clothes going up in price - you great money saving tips

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Lots of thread on AIBU on cost of living and food shopping going up but I feel like I need a thread on clothes shopping. Been looking at AW clothes online and you can definitely tell that clothes have jumped up in prices since last year. For example - coats just seem to be ridiculously expensive now. I always thought that 250 plus on a coat was quite a lot but that now seems to be normal at &Other stories and other high street shops. I've already been buying things on Vinted and do try to get stuff in the sale but dont always find my sizes as am very petite. So does anyone have any great tips/money saving ideas for how to dress in style but not spend all your money on clothes.

I suspect you'll get a variety of ideas, based on budgets .... for example, £250 on a winter coat will never be "normal" for some folk. Check out Primark for other folks' ideas of normal. Other folk could only dream of Primark, others will think £250 is cheap ....

Main tip - do you genuinely need to buy some / any things? That's completely reasonable - particularly if you're the type to buy a coat that's now £250, shouldn't last year's equivalent still be in a reasonable condition? A genuinely honest assessment of "need" versus "want" will save you a fortune.

If it fits, most of last years stuff is almost certainly fine.

Yes. I don't need anything
I buy almost everything on eBay or in charities secondhand now

Yes.

I was watching the recent Simon Reeves series on South America, the colossal clothes dump has put me right off buying anything for a while unless it's to replace something worn out like slippers.

Thanks everyone. I dont really buy a coat a year but it's a bit crazy to realise how much things are now and that when I need one how much that'll be. I sort of still think of places like Mango to be catering for quite a young demographic - but I feel like I've been sort of priced out of places that I used to shop in. I have tried to look at kids' versions of thigs - yes I am quite short. Have bought things of vinted/ebay but do find that a lot of vendors try to sell things for quite a lot of money.

I buy almost everything on vinted, dropped 2 dress sizes this year so I've had to restock my wardrobe.

Keep an eye out online for first purchase discounts if you're not already subscribed to them.

Yeah, I mean tips for saving money on clothes shopping aren’t really going to have changed just because clothes have all got more expensive. You can buy less, buy secondhand, downgrade your quality (like if you’d previously buy a coat at & other stories, you can buy one at Next or somewhere), or wait for sales/discount codes. I think almost everyone is having to think more carefully if full price new clothes are worth it going forward. For me, I’m only buying things full price early in the season that are classic/basics (ie won’t go into the sale at Christmas) and if I know I’ll wear them loads.

Buy less. I looked in the shops the other day and I saw some nice things, but skirts that used to be £40 are now £60, boots that used to be £80 are now £130, and viscose sweaters that used to be £30 are now £59 (Lenzing can kiss my arse, I am not paying that for a viscose sweater).

I just decided I'm not paying the prices being asked for the products being offered. I have plenty of clothes to wear, and I will replace them as needed, but that is all.

I’m having to be really strict with myself and just not buying any honestly if I didn’t buy another stitch of clothes in between now and the day I die I would be absolutely fine so I need to behave

I buy with longevity in mind so I buy less but better (for example I'd rather buy one cashmere sweater than 3 wool ones). I usually wait for discounts or I go to sample sales. I save up for expensive items that i know will never be discounted.

I've also noticed things getting very expensive. Not just £20 more but say £50. Especially shoes and boots.

It's just making me not buy anything. Even though I could afford stuff you don't know what is coming and I want to save.

Occasionally I think better buy now as might be even more expensive in six months' time but ultimately I don't actually need much.

I feel like eBay is getting more expensive too. H&M tops on there that seem more expensive than they would have been new.

I am in the US. Inflation started earlier here. Everything has gone up and it’s ridiculously expensive to buy any clothing. However shoes have gone up the most. My advice is to go and buy any shoes you need now.

The childrens shoes were $40, they are now $65-80. My work shoes went from $200ish to over $500. I’ve switched to cole hann, Hobbs as cheaper and tried Clark’s but they were horribly plastic. Mens shoes have gone from $100 or there about to $250-300.

