The Shopping Ban / Frugal Fashion Thread

[FrugalFashionista]

Tentatively dipping my toes in here ---
Do you love clothes, shoes, accessories, and beauty products - perhaps a bit too much?
Have you self-prescribed a shopping ban, are you on a strict budget, or are you trying to learn to shop more mindfully for other reasons? Are you a budding recessionista, thriftionista, frugal fashionista - or would you like to become one?
Would you like to do this with like-minded people, still looking stylish and up to date?

This thread could be a place for mutual support, inspiration and creative tweaks (planning outfits from what you already have; charity shopping, swaps, repurposing).

My personal goal: no more clothes, shoe or beauty purchases in March.

I'll tell you more about why I am here in true 12-step tradition, but we need a few like-minded people first

I must say I am enjoying rethinking my wardrobe and wearing clothes that have not seen light of day for ages too.

I'm a definite A...classic. Boring!!! But then I saw Angelina Jolie and Katie Holmes and don't think it's so bad after all......I have all the style basics they suggest already!

Today's outfit is spring green wool mix long sleeved top from Toast in sale that I am wearing for first time,layered over Marks and Spencer Autograph thermal cream top,skinny flare jeans,navy heeled ankle boots,butterfly print scarf with navy and green in it.

That's a great blog....I can see hours wasted spent studying it and therefore becoming an uber fashionista

I came out as a Natural, which is me to a tee. When I was overweight I used to think that I liked comfortable, loose clothes as a way of covering up my 'bad bits'. Now I can see, with the help of the styles they recommend, that it is the style I feel most comfortable in, and that I can dress up and still go with my natural inclination towards jeans, cargo pants and tee shirts.

I have been tending to buy more frilly girly clothes since I lost weight because they are so different to what I have been wearing for years. But those are the clothes that are still in my wardrobe with the labels on.

So I've been mixing and matching stuff in my wardrobe this morning and have come up with a whole load of new outfits by mixing comfortable, slightly more fitted tees and shirts with jeans and cargoes. I have a rather large collection of scarves and I'm going to use those to inject a bit of femininity into my new look.

That was a really useful website. Frugal

I have been sorting out lacey summer dresses and long gauzy skirts/gowns for the next batch of clothes to the dress agency and realized that i buy the same thing year after year.This year so far i have bought about 20 silk/cashmere scarves alone.Every summer i buy silk gauzy fragile things that don't match my lifestyle.I am going to cancel all advertising e mails from the discount websites now,plus Brora and Wrap.May think about cancelling Hush and Me and Em though these can be useful.Anyone else doing this?

another one wearing an almost-charity-shopped dress today, which i have styled differently and am enjoying! it's a floral tea mini-dress, have added black opaques, black biker boots, a long sleeved charcoal grey top underneath and a similarly grey jersey biker jacket. definitely giving the dress another chance i think, thought it was never going to get worn by me again.

Just dropping in another link to the MN Swap Pinterest board - take a look - there's some lovely things on there.
pinterest.com/mnswapboard/mn-swapboard/

Just took the quiz Frugal - Classic Dramatic - skewed slightly towards dramatic. No surprises really (which is a good thing as it means I'm on track) and matches with what the stylist / colours woman said. V interesting. Thanks.

That's great issima especially the bit about stitching up the cuffs. The only thing I don't like is they still look a little wide at the bottom from where she used flares. Am tempted to try on an old pair of too big straight legs though. I had real success with an already distressed pair of straight legs that were a bit too big that I rolled up to make boyfriend jeans. Might have to stitch the cuffs as they do roll down and sometimes one leg look longer than the other! Problem being - I don't have a sewing machine...... I'll have to sweet talk my mum!

It must be possible to take them in a bit to make them a bit straighter if necessarily - surely? Let us know how you get on......

Have faith!!! They'll be great I'm sure.

I am loving the busy refashionista styling vibe here - well done all

Just gave my orange-red lizard skin pointy-toe slingbacks from circa 2002 the permanent marker treatment - hi Amber - Muji does them in all possible colors and I found a perfect match in my desk drawer. (Shoes are made of leather and are high quality vintage Zara - but the pointy toes were scuffed bare.) Good as gold and about to wear them to a party...

Have just realized that while animal print leaves me completely indifferent, I have a major thang for exotic skins. Lizard, python, ostrich, croc - come to mama... Must have a full dozen real/faux exotic skin items in my wardrobe - all much loved (mostly dyed - natural python a bit too wild for me). Styling tip - stick to one exotic item per outfit, Crocodile Dundee is not necessarily the most fashion-forward look

Sending a ((hug)) to Girlsofsummer, well done, and I know days like that far too well

Does anyone have any tips for restoring suede boots? I have a black pair which I have worn to death and the suede on the backs of the heels and the tips of the toes is worn.

TIA

I love that www.chicfashionista.com site as well, I've already spent far too much time on there. If you subscribe to her newsletter, you get a free 30 page book which summarises a lot of the stuff on there. I'm a sucker for that sort of stuff.

A question for those of you who have had your colours done or been on style days: was it worth it? And has it had an impact on your wardrobe and how you dress?

I'm pretty sure I'm a soft summer but I guess a colour consultant would say you can't diagnose yourself. I've also just discovered www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk via one of issimma's pins - thanks!

teddy for the suede, I would search on Pinterest. I came across some the other day by accident but didn't pin them.

Very tempted to try the boyfriend jeans treatment as well from a pair I rescued from the recycling. Not sure about all the rips, I remember the '80s too well I'm afraid.

Teddy here? Warning color transfer / rub off possible so careful with other clothes!

Awesome. Will look for the sprain recommended in your link Frugal.

Sprain???? Spray! Bloody iPad

I'm 'creative' which explains why my wardrobe is all over the place!
I also suffer from the introvert issue-i sometimes just want to disappear into the background and love slouching at home alone so I also have tons of scrubby clothes to lounge in which I really need to sort though.
I've been getting more into Pinterest this week and finding a good way to try and think about what I like and want to wear.
Loving this thread

So I'm classic and dramatic, slightly more classic. It would have been the other way around last year. I've had such a disciplined week and it's all thanks to this thread. Loving the swap board too.

I. HAVE. NOT. BOUGHT. ANYTHING. I have looked, oh god have I looked and touched but I have resisted all temptations and have managed over a week without buying myself a single item of clothing!

Queen last summer I won a Wardrobe Edit with a stylist in a competition. I would not be exaggerating to say it has changed my life because it has changed how I shop. She went through my wardrobe (I was a serial shopper and had been in lots of debt in my twenties), and had a huge clear out, things that didn't fit, needed repairing, didn't suit my personality, weren't my colour etc. I am embarrassed to admit that what got sent to charity raised over £600!!!
What I was left with was a clearer wardrobe, with items that I love and we identified gaps that needed filling. I had little colour or print as I didn't know what suited me etc.
It's unsurprising that she then sold me into a shopping day - which my DH gave me as a 40th birthday present. This was when I joined the MNV thread and the ladies there gave me lots of helpful tips including getting my colours done before I went shopping. That has also helped massively and stops me making mistakes although I do admit I still wear black and grey even though I shouldn't. The shopping day was so much fun, I got some great items - learnt more about what suits me and what I should avoid.
So yes - I'd say stylists / getting colours done do help, and teach you what to avoid, and what suits you. I definitely think that the money spent £100 for colours and £350 for the stylist day was well spent, as I now shop for different reasons and don't make mistakes!