Everything is So Expensive

[JustDoItAlready]

Going on 10 day holiday aboard, did a bit of wardrobe audit and most of her suitable clothes have are either old, or not me anymore. Thought I would get a few beach shirts, few evening dress… Too old for H&M, too short for Zara… Started to look around all the mainstream shops, Next, M&S, John Lewis, Mango, Whistles, Boden, all the Scandi ones (too short again!).

Anyway, how much?! A really nice dress no less than £150, basic shirt from £25… May be a couple of bit, but forget the wardrobe refresh. Just a rant really, I am a good earner, enough to go on holiday obviously but it feels like when you are older and look like an idiot in a skimpy polyester slip dress, dressing well is like going back to ration times. How do you cope?

I've just spent two years' clothes budget on an update. My clothes budget is a few hundred pounds a year, so probably what you were looking to spend on your holiday wardrobe. I got a ton of stuff from Shein, some from Everything 5 Pounds and New Look, M&S linen-mix trousers, loads of trendy trainers in the sales, and some second-had silk shirts from Ebay.

This is actually a brilliant time to be clothes shopping. Everything's reduced!
Have fun, and enjoy your fashionably-attired holiday.

Try vinted, lots of bargains, many brand new with tags still attached. I’m short and not young and still love H&M and Zara etc though.

Next has really improved and sellers lots of brands now, plenty dresses for less than £50

I'm in the same situation. I didn't buy any summer clothes last year and now I need to replace nearly all. It's expensive 😯I'm tall and middle aged. Still fairly slim but can't wear Lycra any more.

Decent linen dress, £140, work tops at least £40. Even cotton t-shirts are £25-30 for reasonable quality. I spend whole evenings browsing sale sections and looking for discount codes.

I'm trying to go up a grade in brand because quality seems to be falling. It's eye watering.

I've started browsing winter clothes now, try to pick up a few things early at a discount 😳

I'm always quite pleasantly surprised at the quality of supermarket clothing. Tesco currently do great basic tee shirts in cotton for about £7. They also have some lovely linen stuff and their bikinis/swimsuits and wraps are lovely. It's not top end and won't last forever but I have some of their tee shirts and linen and even cashmere that are a good age and have worn well.

How old are you if you think you're too old for H&M? they do good basic things incl cotton/ linen basics. In their app you also shop for other H&M brands

You need to buy in opposite seasons! E.g I just purchased some jumpers for DC from Next for Winter. Cheap as chips

Last Winter I bought myself a bikini and beach dresses that were neutral not floral print. And sandals for £9! (From Next!)

Well I can buy things I like for much less than that.
Its might not be amazing quality all the time but it’s good enough and will last me several summer holiday seasons.
Next, M&S and places like fat face, white stuff and apricot don’t cost £150 for a dress. Depends on your style and what you choose to spend your money on. Supermarkets can do some nice stuff but obviously you get what you pay for up to a point.

Shein. Cotton, linen, silk (you can filter by material). There's a lot more, obviously.

I got some really nice oversize viscose shirts from there, too - if you're happy with the semi-natural fibre, you've got a million choices in tops & dresses!

Yes, ethics. All mass-produced fashion's unethical; if you're happy to buy from H&M group, don't turn your nose up at Shein or New Look.

Vinted!

filter to get brand new with tags, by colour and size (stick to brands you know for size). It’s AMAZING what you can find