Being into fashion can be both a blessing and a curse. If you are always following the latest trends it can be a very expensive habit to keep up. Expressing yourself through your clothing choice is a fantastic way to be original to yourself.
If, however, you simply copy the latest styles without putting a personal twist on your clothing, then it isn’t very original. It is much more original (and cheaper) to find timeless pieces that you can wear year-long.
If you are selective, you can save money by thrifting, choosing vintage pieces, and most of all, avoiding fast-fashion brands that are often unethical, and bad for the environment.
What is being thrifty?
Being thrifty means making the most out of your budget, and when it comes to fashion, finding pieces in places that don’t cost the earth.
The ability to dress well, without paying the full retail cost, is a great skill to have. I say skill because it takes some getting used to, and requires a good eye, some patience, and knowing where to find the best bargains.
Sometimes you need new items of clothing, and you can find good quality basics on sites such as Vinted at a fraction of the normal retail price. Mixing new clothing with vintage or reworked pieces means that you can have the best of new fashion and vintage fashion.
Recycle and upcycle
The fashion world is known for many things, but increasingly people are becoming aware of how wasteful it is. Clothing often ends up in landfill, and the process of making a pair of jeans is incredibly damaging to the environment.
With that in mind, it is much better to recycle clothing and go to thrift and vintage stores to find old pieces of clothing that you can style up.
Finding classic statement wear, such as blazers, or coats, in vintage stores means that you can take the money you save from buying it new and tailor it to fit you perfectly.
You can also opt for customized enamel pins to make your own trend! You can just pair your favourite custom enamel pins with your clothes to make a statement. Enamel pins are a great way to go for affordable, trendy, and stylish clothing as they don’t cost a fortune.
Adding your own twist on a classic skirt, or suit will make your clothing much more expressive than if you bought a new item of clothing that thousands of other people have in their wardrobe.
Out with fast-fashion
There are affordable fashion brands that focus on the ethical nature of their products and don’t cost the earth. Fast fashion is easy for consumers because it is cheap and readily available on the high street and on hundreds of popular fast-fashion websites.
This kind of fashion often relies on factory workers to mass-produce products for very little financial reward. Conditions in these kinds of factories are often subpar, and not easy to monitor in places such as South America, India, and China.
Instead of supporting this industry, choose to support ethical companies that focus on sustainability and the ethical production of clothing.
If you worry about the price tag of some ethical companies, check out some of the most affordable ethical clothing brands online.
Make your own
You don’t need to be an excellent knitter or a whizz with the needle to create your own clothing. There are so many things you can do with old clothing to both revamp and create entirely new items of clothing.
Easy ways to transform a winter wardrobe into a summer wardrobe include cutting old jeans into cute shorts or cropping oversized gym shirts into casualwear crop tops.
