With the time of Autumn and Winter essentials upon you, there’s a chance you’ve searched through your wardrobe and realised you don’t have anything suitable. But, you also don’t have the funds (or the time) to go out and buy a brand-new wardrobe, so you’re ready for the season.
You want to make sure you look good at any time of the year, and this is no different, even if you won’t spend as much time outside. If you think your wardrobe looks worn out and uninspired, it might be time for an upgrade, but you don’t want to spend too much, so how can you upgrade your wardrobe without breaking the bank?
Shop Local
Shopping locally has a wide range of positives, from environmental benefits to simply making it easier (and often more affordable) to find a variety of clothes. Although you won’t have the same chains or fashion houses you will find in town. You might stumble across a cute boutique that stocks a wide range of unique and cheap outfits that are suitable for all occasions and all times of the year.
These stores are often hidden out of sight, such as down an alleyway or having replaced an older store on a street you haven’t visited in years. If you haven’t spent much time on your high street, check out the local stores to see what they can offer.
Thrift Your Outfits
Along the same lines, you can also find great deals at thrift stores if you know where to look. There are hundreds of thrift stores suitable for any style; you just need to do a little research to help you find a spot that’s ideal for your needs.
These thrift stores often stock quality pieces. Some may even include genuine fashion labels for a fraction of the price you’d pay normally. Furthermore, you also get the benefit of unique pieces as there are not racks upon racks of the same thing, meaning you create a more individual wardrobe.
Find Simple Pieces
You’ll quickly discover you don’t always need to spend a fortune on clothes to look good. You might be aware of this already, and you can continue this by shopping for and purchasing simple pieces. Single-colour t-shirts and trousers can work wonders for your wardrobe as they are much more versatile, enabling you to mix and match them with other clothes to put together a stylish outfit.
This is much better than having specific styles that only work with certain clothes. With this approach, you don’t even need a large wardrobe, as you can combine many modest garments to create a new outfit every time. However, be aware of fast fashion pieces, as these are often low-quality materials.
Get Old Clothes Repaired and Adjusted
There’s a strong chance you have boxes of old clothes sitting in your attic or even forgotten about at the back of your wardrobe. Although you won’t be able to wear all of these again (and looking at some of the patterns, you wouldn’t want to), any items that may have come back into style could be a great way to refresh your wardrobe without leaving the house.
Furthermore, there could be old clothes that are dirty and dusty or covered in holes. If you know how to sew or use a sewing machine, you can repair these clothes, making them as good as new.
Repurpose Old Clothes
Another great option that follows the same idea is repurposing old clothes. While you may not be able to wear a dress or jacket anymore due to the size or because it’s damaged, you can take it apart and reassemble it differently.
With the right skill and inspiration, you can transform an old patterned button-up into a dress, and that’s just an example. There are plenty of different items you can create as long as you have a sewing machine and the time to experiment with your clothing.
Enhance With Accessories
If you’ve searched through your wardrobe and found nothing worth upgrading, you’ll be thankful to find out that you don’t always need stylish clothes to look stylish. Sometimes, it’s all about how you complement your outfit with your accessories.
Jewellery, watches, glasses, and pins or brooches can all have a significant impact on how an outfit looks, especially if it seems basic on the surface. Men can improve their t-shirt and blazer look with a metal chain and an attractive watch, while women can also use a necklace to draw attention away from clothes that don’t necessarily scream style but still work perfectly as they are complemented by the perfect accessories.
Establish Your Work Style
Some people don’t care how they dress for work but others might constantly feel like the least stylish person at the office. While this doesn’t really matter, it can still make them feel self-conscious, especially if they meet clients regularly and always feel like they aren’t looking their best.
But, by now you know that dressing well can be expensive, and even accessorising with the latest devices can be expensive, too. However, establishing a work style, such as buying cheap but stylish clothes and slowly building up with high-quality items and using pre-owned tech like an iPhone 11 pro max refurbished model can help you establish your work style, boost your confidence, and impress your customers.
Pick High-Quality Items
You don’t need to refresh your entire wardrobe overnight. This is not just unaffordable, but it also means you’ll choose a variety of clothes that you don’t really need. Instead, you can pick a small selection of high-quality items that can help you establish a better-looking wardrobe.
You can combine these high-quality items with cheaper clothes, as the more expensive items can draw attention away from other pieces. In some cases, they can even enhance the cheaper clothes, making them almost indistinguishable. Again, don’t rely on all your clothes being expensive, but a few core pieces such as jeans or trousers, a jacket, and shoes can work wonders for enhancing your style.
Dress In Expensive-Looking Fabrics
The clothes you wear don’t need to be expensive. They simply need to look expensive. This is easier to do than you might assume, as you already know what materials are typically pricier than others. The most obvious item is leather, but the average person doesn’t have the budget to splash hundreds of their hard-earned money on a leather jacket.
Instead, imitation leather can be a good solution, especially anyone who matters won’t care if the leather isn’t genuine. Better yet, these materials are cruelty-free, which is another benefit to wearing items that look good but are much cheaper than their genuine counterparts.
Follow the Trends
It can be difficult to stay up with fashion trends, but it’s something you must do if you want to maintain a stylish wardrobe. At the very least, the top fashion influencers can give you inspiration on what to wear but don’t get stuck in the idea that you need to spend as much as they do (or be gifted as much as they are, at least) to keep up.
You will always be able to find an alternative or imitation outfit that matches the latest trends, and no one is going to care enough about what you’re wearing to call you out and make you feel bad for not spending half your paycheck on an expensive outfit. And to be fair, you shouldn’t feel bad, regardless.
Shop End-of-Season
Shopping at the end of the season is a great way to save money while still finding high-quality pieces you can wear for many years to come. Although the last point highlighted why following trends is beneficial, the reality is that you don’t need a new jacket every year. You don’t need a new pair of shoes or new jeans.
Instead, you should get the most out of the clothes you wear, and this means wearing them for longer than six months at a time. If you’re shopping end of the season, you can find affordable and high-quality items that you can wear for years.
Be Confident, Whatever You Wear
There are plenty of secrets concerned with upgrading your style, but the most important one is to be confident no matter what you wear. At the end of the day, there’s nothing more stylish than a smile, and if you look and feel your best in any outfit, your confidence will radiate. This energy and magnetism will shine through, meaning you will look good no matter what and won’t even need to spend a penny.
Upgrade
You don’t need to throw out all your clothes and start over. Like many things worth doing, accept that upgrading your wardrobe will take time. However, you can still get things started by considering some seasonal essentials and searching for them at your local thrift store or even accepting donations from your friends and family who aren’t going to wear these items anymore. Slowly but sure, you’ll have a stylish and enduring wardrobe suitable for any time of the year.
