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.

And yes, I'm torn - do you buy now as it may only go up in price or do you hold off and not buy at all!

I think we have to be really honest with ourselves as to what we actually need.

i’m looking at my wardrobe now and I have three coats nobody used to have three coats this is why we need to have a big house to store the three coats and all the big shit we’ve bought over the past 20 years how much of it do we actually need.

I was in white stuff the other day, the prices seemed eye watering LG high

Yes, I went in to pick up an A line skirt, which I usually do at this time of year. But at £59 I will just wear the ones from previous years.

And get stuff dry cleaned that prolongs the life of wool coats etc

hold off til the sales

They will probably start the sales mid december

I buy second hand but coats are particularly difficult.

I usually try on in the shop and then hunt on eBay. It can take a while but usually something comes up. I am terrible for clothes buying though, I probably need to be selling my clothes on eBay not buying more, but posting things from where I live is a bit inconvenient

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.

All of this.
Also don't buy anything unless it goes with at least 5 other things you already own.
Cos, &Other Stories and Arket give a 20% discount when you sign up and regularly do discounts even when you are already signed up.

The Simon Reeve programme is truly horrifying.

There's a good discussion here for anyone interested in clothing longevity:
thatsnotmyage.com/sustainable-style/make-do-and-mend-we-are-keeping-clothes-for-longer-and-repair-is-on-the-rise/

I'm not buying anything for the foreseeable. The money I would have spent on clothes, gadgets holidays, theatre, cinema, eating out etc will be going on energy bills and mortgage rate increases.

So my top tips are 1. Shop your closet, or 2. Shop someone else's on Vinted or Vestiaire etc.

Repair items.
I've found a local repairer to stitch together my cashmere. Most of which had detached at the seams. I now need to debobble it before wear.I'm also planning on washing some slightly shrunken jumpers & stretching them back to their original size whilst damp. Also buy one item of quality rather than several cheaper bits. I have a Jaeger coat made from fine wool that's on its 5th year of continual use after dry cleaning each year.
Look on eBay for basics.
I've bought several new Hush cotton t-shirts for a fraction of the price ( some are seconds but fine).
Before buying new, look over last year's clothes. I can guarantee there will be clothes you've forgotten about & were probably going to buy again. Often in exactly the same styles.
Avoid Tk Maxx & random buys.
Just buy what you need, not what's cheap.
Finally lose weight. It's worked for me & I now fit into lots of my clothes I kept from when I became skinny ( several years ago ) 😊

I suppose the massive hikes in price reflect the fact that for so long we have relied on products being made cheaply in developing countries. How on earth can an item made in the far east cost less than a tenner in a store here, taking into account shipping and so on. The unit cost is peanuts and that is what the workers are paid. Same with food. How can a punnet of berries be so cheap when it accrues so many air miles?

Try any buy things that fulfil as many functions or that go with as many other things in your wardrobe as possible. There's lots of good MN threads on capsule wardrobes which have helped me buy a bit less over the years.

And buying things that you really look/feel good in rather than what is 'in style' at any one time.

Agree with this. I would never justify £250 on a coat. £50 would be about it. Lots of others could never justify £50. It’s all swings and roundabouts.

When jeans shapes change, hit the charity shops. I love to wear skinny jeans and ankle boots in autumn time but I saw myself in the mirror after digging them out again this year and thought actually, that looks dated.

Bit of instagramming later I realise that the current look is straight leg. I've bought four pairs already, all from charity shops. They're comfy, slightly worn in already, and they cost between 3 and 8 quid a pair.

If you find a pair you particularly like, get more on ebay.

And I'm keeping my skinnies for the inevitable swing back!

Vinted is amazing. The search function isn’t terribly sophisticated so you do end up scrolling through a pile of stuff but you can find some real gems. I always filter for new with / without tags and by price (usually £10, £15 for jackets or footwear). I haven’t bought anything new at all this year and I’m a real spendthrift usually! It’s so satisfying to wear a lovely dress or whatever knowing that you’ve only spent £6!

I buy nothing new now - I use Vinted .

Just got a wool m&s coat that was worn once for £18

Leather office boots £5.50

Leather m&s loafers £4.00

Ballet flats from Dune - £7

Ugg boots - £12

3 m&s jumpers £12
Wool m&s jumper £2
Levi jeans £8

You can't buy cheapo rubbish from shein for that - I'll never buy "new" again !

Community clothing do a navy wool peacoat for £129. Thats probably the absolute minimum for an efficiently UK made short coat in one simple classic colour and style, no fancy shops. So it's not a surprise that a more fashionable coat from a high end shop is double.

I don't need that much in terms of new clothes.

Moths have got my woollen gloves so they will have to be replaced.

Zara is my go to for fast fashion fixes. They don't seem to have increased their prices.

got this the other day or very similar, it's warm and I wanted it for a Pirates theme:

www.zara.com/uk/en/knit-sweater-with-rolling-trims-p03433104.html?v1=187254003

I think a big part of the problem is that clothes simply don't last as long as they used to because they're not as well made. If you're on a limited budget, it's very easy to get sucked into a spiral of buying shit that constantly needs replacing, and no amount of preaching about making things last is going to fix that.

Also the op has already says she uses Vinted, Ebay and buys in the sales.

I agree about getting things altered and repaired, especially if you struggle to find things that fit. If you can learn to do your own then even better, although it takes time, which is a cost in itself.

I try and buy from real shops as much as possible. I know I know, it's hard, given the state of local high streets, but I think it's much easier for online retailers to fob us off with badly fitting crap than it is for a real store where you can look at and handle the garments. The same applies to second hand clothes - I buy them a lot but only if I can see, feel and try on first.

I think it's worth working out which items are worth spending a bit more on and which are not. It's an individual decision that depends on you and your lifestyle e.g. some people might advocate investing in shoes but I don't because (with the exception of Solovar) I trash them really quickly. (But I do get shoes repaired regularly which extends their life.)

Just noticed some of my post went missing! I meant to add that i also wash my cheap clothes just as carefully as I do my more expensive things, e.g. delicate or wool cycle even if it says 40 degrees, and no tumble drying. I think you can extend the life of even the cheapest of clothes with a bit of extra care.

In the 'olden days' people wore more undergarments- slips, petticoats, vests etc presumably to avoid washing often heavy well made materials too often.

I wonder if now is the right time to start doing this and investing in more underclothes to wear on the skin. Thinking Leggings/ base layer long top type things

I made a vow on April 1 this year to not buy any new clothes for a year.
instead I decided to “wear my wardrobe” and wear a different combination of clothing every day for as long as possible.
I have rediscovered many clothes and created some really good combinations.
I have bought a second hand cashmere sweater and wool jacket.
I should get through until 1/4/23 without buying more.

I'm doing this a bit. I get sweaty walking to work fast in the morning after school drop-off and have bought some 'sweat protector' shirt things to save my work clothes, and it's helping - now I find I don't have to wash them after every wear.

I also buy mostly second hand, and try not to buy anything right away, and instead really consider whether I actually need e.g. a denim dress or skirt, or if the nice things I have already in my closet are enough. And I also have only X number of hangers so something needs to go to charity shop if I do buy anything new. That also helps me buy less and better quality when I can.

A tip is to buy out of season. Look at outlet stores, store clearance sites etc - the summer stuff will be greatly reduced. In summer, buy winter clothes.

I try and buy in sales and will shop at eBay

The stuff in the shops is not as good quality as before

I keep my coats for years especially going to work in the car and not having room to hang my coat up on a hanger means I wear an older coat