Joined 31.05.16

natsplatnat

Just chipping in on the the 'workplace clothing theme'.... I'm lucky now that I work for a company that provide uniform, but before that I worked in an office and found (for me) the best way forward was staple items where the look could be be changed with "cheaper" accessories. Initially it was quite daunting, but it became quite satisfying to buy a cardigan, scarf or piece of costume jewellery which completely changed a base outfit. Apologies if you do this already but I thought it may be worth mentioning! x

armchairexpert

I used to work as a lawyer in a city firm, and I had three suit jackets, two pairs of pants and about three skirts, and then I just bought blouses and a couple of summer-weight dresses. That was in my richer days, and the time when office appearance was the most important to me, and I probably went shopping once every three months and bought two or three things at a time? If I had five seasonally-appropriate tops that was in good condition, that worked fine. So that really meant ten, plus a couple of nice cardigans and maybe two summer dresses, and then I'd replace each of those every second year I think. So I think I'm saying if you have some basic skirts/pants/jackets, you'd need to buy one item every two months to keep everything in excellent condition. With shoes, I probably bought a new pair of work shoes (heels or nice ballet flats) about three times a year, because lots of walking down to court took its toll.

louby40

Good advice there from people in the know.

coastalchick

what do you do now armchair - did you escape? Always love to hear stories from those who escaped the law!

We are quite lucky in that we have dress down though I can no longer get into all the clothes I bought after the marathon last year as am a fatty!!! So I basically wear jeans every day and probably "recycle" 4-5 different top combos and the odd dress. Its prob about time I got some new clothes and probs will for winter.

But agree with armchair - get sorted on the basics then updress with different blouses/accessories.

Poor_Single_lady

Thank you all.
I am short on time but I am very grateful for the help.

heartbreak_star

Best of luck with your debt-busting - you're doing super well

HBS x

armchairexpert

coastalchick wrote: »

what do you do now armchair - did you escape? Always love to hear stories from those who escaped the law!

Yeah, I had kids and I couldn't manage both the hours and my own expectations of myself as a parent, so I went to a boring part-time in house role. And then I got made redundant about three years ago, and have been an impoverished freelance creative ever since. I work from home with my chickens and my cats and my doggie so the only people I'm dressing for are the other school-run mums (and they don't care what I look like!).

These days I buy maybe two decent High Street pieces a year (on sale, things like good warm winter trousers or a versatile jersey dress), a few things from charity shops and a few things from Pr!mark and spend the Aus equivalent of £150 a year on clothes.

coastalchick

sounds great armchair! I quit "proper" law last year and am now a PSL on a 4 day week. Don't have kids yet but planning on it and will hopefully be able to change hours to 8-3 or something to cope. Would rather not have anything to do with law mind you but we do need the cash and at least this is bearable (I was previously a litigation partner - hell on earth!!).

I also don't buy clothes very often but mainly because I hate shopping!!! It probably does show in my work appearance!

Poor_Single_lady

So things are still quite bad -probably an understatement.

Quite a bit of time to payday,
I have cancelled my leg lax and beauty subscription and reduced my fixed payment credit card (no 3) from £100 to £75 if only until the new year. This makes £70 so if I reduce work lunches out then onto a good saving.

Some of the bills are over 10 months so oct-march is reduced overall bills. So 2 months to go at premium amounts.

Very busy at the moment with family and work and studying. Mostly low spending but not always.
Bringing lunch to work this week till Friday.
Eating dinner from freezer and veg for dinner all week. No takeaways.
No clothes and no treats.

[Deleted User]

I feel like payday is a million miles away too PSL.

Had to raid my savings for the 2nd time this month too.

Not good.

You sound like you have planned ahead for the week coming so stick to it & you will feel so much better at the end of the week.

Rooting for you lovely.

Dxxx