It’s hard to be fashionable on a budget, especially if you think you have to constantly shop for new trends and styles. However, it is easy to get creative with what you do have when you’re strapped for cash. A lot of times we find ourselves in a rut, and we end up wearing the same clothes or outfit combinations over and over again.
The trick to enhancing the style we already have is to get creative with our favorite pieces. Sometimes we pigeonhole our outfits because we get stuck on “this shirt matches this skirt, so that’s the only way I can wear it,” or “this T-shirt only goes with jeans” mentality.
The best way to see your own pieces differently is to see how other people are styling the same pieces. The blouse you only wear with skirts could look really great under a blazer with jeans, or the T-shirt you only wear with jeans could work with the now-abandoned skirt.
With so many different styles and options out there, it’s really hard to be specific about what you can do individually, so I’m going to share some places that can really breathe some new life into your wardrobe.
Personally, vintage fashion blogs are my main source of inspiration when it comes to dressing, but it can be hard to know where to start in the incredibly large realm of the fashion blogosphere.
That’s where Pinterest comes in. Pinterest.com is a public, online “pin board” where you can find recipes, home décor ideas, and most importantly, fashion inspiration.
Pinterest can do so much more for you than an average fashion magazine like Vogue or Elle because those mediums focus on high fashion and covering multiple styles at once.
On Pinterest, however, you can be really specific about the fashion you want to see by searching by keywords.
Say you not only want a vintage style, but you want a style to represent a certain decade. Searching for “1930s dresses,” or “1950s neck scarves,” or “Edwardian boots” is going to give you those exact results, and perhaps even a way to purchase those things online.
Even just browsing through the “women’s apparel” section of the site can give you ideas on how to mix and match your own pieces.
Sometimes colors or patterns of our clothing can hold us back from being creative, but there’s something so eye-opening when you see someone totally rocking an unusual outfit, such as a pale dress with a vibrant blazer and chunky heels, and you suddenly think to yourself, “Well if that person can pull that off, why not me?”
If you’re constantly exposing yourself to new ideas and creative styles, you start to absorb them into your mindset.
Opening yourself up and letting yourself be inspired can change not only your wardrobe, but also your life overall.