This blog post contains images of gifted clothing.
I went through that stage where every single penny I owned went on something new for my wardrobe. We have all been there at some point in our lives. Mine was like pre-teens going into teen. That freedom of going shopping with your gals and then just spending that bit of pocket money you have saved…. anyone getting those nostalgic feelings yet??
But spending money on clothes constantly – or makeup – was something that I was guilty of. So much so that I ended up being known to my friends and family for being a bit of a serial shopper. I never had any money saved up and a lot of my money was wasted. It now, breaks my heart to spend loads of money (unless its on food, thats different).
Buying less clothes is one of those controversial topics because of fast fashion and the issues surrounding that. And now we are living in a whole of consumption where you can get clothes delivered the same day – or pay £10 for next day delivery for a whole year. THANKS ASOS BUT ITS NOT HELPING MY BANK. However the last couple of years I have been slowly turning myself into a saver rather than a spender. It is a technique I have been battling with, especially when new trends come out so often. But I now am able to save money if I need to – but still treat myself every now and then. So how can it be done??
Delete, delete, delete. Those apps clogging up your phone memory? Yep, Asos, Boohoo, H&M, Missguided. All of them. Just say good bye to those babes and delete them. Having the apps on your phone *even if you swear its just for a scroll* its not helping. Apps have made it so much more easier and accessible to buy clothing. And Apple Pay. Oh my god. Absolutely lethal!! With a touch you can spend so much money and its so bad for your bank, well at least for mine. So take it all off.
Cheaper brands. If you honestly, have to get yourself some new clothes regularly, maybe for work or because your a blogger, there are cheaper sites out there. My fave is everything5pounds because they have some really high quality pieces and accessories and literally everything is £5 (hence the name… duh). This white blouse was very kindly sent to me by them, alongside some other black trousers and some beige chunky trainers. But how affordable is it??
Discounts and Sales. Right, so we have established the fashion industry moves so so quickly, literally rapidly. So we get more and more ‘end of season’ type sales. I know TopShop has one right now. If you see something you like, you just have to wait a month or so longer and then I can guarantee it will be on sale. I went to London a few weeks ago and saw so beautttttt red boots and now they are on sale. THANK GOD I didn’t get them full price.
Change the way you think. Do you need that top? Do you need that exact jacket? When scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram we all are in awe of other peoples outfits. And now with Instagram’s shopping function you can buy those exact pieces through the app. I, like the person sat next to you, love having a scroll. But I don’t use it as a way of finding new clothing to buy. Instead I use it for inspiration and think what have I already got in my wardrobe that I could style the same way.
Understand fast fashion. If you did the facts and the research into fast fashion, I can guarantee you will look at the industry different. Just think about it. How many times have you walked into Primark, or New Look and there has been different clothes featured? Nearly every month they are bringing new clothing into it to suit the trend that is going around. But being drawn into that cycle is lethal. Get into the habit of buying the necessities or do research into trends that will last and get bits for that = so you aren’t buying new clothes constantly.
Be cruel to be kind. Every time I hear that it reminds me of the song from ’10 Things I Hate About You’ – If you haven’t watched it then DO. It’s a goodun’. But sometimes you just have to restrict yourself. I know I am saving at the moment, so buying any big clothing piece would literally break my heart because I know I have been saving. Give yourself a target or a challenge, don’t buy clothing for a set amount of days. Or give yourself a set budget across the month. Then you can reward yourself with something small afterwards!
You can always have a scroll over on my INSTAGRAM or if you wanna tweet me then find me at @EMILYCBEAUTY!
Or if you wanna catch more of my posts you can subscribe via WordPress or email to your right (or below if you are on your phone) or even over on BLOGLOVIN’.