Old Style Book - Clothing Tips Needed

Rebob

cousins can be a source of good kids stuff including coats etc.

Clothing agency - store type enviroment to buy and sell used clothes.

Look in the papers etc for vouchers eg 10% off etc

Sign up for free loyalty cards so they send details of discounts.

Sell used gear on ebay or donate to charity so someone else gets a bargain.

Outlets- I got some caterpillar boots for £10 instead of £80 and dh got 2 pairs of shoes £10 each instead of £90 each!

toozie_2

As mentioned earlier.

When my kids were little, nearly all their wardrobe was from car boots. If I saw a hardly worn bargain that was too big I used to calculate if it would fit the following year in the correct season, and then buy and store away.

There is always a few 'designer' mums doing car boot sales, selling for next to nothing. I used to pick a pile of stuff, lets say from a £1.00 box, count that maybe I had 8 items, and just say "I'll give you a fiver" it always worked, as they just want to get rid, and go home with an empty boot.

Twice a year then I used to sell at car boot sales myself, selling the clothes they'd grown out of. Had I calculated it, I probably made money and kept the kids clothed!

Now on the other hand, they are teenagers, and wouldn't be seen within 10 miles of a Boot sale!!

arkonite_babe

I've just had the following offer come in through my email
http://www.clothesagency.com/

Don't know how good this site is, but I thought I'd post it into this thread to see if it's any use to anyone? From what I can see it's a bit like ebay but there's no bidding, you see what you want and you can buy straiught away.

Spendless

My 2 year old daughter has just come out of nappies:beer: and I thought nightdresses rather than pyjamas would be easier for her to help with the night-time training. I was going to go out and buy some then I spotted a load of t-shirts her 5 year old brother has outgrown, so I've put these on her and a t-shirt nightie dress. Doesn't matter if they're boyish or wearing a bit cos they're only used as nightclothes, so I've got a whole load of new 'nighties' for her and a 2nd lease of life for t-shirts before they go to recycling.

MinnieSpender

Don't be afraid to buy cheap - Primark, Mark One, Oxfam, jumbles and the like. Then customise!

*My favourite trick is to buy a cheap coat/jacket and then change the buttons. You can pick up lovely expensive looking buttons and they'll transform the look of a jacket.

*Ribbons still look like good news for the spring. Get a good length of matching or co-ordinating ribbon, stitch it from the back around the waist and leave enough to tie into a bow at the front.

*Bags of beads can be stitched onto tops for a bit of sparkle. No design skills needed - random often looks best. (Best to take the beads out of the bag first and sew them on one at a time - plastic bags attached to various parts of your anatomy don't look stylish!)

*If your shoes are starting to look a bit worn get them reheeled and then dye them - suede especially comes up looking brand new.

*Tired looking shirts respond well to the dye treatment too. Dylon washing machine dye is best. Mind the stitching though - non-cotton stitching often doesn't take the dye but you can even make this look like a feature by changing the buttons to match the stitching.

emr_2

within a few miles of my house there are quite a number of locations where there are a run of charity shops. i find that the prices in the marie curie shop are the most competitive of all. but the best tip is to keep dropping in regularly, and get to know the staff. if you are looking for something particular, ask! they may have one in the back shop. and don't forget to hand in your own clearout stuff to them.

squeaky

An older thread on organising clothes can be of help here too:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=63170

lallyaya

Great thread!

I dye a fair few bits as well, I once brought a really nice green jumper at a bargain price in the sale from a normally expensive shop, about 2 months later I got bleach on the front once I stopped crying I went out and brought a bottle green cold wash dye, they are only around £1.75 and it looked better than before. I also found a lovely very good quality A line skirt in a charity shop for £2, but it was a very bright cherry red - out came the dye again in a nice deep red colour and voila! If you wear a lot of black that tends to fade those machine wash black dyes are great for freshening everything up.

Sometimes its more MSE to spend a bit of cash in the first place, I wear my black knee length boots a lot and used to buy the cheaper ones for about £40 wear then to death and then bin them. I finally figured out that I would spend a lot less in the long run by saving up and buying a really good quality pair of leather boots treating them with leather cream once a week and getting them reheeled for about a tenner once every couple of years. My favourite pair are 3 years old and still look lovely. I also buy good quality trousers, they are well cut look great and last longer, as my black trousers are my staple its worth buying good ones that make me feel good, of course if I do find a pair in a charity shop I won't say no!

Take care of your clothes and follow the washing instructions to the letter, as i'm a bit clumsy I always make sure I have a good stain remover and treat any stains stright away. About once a month I rub a stain bar in the armpits of any close fitting tops to stop deodorant build up ruining them.

Once every few months I soak white items in net curtain whitener - it brings them up like new - but always check the label as some white materials turn a horrid peach if they get bleach on them! Sexy bra set suddenly not so sexy ;-)

Store your clothes properly with wooden hangers (I got a pile from the pound shop), shoe trees etc and stuff handbags with tissue paper or news paper to help them keep the shape and not get squashed!

Primark is superb for cheap stretchy tops I get sweaters and t shirts there for a couple of pounds, they wash up really well and keep there shape. When I went travelling I took T shirts from primark and some expensive ones from Gap, all the ones from Gap ended up in the bin while the primark ones made it home with me!

When I go shopping I always have a think about what I need and how much money i've got to spend on each item, as I work in town I have started going out without my purse to have a look first - it stops me buying things on impulse.

If you work or live near any charity shops then check them out once a week. It doesn't take long and I find you get the best bargains this way. If I do find something designer I buy it even if it does not fit and sell it on e-bay for a profit!

Get to know your shape and what suits you. Decide what your essential items are and then spend the bulk of any available cash on these. If I ever buy anything really fashionable then you can guarantee its from a cheapy shop. Never buy anything to slim into!

And remember it may only be £2 but if its never going to be worn then its £2 wasted!

Lally
-X-

lallyaya

I forgot to add that if you buy something with the plan of dyeing it check that the fabric will dye, most shiny fabrics won't. Also don't go to far from the original colour or you can end up with odd coloured stitching!

frugglewump

Whenever I go clothes shopping in charity shops I notice that the ones with the nicest clothes are usually the ones nearest the bus-stop on the way into town. Perhaps the nice clothes people can't be bothered to walk very far