Everyone needs clothing, but there are varying degrees of how interested in fashion a person might be. If, for example, you are the type of person who doesn’t think too much about what they wear so long as it is comfortable and appropriate for your lifestyle, then it is unlikely that you will find yourself needing to save a lot of money on clothes. However, if you enjoy cultivating your own personal style and keeping an eye on emerging trends to discover new favorites, then you would likely feel the need to take control of your finances when it comes to fashion. This list will talk you through a few practical tips that you can apply to your money habits so that you can enjoy all the fun of fashion without the guilt of overspending. Some may be more relevant to your situation than others, but hopefully, you will find a few tricks that inspire you to think about different approaches to your personal style that won’t compromise your financial security.

Create and Stick to a Budget

First of all, the most obvious tip is to write out a complete budget. It will need to take into account your routine payments, such as bills or rent, your regular spending for food and essentials, as well as your disposable income. Everyone has their own saving goals, and there are plenty of clever techniques you can try to make saving money simpler and more effective. Examples of this include gamifying your saving habits so that you feel instant gratification from doing something positive rather than unintentional spending, or perhaps using a method such as cash stuffing which involves allocating funds for each aspect of your life with a focus on being more deliberate about how you spend. If fashion is a priority for you, create a space for it in your budget. This doesn’t mean that you should forego more essential financial responsibilities in order to buy clothes, but rather save up for occasions when you can treat yourself without the risk of missing important payments. There are plenty of online resources that specifically deal with the breakdown of a healthy budget for different income levels.

Don’t Fall for Passing Trends

It is all too easy to get swept up in a current craze once it has become too desirable to resist. Perhaps you are someone who can ignore trends without a second thought, or maybe you recognize in yourself the tendency to be drawn in whenever an exciting new fashion emerges. Attention-grabbing marketing and other external influences are difficult to ignore, especially if you pride yourself on keeping a finger on the pulse. However, if you want to be more intentional with your spending and save money for fashion items you truly love, you will need to become more conscious of when you are succumbing to the allure of a fleeting trend. Pause before deciding on a purchase, whether online or in a store. If something catches your eye, then give yourself at least twenty-four hours to think it over before handing over your money. Remember that sales are a strategy to encourage people to spend more than they normally would since they either don’t want to miss a bargain or can’t stand the idea of missing out on the last of an item. Your first consideration should always be how much you can afford according to your budget. Even if you fall in love with an exclusive piece that you might not find again, if you can’t afford it then you shouldn’t buy it. A great way to overcome the disappointment this can cause is to only allow yourself to browse stores or online vendors when you know that you have disposable income set aside for fashion. This way, you won’t feel bad about missing a great deal or a beautiful item since you won’t know about it in the first place.

Take Temptation Out of the Equation

Speaking of avoiding disappointment, temptation is often the worst culprit for making people spend money that they don’t have. To avoid disappointment, shoppers believe the marketing and snatch up a deal before it’s gone since the temptation has been put right in front of them. It is much more difficult to resist something when it is right before your eyes, begging for attention. Take back control of what occupies your mind by identifying the habits that lead you most often into a place of temptation. For example, scrolling on social media leaves you wide open to the onslaught of targeted advertising and influencers promoting brands that various algorithms have determined will capture your interest. A great way to prevent this is to disallow data collection in the form of cookies, whether through an app’s privacy settings or on a webpage. This will reduce the information that websites can gather from you and sell to advertisers. You can also unfollow influencers or accounts that tempt you to browse fashion items. If you love fashion, it can be difficult to part with the online world of creativity and inspiration that social media offers, but by simply making more mindful choices about who you follow and what you let apps know about you, you can take yourself out of the path of temptation and save more money.

Make Use of Coupons

Of course, the above point might seem as if buying clothes is a terrible crime to avoid at all costs. This is definitely not the case but being aware of when and why you part with your hard-earned money is hugely valuable for many reasons. Fortunately, there are also ways you can continue to buy clothes that you love without overspending. Offers such as the Vestiaire collective coupon make shopping for fashion more affordable. You don’t need to pay full price every time you spot something you would like to wear. Shop around for discounts and coupons whenever you can. Subscribing to a store’s newsletter can sometimes come with added benefits such as exclusive members’ only discounts. Just make sure not to buy into the temptation these newsletters often bring along. The key is to practice intentionality when choosing what clothes to buy. If you wouldn’t have wanted something without the coupon or discount code, don’t buy it just because it’s cheaper.

