repaired but even if it’s beyond help, why not get it made again, in a modern intervention, or in a different fabric? Or even have it customized into something new. Many options, many ideas…just get creative.

To sum things up, get an effective new wardrobe in an affordable way by buying into new accessories to have nice sets for everything you have in the closet. That way, you can now use 100% of what’s in there and have nothing just sitting around taking up space and you will have achieved this in the least cost effective way. This way, now you have budgeted well to even allow buying a few items you want, regardless of the price, and by having an addition of one expensive item in the whole look that is always of good taste, it just makes your whole style look expensive. This way you have the best of both, yet never cheapen out on your appearance!

It is very important that you pay attention to detail. A cheap looking smudgy lipstick can make a nice hairstyle look trashy and torn paint off your nails can make a Prada bag look like a cheap imitation! If you can’t spare money to buy expensive lipstick or have your nails done this month… find a more affordable 24 hour stay put lipstick that will last you longer and have you looking fresh and sexy through the whole day, and buy yourself some fancy foil stickers for your nails, leaving everyone wondering who did your nails and how much that would’ve cost!

If there’s a will there’s a way, and there’s always a way to look sharp & be on top of every new trend, without having to sacrifice our beloved old fashion nor our unique identity, so there’s no excuse for slacking. I shared with you the tools but you need to add creativity and enhance it with your own…unique taste in combinations, the way you know works best for you!

Last but not least, all luxury items should be left for last. After you buy all you need for all occasions, then you can spoil yourself, prioritizing what you want most from the more expensive things you set your eyes on. By then, you will have worked hard through the rest to deserve it and you get the full satisfaction of a ‘rich’ wardrobe that will motivate you to go out there in confidence. Repeat these few simple steps every season.