How To Dress Well On A Budget

Dressing well doesn’t have to cost money.

If you’ve ever wanted to dress a certain way but have been held back by your budget, you’re not alone. However, dressing well doesn’t have to mean investing in expensive designer items or paying full price for things and there are plenty of ways you can look good on a student budget (and score designer or branded items for less than full price too).

Thanks to the popularity of both TikTok and fast fashion, trend cycles have come and gone over the last few years super quickly, meaning items that you might’ve bought in 2019 are now considered out of fashion or non-trendy. Because of this, actually investing money into your wardrobe can be a risk, if you’re spending loads of money on items that are super popular on TikTok right now there’s a huge chance they won’t be by the end of the year and you’re stuck with clothes that are no longer considered fashionable and you’ve wasted your money.

That being said, there are plenty of ways you can ensure you’re always well dressed no matter what your budget is or what’s considered “in style” currently.

1. Create a capsule wardrobe

A capsule wardrobe means investing in a few good quality basics that you know you’re going to wear time and time again. This is normally clothing in black, white or neutral colours which can be paired with everything and could create multiple looks.

Capsule wardrobes normally consist of plain items, without patterns or logos so there’s little chance of them “going out of style” and can be mix and matched to fit in with whatever trends are currently on style. Key pieces to invest in are crop tops, leggings, long sleeved tops, plain skirts, vests, hoodies, sweatshirts and staple pairs of jeans.

2. Buy secondhand

Buying secondhand is a great way to find some bargains and to be a bit more sustainable. Depop and Vinted are great apps to find clothing and accessories for cheaper, either things that are sold out from your favourite websites or genuine vintage pieces.

If you strike up a conversation with a Depop or Vinted seller they’re usually open to offers on the items they’re selling too, so you might be able to get it for less than the price they’re listing. Another place to get second hand clothing is eBay, where you can bid on items or negotiate offers with sellers.

Other places to buy secondhand include charity shops or vintage shops. Charity shops tend to have super cheap prices and you could find some real bargains, whereas vintage shops do tend to be a bit more expensive but you’ll find some high-quality pieces that will last forever, and it’s still cheaper than buying brand new.

Charity and vintage shops are also a great place to find cheap designer and branded clothing too- but you might have to shop around for it.

3. Wait for the sales

Who doesn’t love a good sale? Traditionally the big sale periods of the year are Black Friday, Christmas and Boxing Day but thanks to the world of online shopping there seems to be a sale on somewhere nearly every month.

If you really love something you’ve found online but can’t justify the price, bookmark it and come back to it when a sale is on. Signing up to mailing lists and turning on push notifications for any shopping apps you might have is a good way to see when a sale is happening, or you can do it the good old fashioned way and check out the in-store sales too.

4. Use student discount

We couldn’t resist giving ourselves a shoutout, but you don’t have to pay for things for full price if you’re a student! Thanks to your Student Beans account you can save money on all of your fave brands, so if you do fall in love with something you don’t have to wait until it’s on sale to buy it.

5. Buy timeless pieces and don’t follow microtrends

Microtrends are trends that pop up (usually thanks to TikTok and Instagram) and become super popular for a short period of time, before falling out of fashion and no longer being deemed stylish quickly after they first appeared.

It can be really hard to stay away from microtrends, as thanks to TikTok’s impact on the fashion industry once a trend spreads it’s not long before all of your favourite influencers are wearing it, and it seems like you can’t escape it.

Microtrends are normally cheaply made and churned out quickly by fast fashion companies to keep up with the demand and to stay on top of the trend while it’s still popular. The items won’t be well made, won’t be sustainably made and will probably be super cheap- making it even more tempting to buy.

However, the problem with microtrends is while it might seem like a good idea at the time, trends are constantly evolving meaning it’s probably not going to be popular in a few months time and you’ll be stuck with a wardrobe full of clothes you no longer want to wear. Some recent microtrends include clay rings, patchwork jeans, furry bags and beaded necklaces.

Instead of being tempted by microtrends, invest in timeless pieces that you know will stand the test of time. Some timeless items include Dr Martens, denim jackets, denim shorts, classic Converse high-tops, plain knit jumpers, plain silver or gold jewellery and basic t-shirts and crop tops. While buying Dr Martens might be expensive (but you can always buy second hand!) they’ve been in fashion for years and years, last pretty much forever and can be teamed with anything.

Need more advice? Check out how to manage your money and make it go further.