Buy Infrequently

It stands to reason that the more often you go shopping, the more money you will spend. To remedy this, simply cut down on the number of occasions you choose to head out. Even something as seemingly innocent as window shopping can quickly become a costly endeavor if you don’t have immensely strong willpower. Instead of shopping on a regular basis, turn it into more of an event or special activity. Visiting stores or browsing online boutiques might feel fun or therapeutic in the moment, but you will need to either give in to temptation or suffer disappointment each time you find an item you would love to wear but haven’t budgeted for. Find alternative methods of spending time that don’t always involve the potential for spending money.

Look After Your Clothes

If you find that the main reason you are frequently in a position where none of your clothes are suitable, this could be for a variety of reasons. The first is that your clothes never truly appeal to you and every time you look in your closet, you feel struck afresh by the sensation of having too many clothes but nothing to wear. This will be explored in detail in the next tip. Another common reason for needing to go on regular shopping trips is because your clothes wear out or become unserviceable. This can either be because they have been well-worn for many years and are finally at the end of their usefulness, or because they are made from poor-quality materials and have suffered as a result. In some cases, even well-made clothes in good materials can become worn out or torn if treated incorrectly. This is why taking care of your clothes is essential if you want them to last for longer. Pay close attention to any care labels that come with your clothing so that you know exactly how the material needs to be treated. Delicate fabrics can easily become worn out through improper washing. The longer your clothes can last, the fewer shopping trips you will need to take.

Curate a Wardrobe You Truly Love

If you find that you don’t get excited by the prospect of putting together an outfit each time you open your closet – despite the fact that you enjoy fashion – then perhaps it is time for you to re-evaluate your wardrobe selection. This is best given plenty of time, so choose a day when you aren’t busy with other responsibilities and empty out all of your clothes into one pile. Go through each piece one by one, creating separate piles depending on whether you want to keep an item or get rid of it. A good rule of thumb is to only keep what you have enjoyed wearing within the last year. Everything else can either be sold, donated, or recycled depending on its condition. When you narrow down your wardrobe to only items that you are excited to wear, you will most likely feel less inclined to shop impulsively for new pieces, therefore saving money.

Make Your Own Clothes

People have been making their own clothes for centuries, but it has recently grown in popularity as a way of creating pieces that are unique and fashionable without the expense. By learning to sew and follow a pattern, you can choose your own fabrics and create your own designs for far less money than the equivalent quantity of mass-made clothes. Skills such as sewing, knitting, and designing clothes are valuable to learn, even if you only want to make one or two unique handmade pieces. It’s a great way to not only save money on fashion but also become your own trendsetter.

Buy Secondhand Fashion

It’s no secret that buying clothes secondhand is far more cost-effective than buying them new. In many cases, clothing made in previous decades is of a higher quality and is more likely to last longer than brand-new clothes. Even when this doesn’t apply, secondhand clothes are more affordable since there is much less choice and items have had previous owners. Many people see this as a bonus, not a disadvantage. This is because when options are limited, creativity can be found.

Learn to Alter Clothing

If you are hunting for something incredibly specific from a secondhand clothing store, it is going to be a challenge. However, if you are able to buy something similar to what you are looking for and make adjustments as you see fit, your options become much broader. Knowing how to change the size of an item or make small fixes here and there is a skill that can save you lots of money in the long run. Instead of relying upon fast fashion brands to provide cheap and low-quality versions of what you want to wear, you can simply adjust an existing and preloved piece into something more congruent with your style.

Invest in Statement Pieces

When you take the time to save up and invest in high-quality pieces that you can see yourself loving for years to come, you save money on the many forgettable items you might have bought instead to fill that gap in your wardrobe. Decide what staples will help you to create outfits that match your style and search around for well-made versions of them. For example, if you live in a cooler climate and know that a structured and warm coat would feature heavily in your regular outfits, then save up over time until you can afford a coat that will last for many years.

Hopefully, some of the above tips and tricks have given you inspiration on how you can maintain your love of fashion without sacrificing your financial stability.

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