Help with minimalist style on a budget

[CallMeNutribullet]

At 41 I think I've finally found my style but shops like Cos are out of my budget. I'm normally a frequenter of ASOS sales.
I'm starting a new secondment soon and need to be in the office more. Any advice for minimalist style on a tight budget?

If you know your size, use Depop?

Sorry, I meant if you know your size in Cos.

Yeah I picked up a jumper from there. There's a couple of things in OK condition.

The shops look like a rainbow threw up but if you take a closer look, Uniqlo is actually great for plain, simple clothing in neutral colours.

I would also say Uniqlo. The Uniqlo U clothing is under the creative directorship of Christophe Lemaire, whose own label Lemaire is essentially advanced Cos.

But I’ve been noticing this label recently - this dress in particular seems a steal. Roll up the sleeves, leather belt, knee high boots … Or go full Old Celine: remove belt, add long wide trousers and weird pointy shoes … (This particular frock only available up to size 10 in the sale but I daresay they’ll have similar in the new season.)

(Obviously the latter isn’t all cool minimalism - but some of it has real potential if you can ‘see’ it.)

I’m a Cos fan and have picked up lots from Depop and I have a search saved for eBay. You definitely can re-create the style somewhat in other shops. I think you’ll be missing some of the quirky-ness but you can definitely do the minimalism. I was looking at the Uniqlo Look books last night at agree with the collection from Christopher Lemaire. They had a collaboration with Theory too although that might have been Spring / Summer.

The other Scandinavian brands in the same group as Cos include H&M which I’m sure you know. Monki has that loose cut but with both those brands you need to be really careful about the quality. ( I’ve had cotton and denim from Monki which has been good but other fabrics have been poor) - it’s a false economy. Kin at John Lewis may have some pieces too. Quite frankly you could probably buy a white shirt from M&S and wear it in a Cos way

I think sizing up can make things look more expensive and more along the lines of the Cos aesthetic. And you literally get more for your money.

The COS resale site. Just set filters to shipping g from UK.

Similar minimalist Japanese/Scandi-inspired vibes (whether new or via Vinted, eBay etc) are the Kin range at John Lewis; some Arket stuff; Uniqlo; Muji. COS also has pretty regular sales to keep an eye out for.