Clothing budget

Katinkka

Thanks for this! I go in Boyes all the time for haberdashery stuff but never thought to look at the clothes. I will next time now!

wishingonastar_3

in blackpool we have a shop called steals (they have a branch in fleetwood too, by windsors shoes) they sell a lot of de-branded stuff, quite a lot of it is george, with the hanging labels still atached, usually about half the price it was. had dorothy perkins stuff from there and other bits and bobs over the years. its hit and miss what they've got in, but worth a look to anyone in the area.

squeaky

wishingonastar wrote:

in blackpool we have a shop called steals (they have a branch in fleetwood too, by windsors shoes) they sell a lot of de-branded stuff, quite a lot of it is george, with the hanging labels still atached, usually about half the price it was. had dorothy perkins stuff from there and other bits and bobs over the years. its hit and miss what they've got in, but worth a look to anyone in the area.

Slightly off topic - but are you compiling a guided tour of great places to shop for the meet weekend?

Not that I'm going shopping, mind you. I'll be the one propping up the bar.

lynzpower

I heard something pretty interesting from a mate of mine who works as a fashion designer. A contact of her boss came round the other day, wanting to borrow a bit of his warehouse space or something. BAsically, this guy ( delboy job really) has contacts all over the rag trade in london, high st end. Basically, the factory are given an order of "mke 6000 pairs of trousers for DPs" and if they miss the time of getting them done, DPs or river island or whoever cancel the order. this chap ( amongst others) buys the stock for less than half COST price, and then distributes/ sells on
this is in East London.

Anyone who shops in the markets round here ( especially Roman & Petticoat lane) cant fail to miss the rails and rails of wallis, dps, river island, top shop mainly sometimes etams, sometimes M&S/ Peruna nothing more than a fiver.

Select Seconds in Manchester. oldham , bolton indoor market as i remember. And theres up there some cracking "mill" shops full of them as well.

Bargain_Rzl

Hi everybody,

I've been getting gradually more and more OS for a year now (baby steps!) and have slashed my expenditure on food and household goods while eating much better than I ever used to. Looking ahead at my budget for future years, I'm anticipating once I have my own place I'll have no more than £50 a month for clothes, if that. Current budget is £75, down from £85 last year, though in practice I actually used to spend more than that because I budgeted separately for repairs and dry cleaning (both of which I can get done extremely cheaply) and also I used to add in any little extras (underspends in other areas, etc) so I could treat myself in the January and July sales.

In anticipation of this reduction in my disposable income, and in an attempt to meet my savings target this year, I'm trying to slash my clothes budget but for some reason I'm finding it really hard to spend less I always shop at charity shops or in the sales as it is.

Factors to bear in mind
- I only usually buy clothes I "need".
- I work in a London office and have to dress quite formally for work.
- I am utterly useless with a sewing machine (I fix my own buttons, but otherwise my local dry-cleaners do my alterations and repairs for about £3 a time).
- I buy the majority of my non-work clothes in charity shops, and my knickers and socks from Asda.
- I take a large bra size so one bra normally costs me upwards of £20, and I also buy the occasional shirt, jacket or top from Bravissimo (usually in the sale) because they are the only things that fit properly. This also means that I don't buy tops or dresses from ebay because I know they probably won't fit.
- I usually buy 2 pairs of "work shoes" in the January sales and another 2 pairs in the July sales. I always buy good-quality leather shoes (and bags). I have them reheeled/re-soled until they cannot take any more repairs. I seem to get through heels and toes like they're going out of fashion.
- Some of my work clothes are dry-clean-only but I can get my dry cleaning done for £1.50 an item.
- I only buy a winter coat about every 3-4 years at the most.

Ideas I have already had to get my costs down further
- Save on shoe repairs (and possibly also on the purchase of new shoes) by wearing trainers to travel to and from work and only changing into slim heels when I get there.
- Go for shoes with broader heels as they need fixing less often.
- Go for trousers for work in preference to skirts, to save on the cost of tights. (Winter tights often last me years; summer ones seem to last one wearing!)