I was in the UK and my father thought I was crazy for going into Russell and bromley. Honestly it was like a fire sale compared to the prices where I am. It’s completely crazy.

Bags are all $1500+. Bally bag was nice but not $1900 nice.

Probably won't help with a coat as a bit trickier, but if you can learn to alter clothing you could save money. Adding some darts, taking it in on the waist, shortening length, changing neckline etc.

There are some great YouTube clips. You do need a sewing machine but it doesn't have to be a fancy one.

There will be loads of unsold stock this year.

If you can wait a couple of months they'll start discounting this seasons stock.

My top tip if you have a Next account is to buy online off the clearance section, out of season.

I bought a monsoon jacket and dress at half price in August which were last years winter stock, wearing them now.

They sell quite a few brands on there now not just Next. Get loads of my daughters clothes thar way too.

Not many people buy full price these days they just need to legally list it at that price for a certain time. They know most purchases are made on discounted stock.

Oh also some stores have particular outlet stores for their clearance items. Worth finding out and heading there. From memory Mountain Warehouse would send their clearance stock to the Horsham store after a certain amount of time. I remember going there a few years ago to pick up some ski gear out of season and no one else had reasonably priced gear. Saved a huge amount.

Clothes prices have fallen steadily over the last 50 years in real terms; it's almost certainly time for a correction, and I'm not sure that people's appearances have actually been improved by modern habits of constantly buying and throwing away mounds of increasingly plasticky clothes in faddy styles that will look silly when we look at photos of ourselves 10 years later.

Make do with what you have, and learn how to alter and mend things. If there's something you really do need, try Vinted or a second hand clothing shop, choose only things that you'll be happy wearing for a long time, and try to think of the search for the right item as part of the enjoyment of fashion.

If you must buy new try to buy in sale for ahead of season. See if there is cashback available online.

Why do we need so many clothes, anyway? A decent good coat, for example should last you for years. Why do we need to keep buying something new every season, because trending fashion tells us to? Given this, what happens to your clothes from last year, from 2, 3 years ago? Why can’t you wear those things?

The decent good coat will be expensive. The cheaper ones will easily bobble after a season, I get the answer is to buy the better made items but many can't afford that

I will confess to buying new items more than I should as I enjoy having new/different things sometimes but doesn't have to be brand new if good quality 2nd hand.

I donate everything I no longer wear to the local homeless shelter.

I've noticed brands doing regular discounts this year. If you can wait and sign up to their emails, there will likely be a 20% off code at some point soon.

I mainly shop for clothes in charity shops but I've noticed they are getting more expensive for poorer quality. I guess just buy less clothes.

Buy less, buy as best quality as you can .. secondhand is great or wait for the sales.
I would expect a coat to last 5- 10 years , knitwear for 3 to 5 years, shoes should last several seasons
I buy less but try to buy better.

Learn to sew, do repairs and alterations or make your own. A couple of generations ago this was so normal it was taken for granted people would take care of clothes or be able to adjust length etc.

Particularly if you are petite it's usually easy enough to shorten sleeves and hems.

So I already try and buy less but for example, have a couple of coats on rotation, then a couple of boots. But the quality seems a bit poor so for example, coats do start to look a bit sad after 3 seasons, I know they shouldnt but despite my best efforts at de-bubbling them, they still don look their best. Same with boots, I have a few but again they dont seem to last like they used to. I absolutely agree that clothes used to be quite cheap as has food, energy etc but with everything going up at once, it's not like we can just adjust.

I totally agree that prices have shot up. I spend a lot on clothes every month but brands that I buy from - John Lewis, baukjen, Boden, hush etc have shot up loads in price -but I get that and they are higher end anyway and lots of people will continue to be able to afford them. But they are very near to pricing me out completely. Then there's the likes of fat face and white stuff which have shot up in price but quality is no better if not worse. I was in white stuff the other day, the prices seemed eye watering LG high. But even on (what I would consider) the lower end a simple child's hoodie in Next now costs £17. Clarks shoes through are the roof. How do people with multiple children of different sexes afford stuff now as well as their own wardrobes.