Budgeting and Sustainibility Tips from a Student

As a student, there have been financial challenges with trying to balance a social life with household expenses. I would definitely rather spend money on clothes than on laundry and bills, but I have picked up a few techniques to maintain style cheaply whilst being conscious of sustainability. 

Instagram @may_garland

Step 1) ASSESS YOUR WARDROBE

A sort through may seem an unnecessary and dull task, but doing this will leave you feeling organized and draw your attention to garments that have been much neglected or items that simply don't belong there anymore. This step is essential to make you aware of the clothes you possess, and seeing your overflowing draws may make you re-think doing any more online shopping for a while. Whilst I do this step, I like to make a pile of clothes that I no longer wear and evaluate what should be donated to charity shops and what has the potential to be transformed into something new and exciting.

Handmade, yellow, wide-leg trousers- credit to Pinterest for the pattern (comment for a link!)

Step 2) RE-DESIGNING OUTFITS

The idea of making your own clothes may be a daunting prospect, however, this challenge is a great activity for those rainy days, and has helped my sanity massively during the Covid-19 quarantine. Pinterest has given me a huge source of inspiration for converting old T-shirts into dresses and many more easy-to-follow patterns. However, re-designing garments does not necessarily require years of experience and a sewing machine, simply cropping tops and jumpers is a great way to update your clothes and fix an annoying stain or solve a size problem. Macramé is another fabulous option to create bohemian style tops with only fabric tying, I find this activity very therapeutic as well. There are so many ways to jazz up your old wardrobe with applique, embroidery, cutting and tie-dying. So, always think twice before throwing an old T-shirt in the trash. 

My knitting project during self-isolation

Step 3) RE-EVALUATE YOUR SHOPPING CHOICES

Shopping is a great social activity and can be very addictive; I often find myself heading to town for one item and succumbing to the irresistible urge to purchase numerous outfits. I try to limit making these trips and supporting fast fashion, however, when I am browsing chain shops for inspiration and instead get hit by the temptation to make a purchase I take a moment to consider the versatility of the item: how many occasions could I wear this? how does this work with the rest of my collection? how many looks could I create with this? and then I decide to either make a purchase or walk away. A budget tip for shopping in high street stores is to hunt through the discounted section, on a few occasions I have found high-quality items with an impressively discounted price.

My preferred places to shop are charity and vintage boutiques, and my friends and I have more than once recreated the dressing up montage in Wild Child! As well as challenging myself to find the wackiest outfit, I love supporting local, independent businesses. I always find unique, well-crafted clothing, and it feels good to promote talented, local designers. Check out my next post for my top picks of vintage and charity shops in Bristol!

Swapping the high street shops for vintage stores

Step 4) TRADING AND BORROWING

I have to mention that the majority of my wardrobe is retro hand-me-downs from my stylish mother, cousins and friends, and the odd oversized jumper I have stolen from my brother. Trading and borrowing clothes from friends and family is a great way to rotate looks and create even more outfit variations with the clothes you possess.

Finally, the last bit of parting advice is to try to not contribute to fast fashion by purchasing the new trends. Fashion is ever-changing and styles always get recycled, an example of this is the comeback of the 1980's flares that are currently adorning the shop rails. So, don't be too hasty to replace your whole wardrobe with clothes that are temporarily trendy at the moment.

Thanks for reading:)