There's £190 in my kitty at the moment but all four of my pairs of work shoes/boots are in urgent need of new heels (and in one case new soles), I need a new Spring coat (I have had no luck in the charity shops so might be paying the Debenhams sale a visit at the weekend!), all my bras need replacing :eek: as do all my pants and socks, and I haven't yet stocked up on tights for this summer...

Any other ideas would be most welcome because £75 a month seems like loads to me

pavlovs_dog

have you tried discount outlets like t k maxx etc, to get the "right" look but at a much cheaper price?

the quality of clothing at tescos/asda/primark is getting better all the time - and they all do lines in formal wear so they could be well worth a punt.

i am a convert to the next sales - aiming for a career in education, so i will also need to look the part. got so much for my money at the last sale, it was untrue - i was amazed at how far £70 went.

depending on what your 'uniform' is, try to stock up on items in neutral colours, as these are easier to mix and and match than a coloured item which you can only wear with a specific suit for example.

thats all i can think of for now!

Lillibet_2

Hi BR

Oooh....cutting back on the clothes budget...always a diffcuilt one for us girls:rolleyes: Where does it all go? And you still won't have anything to wear for that special occasion:rotfl:

Anyway, things which worked for me :

Keeping work & home clothes seperate. I gradually switched from suits to mix & match seperates & kept them at one end of my wardrobe & only wore them for work or formal non-work occasions. I always changed as soon as I came home. When I was working in central London I found long jackets helped protect my clothes from pollution damage. I never wear tights but did wear knee highs under my trousers in the winter which are loads cheaper & you only have to throw one away at a time rather than a pair if you stick to the same brand/colour (Tescos Value:D)

Keeping clothes to a few colours which I know really suit me so that they all mixed & matched. Someone on another thread mentioned that their work clothes were all black, coffee or pink which I thought sounded lovely.

I think it is always cheaper to have items repaired, even professionally if beyond your skills, than replace. Keep up the repairs, although it might be worth while investing in a cheap pair of charity shop trousers & practising hemming as this is quite easy to get the hang of.

Do you alternate your work shoes? I have read many tmes that you should always give shoes a day off between wears to allow them to dry out which will prolong their life. Also, I assume you get the heavy duty soles/heels which are a little more expensive but last twice as long as the cheaper ones? Do you polish your shoes once a week as I think this really makes them last longer?

Hand wash underwear, esp. underwired bras. A friend of mine, who is a 32ff (yes, really boys!) can only get bras which really fit her in Harrods, usually by special order (they offer a free postal service if you pay instore). They cost around £35-40 each but last her years & years because they are such a good fit & such good quality.

Don't buy anymore dry clean stuff, but do wear out the stuff you already have before you throw it away. Some dry clean stuff can be safely washed, do you feel brave enough to try with some of the more obvious fabrics?

Talc dusted around the neck & under the arms after deodorant can help prevent these areas rotting so quickly ( I mean your clothes, not prevent rotting skin!!!)

HTH & good luck;)

pavlovs_dog

wonderweb is brilliant for hemming - you just put it in place, fold the hem and iron! ive only just redone my work trousers, and its been over a year since i did them last

Philippa36

Have you tried:

Brastop

they have quite a good selection of larger bras (I have the same problem ~ small back big front )

La Senza usually have a decent sale on too and they have free delivery.

Bargain_Rzl

Philippa36 wrote:

Have you tried:

Brastop

they have quite a good selection of larger bras (I have the same problem ~ small back big front )

La Senza usually have a decent sale on too and they have free delivery.

I haven't tried Brastop (thanks!) but I think I've ruled out La Senza in the past as I couldn't find anything above an F cup (whereas I'm an FF/G).

What I try to do with bras is get fitted at Bravissimo, work out which styles fit, and then wait and buy the same bras in department store sales

Keep the suggestions coming - I'll reply to the longer posts later as I'm supposed to be working at the mo