‘I’ve got nothing to wear’

Have you ever uttered these words?

Chances are you did so whilst looking at a burgeoning wardrobe. What you were experiencing wasn’t a lack of clothing options, but rather fashion fatigue* from having too many choices.

*a beautifully alliterating term I just coined to describe mental fatigue of choosing an outfit

Why are people buying more?

As a fully grown adult (though to be fair I stopped ‘growing’ back in high school as a teenager) I don’t find my sizing changes all that much year to year, if at all. So while young children grow out of things quite quickly, it isn’t until something wears out that I really need to replace it. Unless an adult has gone through a big transformation; such as a large amount of weight loss (or gain), post-pregnancy, or other similar circumstances, there shouldn’t be a need to continue to purchase more and more items each year.

So why do we do it?

FOMO and Fashion

Sale! New Season! Last chance buys!

Every time you go to the shops you are bombarded with messages about buying with an increasing amount compelling you to get it now or forever miss out on the limited edition bright pink and gold sneakers….

Not to mention the rise of social media and continually being reminding us we need to consistently be fashionable and on trend. I feel this pressure is even greater for women. Mr B wears the same suit (with a couple of shirts rotated) to every wedding, christening and other ‘smart’ event we attend and nobody says a thing – or likely even notices. However the pressure for women to wear a different dress (shoes, bag, accessories) to each event is forced upon us from a young age and hard to move away from, even with a frugal mindset.

My personal experiences with this can be highlighted pre-frugality with very regular ‘girls shopping days’ in school and university where it was very normal and costly to go dress shopping very regularly (circa 1-2 new dresses per month, many of which went unworn). While I always had a small element of ‘don’t care what others think’ in me, I still got caught up in these rituals.

Lower costs = more spending. What?

The ABS has released data on retail spending for June 2018. The data shows that the cost of fashion has decreased by 4% during the quarter and has resulted in consumers purchasing 7% more! So even when we are given the opportunity to spend less and save more, we instead choose to stock up!

Reducing the cost of clothing

The easiest and most obvious choice to reduce spending on clothing and fashion items is to simply stop buying them. Now I’m not suggesting that you bare all, but you could get creative and greatly reduce your ongoing outlay for clothing. My top tips are below.

Ban Buying New

The best way to break a shopping habit is to go on a buying ban. Science says it takes 30 days to break a habit, so no clothes shopping for at least a month. If you feel like you ‘need’ something during this time, write it down on a piece of paper and at the end of the 30 days, revisit the list and see if you still really need it.

Once you’ve broken the habit, it will be easier to be thoughtful about purchases in the future. With the other tips below, you may not even need to buy new again (except underwear IMO).

Buy Quality Less often

Disposable fashion may be cheap now, but it will cost you in the long run if it wears out and you need to continually replace it. I learnt this lesson when purchasing some new canvas shoes last year. I opted for the cheapest pair I could find and within a week they had a hole in the top and looked ratty. While did continue to wear them for quite some time (I’m stubborn like that) they certainly weren’t able to be worn on all occasions. This year, I purchased a more expensive pair of shoes that I hope will last me for years to come.

Be open to second hand

If friends are clearing out their wardrobes, don’t be shy in accepting gently used items. Over the years I’ve accumulated many items from friends, family and neighbours who are passing on things that no longer fit, the no longer love or sometimes have never even worn. The interesting thing is that once people found out I was open to getting secondhand items, more seemed to manifest their way into my life – and this is exactly how I get my summer wardrobe for FREE! A big box of goodies showed up on my doorstep from Mr B’s mums, best friends, daughter who thought I might like to look at what she as giving away before it went to charity. A lovely gift from someone who I’ve never met.

Clothing swaps

Being open to secondhand could be taken more formally as well and arranged into a day where everyone brings along items they are happy to part with and goes home with something else new to them.

My new summer wardrobe – all for free!

Get the best price

Of course, if you insist on buying new, at least ensure you wait for the sales and/or get the best price by shopping around. My favourite new helper with getting the best deal is Cashrewards. Simply download the browser extension and shop at your favourite retailers – there are over 1200 to choose from including Woolworths, ASOS, The Iconic, Dan Murphy’s, eBay, Expedia, Bonds, Myer, NET-A-PORTER and David Jones. You will get a notification when you are on a website that is eligible for cash back. Super easy. I currently earn around $10 per month cashback as well as receiving other discounts on gift cards. If you use my referral link and make a purchase both you and I will get $10.

Have you tried a clothing swap? Do you have any other tips for saving money on clothing costs?