Clothes

hanspans

Any tips or tricks on finding cheap clothes and how to dress yourself cheap but well? not sure if there is an ongoing thread about this. just want to read up for inspiration as my budget is very very tiny. xx

snu

When i started my new job i went to a car boot sale and brought loads of shirts and skirts and bits there - i think i spent about £7 all together and ended up with a good "capsule wardrobe" of stuff.

the Capsule wardrobe is great for making loads of looks from a few items of clothing - just make sure you pick items and styles that suit you.

An Example:
Smart pair of Jeans (dark blue or black)
Fitted white top
a silky cami evening top.

These 3 items can take you from casual to smart - even better if you get the items cheap too.

Avoid items like dresses with patterns as they can only be worn as one style.

dearbarbie

It's all about capsules. Primark can be good for allsorts of basics and fashionable stuff - cheap jumpers £4. Have you looked at eBay? Charity shops can be good too.

iceicebaby

Buy classic styles as this seasons trends will not last long. I find asdas and tescos are excellent for basics and not too pricey

inkie

POst on your local freecycle site asking for clothes in the size you need and see what comes up!

pavlovs_dog

i buy cheap basic stuff from the likes of primark and matalan to start me off, and gradually add to this with more expensive, better quality stuff as and when i can afford to. next sales/clearance outlets are a great starting point as their stuff launders really well, so pays for itself. t k maxx is good for a designer bargain - i've got some nice blouses for around £10 a pop.

my approach to formal wear is two or three good sets of trousers (next or H&M are good for tailored stuff), paired up with lots of different cheaper tops, to make your wardrobe look much more substantial than it actually is.


the secret to doing this successfully with casual wear is something i am yet to conquer - im still very much the student scruffbag!

ChrisCar_2

If you have a catalogue clearance shop near you, try them, especialy if you happen to be a larger lady.

hanspans

thanks everyone - some hidden gems there. i will embrace those ideas and begin to build my capsule wardrobe!

Clowance

fashionistas go on about clothes/shoes being "investment pieces"; actually investments are supposed to increase in value. On GMTV this morning someone said it about a pair of boots: sorry, but someones smelly old boots are not going to increase in value. Martin would be spinning in his grave (well he would if he was dead!)

thinkginge

hiya, i also am on a very tight budget and manage to find all the bargains, so much so my mum and friends insist on going with me now! i find that when a sale starts in ie newlook, wait a week then go back in. in my local store for instance jeans went £10 in the sale, then a week later tops £2, jeans £5 and skirts £2.

following on the capsule trend here, i find peacocks have a lot of bargains to be had, even without a sale on. but with a sale, you can pick up many bargains. this week i got myself 2 x jumpers £3 each, 1 x tshirt for ds £1, 2 x jumpers for OH for £3 and £2, grand total of £14!! cant go wrong.

ps, im only 21, so id consider myself fashionable, so the stuff i bought was all trendy!lol

carolinosourus

PPW stands for Price Per Wear which is something very important to consider! Basically it means you take the price of your purchase and then divide it by the amount of times that you wear it. Difficult to work out but if you were to buy a coat at say £30 and then only wore it for a season and had to get rid of it, or bought a more expensive coat for £60 that you could wear for a couple of seasons/years until you got rid of it then you've saved money in the long run. I think that's more what they meant by 'investment piece'! It actually works better with shoes as the analogy, a more expensive pair of shoes that you could wear to work all week would be better value than a cheaper pair that you only wore once or twice!
I love shoes so it's difficult for me to save up and buy an expensive pair, at the moment I'd rather buy a couple of cheaper pairs... Bad girl! :rotfl: