My 5 sustainable style tips to stay on budget

We all are on a tight budget these days,  just getting the essentials is becoming

more difficult . But worrying about your wardrobe and not being able to get new

outfits this season is not the priority, when just having enough to eat is. But as

Iesha thegr8 once said you don't have to look like what you're going through. I

thought of 5 ways you can still look great with what you have and if your clothes

shopping budget is small. 

 1. Shop your closet , wear what you already have. Style up your items, challenge yourself and get inspired. Shopping your closet is a great way to refresh your wardrobe without spending a dime. It’s all about reconnecting with the pieces you already own, and finding new ways to style them. To get started take everything out of your closet or you can work in sections. Sort items into categories. Then identify the pieces that make you feel confident and excited.

Next challenge yourself to create as many outfits combinations as possible using your favorite wardrobe pieces. You can even set a timer for 30mins to an hour and see how many outfits you can come up with. This exercise will help you see your clothes in a new light and discover fresh styling possibilities. By shopping your closet, you’ll reduce decision fatigue, save money and cultivate a more mindful approach to fashion. Don’t forget to snap a quick pic of your favorite outfits. You can save them as an outfit catalog on those lazy days.

2.Mend the worn pieces you love. Mending your clothes is a forgotten art all in itself. To combat our throw away culture, help the clothes you have last longer. We all have a favorite pair of worn out jeans, sweatshirts, tee or jacket. Instead of throwing them away why not mend them. You can cover a stain with a cool patch or learn a few simple embroidery stitches that can not only cover a stain but give your clothes a fresh new life. I also love to overdye and dye my clothes for this reason as well. You will be surprised how easy it is to sew a button on, stitch and mend a rip or hole. Some easy mending tools you will want to have on hand is :

~A sewing kit

~Beeswax , thread & needle  for hand sewing

~ Embroidery needle and floss

~Scrap fabric , patches

~Interfacing

~Cashmere comb and sweater shaver.

~Fabric dye, fabric markers, fabric /textile paint

You can find easy mending tips online. 

3. Upcycle your closet, revamp items you're not loving anymore and transform them. Upcycling is great when you want to completely  change up your old and tired clothes in your closet. You can take your basic hand sewing skills and amp it up by upcycling and transforming your wardrobe cast offs. You can get inspired by looking on Pinterest, YouTube tutorials, and High end designers. Look for what you already have that is similar and can be upcycled or customized to fit the style. Upcycling is my favorite thing to do to  get a whole new wardrobe. Check back at my previous post for a list of upcycling creators to follow and project ideas. 

4. Shop second hand, local thrift and vintage shops. Shopping secondhand, yes one man's trash is another man's treasure. Circular fashion has had a huge growth in popularity in recent years. Especially after 2020. Not only is it eco- friendly it is also a good place to source things to upcycle. And more & more personal style is winning out over the click link to buy carbon copy outfits that have been taking over the internet. You can discover new and old brands   to find a style all your own. I love personally mixing vintage with more modern pieces. Vintage items truly were made to last and of higher quality materials. A vast difference from the plastic fast fashion garments that are available is stores now.

You can shop at your traditional bigger chain thrift store like Goodwill, Salvation Army, & Savers. Or you can support your local smaller thrift stores. I also would check out buy sell trade and consignment/ resell shops. They curate their selections and only take quality items. Shopping there is more like shopping at regular retailers but at times the prices can be a little higher than traditional thrift stores. But clean out your closet before you go and see if you can sell items to make some extra cash that can be  used toward new items. or take store credit to shop. It's usually a higher amount. The store usually will hold big seasonal  sales or have a rewards or loyalty program that can get you coupons to shop. Near me I have a Plato’s Closet, Clothes mentor, uptown cheapstake, a kids resale store called revolve kids, Avalon exchange, and Cleveland consignment. Do a quick google search for your local area and I'm sure you can find a list of places to shop. Vintage shops are another curated place often on the higher end price wise at times these are where the true gems of the past can be found without all the hard work or digging in the thrift store. And don't forget you can also thrift online. Thredup, Depop, Poshmark, Mercari, Ebay, even Etsy to name a few. There are so many options now to shop secondhand and I love that for us.

5. Swap with your family and friends 

Local clothing swap events are becoming more popular but you can easily put together one at home. 

Make it a fun night with your closest friends or family

and have everyone bring their favorite snacks and 5 to 10 items to swap.

Just make sure everyone washes and cleans their clothes first and avoid anything not in good condition. I hosted a swap pretty a few years ago with a

group of girl friends and we had a blast… I really need to plan another one. Any left over clothes can be donated. And if you don’t have anyone you can swap with you can search for local swap events in your local area. I like to look at the  Eventbrite app for  clothing swap events. Usually you have to buy a ticket but this gives you more options when it comes to styles and sizes. 

 

Let's start the new year off  not only staying on budget , but embracing our personal style.

**The dress I'm wearing I had in my closet for at least 3 years but I 
always styled it with black. I  thrifted the nude sandals from Clothes Mentor and made myself some colorful earrings to match.  I shopped my closet, shopped second hand and DIY-ed. I stayed on budget for this fashion runway event I attended and received lots of compliments. This was ! time I can honestly say I felt most beautiful in 2025.