Are you someone who cares a great deal about their appearance? If you are among the more fashion conscious of your friendship group, you already know how expensive it can be. Here are 10 tips for saving money on your future fashion purchases.
Don’t Be Afraid of Generics
When you buy clothing and other fashion accessories from big-name brands, you are often paying for the name rather than for quality craftsmanship or materials; this is no good for anyone looking to reign in their spending. When you do buy branded clothing, make sure it is items that are going to be seen. There is no sense in spending the extra money on a branded garment if it is then going to be hidden away under other pieces.
Buy Out of Season
Buying out of season is another way to easily save yourself a noticeable amount of cash. Buying the latest pieces as they come into season is a very expensive way of staying stylish. It is a much more efficient use of your money to buy clothes out of season. Buying this way gives you more opportunities to experiment with your look, rather than limiting yourself to the styles that are in vogue at the time.
Avoid Factory Outlets
Factory outlets are retailers who appear to offer great value, often stocking a combination of out of season pieces and items that are exclusive to the outlet. What these outlets won’t advertise is the fact that most of the out of season pieces that these outlets stock didn’t sell to consumers for a reason. Even though the prices on offer can look like they are heavily discounted and, therefore, an absolute steal, they actually come into the shop with the ‘discounted’ price printed on them.
Don’t Just Follow Trends
Developing your own style and look won’t just make you more original and allow you to experiment more, it can also save you a lot of money. When you aren’t bound by convention and are free to experiment with different clothing combinations, you have the opportunity to embrace existing looks while also making adjustments and opting for less expensive items where appropriate.
Use Accessories to Enhance Outfits
The right accessories can completely transform your look in the same way that adding new pieces to it will. However, accessories cost considerably less than adding new clothes to your look will. If you have a particular outfit that you just can’t seem to put the right finish on, try adding accessories instead and see if these make the crucial difference.
Shop Around
This is the golden rule of saving money on your purchases, always make sure to shop around and investigate all your different options before you commit to any purchase. The High Street is great for trying clothes on, and for identifying the pieces that you want to use to create your look, but you will nearly always be paying more than you need to. Once you have identified the pieces that you want, you can then use the internet to source them as cheaply as possible.
For example, if you are in the market for Women’s Sliders, look on the high street to get an idea of what you like, then find some women’s sliders online where you can hopefully buy them at a lower price.
Places like Dealsdaddy also have discount codes for clothing shoes and accessories that can help you save even more.
Use DIY
We’re not talking about making your own clothes from scratch. That’s a lot harder than many people realise. However, customising your own clothes is something that anyone can do. If you just learn the basics of sewing, you will be way on your way to producing your own clothing alterations without having to get someone else to do it. Keep practicing and building your skills and you will quickly find yourself able to undertake the kind of alterations you thought you could only dream of.
Use Coupon Apps
There is a multitude of apps and other online services out there now which are designed to connect users with coupons and discount codes. For example, if you are looking for a Kohl’s coupon, there are plenty of online sources that can supply this for you. There are coupon apps for everything you could think of! Some of these work with the user’s location to find them local deals on the high street, while others are focused on discount codes to be used on retailer’s websites.
Avoid Dry-Clean Only
When you buy clothes that are dry clean only, you are buying clothes that are going to require that you keep spending money in order to keep them clean. Of course, cleaning any clothes is going to cost you money in some sense, unless you’ve taken to washing your clothes in a stream or something. However, the costs of dry cleaning are notably higher than other cleaning methods.
Be Honest With Yourself About Your Finances
Looking good is never worth letting yourself get into financial trouble for. When you are looking for new items to add to your wardrobe, be honest with yourself about what you can and can’t afford.
Looking good doesn’t come cheap, but if you know what you are doing, it is possible to significantly reduce the hit your bank account takes when you’re filling your wardrobe each year.
Dry clean only is my pet hate when it comes to clothes. Everytime I think I’ve gotten rid of them all I find I’ve bought something else that costs more to clean than it did to buy”