Suits/smart clothes on a budget

[MeadowHay]

Hi everyone, I urgently need some shirts (plain white, maybe plain black too), as well as a trouser suit.This is to wear to work but also competitions at uni where formal suit attire is necessary, and for work experience placements (in the legal sector).

However, I am really struggling for money right now so the cheaper the better. I managed to get a suit for £30 (!!!) from Solo in the HofF outlet the other day but the smallest size was a 10 and it was a bit too big but I bought it and am going to find a tailor/seamstress to take it in for me. I am aware that was an absolute bargain and that suits are usually more like £100 lol.

Any recommendations?

Debenhams sale, Monsoon sale. I bought all my works stuff that way. I also made sure things were interchangeable, so it was easy to mix up dresses and jackets. Lots of opaque tights, and think about dresses that you can wear a blouse or shirt under - is a good way to change up a look for little money. You can buy cheap shirts for that!

Charity shops can be great but it's pot luck. Make sure the suit is spotlessly clean as dry cleaning costs will cancel out the bargain price. Check zips and buttons are intact. Make sure hems are secure. If you look at separates then black can be matched more easily with black and/or grey but navy is almost impossible to get a good match.
Know how much various labels cost new - our local charity shops often price designer and primark the same. Happy hunting and don't get distracted!

My parents are really generous and always offering to give me money tbh it's more just an issue of pride, I don't like to have to rely on my parents when I'm in my twenties, married, with pets, and financially independent from them (and have been for a few years now). Also my dad loves to give me money and then complain later that he gave me the money so I have to do what he wants me to do in some aspect of my life to pay him back, or threaten to withdraw the money if I do something he doesn't like...a whole issue that this thread wasn't made to go into! DH and I actually already owe my parents £600 (went on furniture and moving costs), they're not particularly after the money back but we will pay it back when we can because I don't like to take money off them. Soo yeah I really don't want to be asking for more money to buy clothes. They actually bought me a few things a few months ago like I said for a work experience placement I went on.

Hopefully I will find something good and inexpensive on Friday afternoon.

If you are going to buy dresses on a budget, get a full nude slip/underskirt. They make unlined, cheaper dresses look so much better, especially if you love the style but the fabric is thin. I have got m&s ones, BNWT off eBay for a fraction of the price of those in store. They are better than sweaty polyester dress linings too. Bit grannyish, but no one needs to know!!!

You can sometimes get some bargains in Cheshire oaks/Bicester village type places as well. I got a gorgeous, v expensive looking jaeger dress down from £159 to £29 once.