Financial difficulties. No nice clothes to wear, old and used. Wearing husbands t-shirts to get by...HELP!

[Memyself212]

So we are in financial difficulties due to buying a new house recently and me and my DH are in debt of about £30K which we are slowly paying back but as soon as the pay cheque comes through, I save some for groceries and immediate bills and stuff whilst my husband does the mortgage payments but we have very little left to do some decent shopping.

My clothes are really depressing though! I have been wearing the same clothes for the last 2-3 years and it's so uninspiring, boring and every time I wear it, I just feel more depressed. I am grateful I still have clothes to wear though!

I have a couple of black leggings, 2-3 sweaters and 2-3 hoodies and 2-3 skirts and maybe 1-2 jeans and thats pretty much it. Have 2-3 loungewear which my husband is kind of sick of me wearing it (mean it in the nicest possible way) but I just dont know what to do with our current situation.

Getting dressed in the morning feels like a chore now as there is no excitement to getting dressed.

I wish I had so many clothes that I can switch up every time after having a shower so it feels new new but sadly thats not the case at the moment.

Any ideas??

2-3 years isn't old for clothes, it's so my in the past 10 years or so people have bought so many new clothes.

I don't! My cardigan is at least 6 years old, possibly more (exh bought it for me and I'm 5 years since we split!) my dress is 2 years old, good as new, tights are 4 years old as I know I haven't bought new ones in that style (60 denier) since covid, but my slippers are new, last ones walked their own way to the bin

I would suggest putting £5 aside when you can then buy a piece or two second hand that works with what you have

The thing is though most of us a mix of old things & new things to give us abit of variety!

Plus if OP wanted debt advice she would have posted in money not Style & Beauty!

I understand OP - it must be hard!

I'd second maybe asking for gift cards for Christmas or set yourself a small budget like £50 to but a couple of new tops/ jumpers! & check out the supermarkets!

They do have some nice stuff that could update your look abit for not too much money!

Just this morning my friend and I each took a lot of excellent stuff to our local charity shop - some of it barely worn in my case. Someone somewhere will get good use out of them.

Whilst waiting to hand the stuff over I could see so many good quality stylish clothes, nicely presented and all looking in top condition.

At least in charity shops you can have a good look and feel of the garments, rather than take a risk online. New stuff online is fine if you don't like it, you can send it back, but I expect that's not so easy on Vinted, Facebook etc.

Thank you everyone for your responses!
I don’t know why I think badly of charity shops but vinted seems to be a better option, I will consider that (I know that is second hand too but just sounds better!)
I can set aside £200 for clothes but a top is like £30. I can only roughly get 6 items within £200. Wish I could stretch my money a bit more.
Thank you to everyone for offering to send your clothes to me, really appreciate that

Shop carefully in super markets? Tu at Sainsbury's has some good stuff if you pick and choose carefully - I have a couple of great needle cord, floral printed mini skirts that have been a winter staple for about five years now - I wear them with a fitted jumper, thick tights and boots.

If you have a nectar card you can use points to pay.

I would also see if you can make you exisiting clothes work harder or differently or perhaps give them new life with some accessories. A lot of my clothes are well over 5 - 10 years old. A few coloured heat tech base layers from unilqo meansclothes can last longer in to winter (I wear either contrasting or matching heat tech tops under short sleeved knitted cotton tops in the winter.)

Freecycle is the solution. Join your local freecycle group and put in a request for the kind of clothes you are looking for, size etc. People who are clearing out their own wardrobe will be happy to give their unwanted clothes for nothing.

Ask people for Next vouchers or jlp vouchers for Xmas.

Get to know the local charity shops.

You could try Shein. You'll get a lot for your money there. They always have discount vouchers etc so look before checking out. I've had some lovely stuff off Shein, one that stands out is there Glomode leggings that are very good Lululemon dupes. I've had very good quality sports leggings from primark too for a similar price.
If you buy from Shein remember to read reviews for each item as sizing varies.

Is what you have listed all the clothes you have full stop? What were you wearing in the summer? Are there any summer items that you can layer up to wear? What has happened to all your clothes older than 2 or three years?

Sainsbury's do a regular 25% off, I think during school holidays. Wait for that to come around and you could stock up with that £200. If you look carefully you can find decent items.

Every single item I am currently wearing is over 5 years old, with the exception of underwear. They still look smart (enough - I am at home today but would also probably still be true of my work clothes).

What do you need and why do you need it? 6 new (or bought on vinted) items a year would be plenty for me.

Obviously if you had more money and wanted to buy more clothes that would be fine, but can you make yourself happy with what you have?

What size are you? I am about to declutter my wardrobe and attempt a much smaller wardrobe choice so happy to donate.

That depends where you shop. I have clothes that are over 10 years old and most were originally from supermarkets.

A couple of weeks ago I bought two lovely flattering tops from Sainsbury's. One was £4 and the other which I have been complimented on many times, was £8. I wear the tops with smart black wide leg trousers for work or with a pair of black jeans for casual.

My absolute favourite trousers were from Sainsbury's, they were not expensive.

I lost a lot of weight, so much that colleagues all comment, and one gave me two gorgeous LBDs which were two small for her, both very expensive designer labels. Ask around.

I totally understand OP. My one tip as someone on a budget is that it's often better to opt for plainer clothes when buying cheaper stuff (unless it was originally more expensive and now second hand). I think cheap prints and patterns show themselves more obviously than plainer, classic items.

You could buy loads of clothes from charity shops for £200. Red Cross has new Zara items which are half price, some are last season and some have minor damage eg missing button. I bought a great winter coat for £30.

If there is a decent town or city market you can get to why not look there for a few items?

Im on holiday at the moment and wearing pure cotton loose tops (Indian probably) from a market stall in Abergavenny!

I dress them up for dinner with costume jewellery (charity shop) and palazzo pants or wear them with jeans/shorts in the day.

They cost very little and wash really well. Sometimes a stall holder will discount if you buy more than one item. Just ask.

Chin up OP. Just buy an item every now and again …. at least you aren’t adding to Global Warming and wastage in the fashion industry. 💐

I'm in a similar, in fact worse, situation financially currently. Also a single parent. I do sympathise, and it is difficult for so many at the moment.

However, I had very good clothes and shoes from before the downturn, and I've since bought clothes from Vinted from similar good brands. In fact, when my financial situation recovers I think I will still continue to buy from places like Vinted. I haven't bought anything new in ages.

I also have clothes from 10-20 years ago still!

Drive to a posh town like Cambridge / Winchester / Guildford / Tunbridge Wells etc, go around their charity shops, you’ll find nice clothes for very little money

Cambridge? Ha! The charity shops in Cambridge have gone really, really expensive in the last couple of years, and the things they have aren't even that good. I find much better and cheaper things in the charity shops of West Yorkshire (weird, because it's a much less prosperous area, but true).

I'd stick with Vinted and Ebay, OP. Also, don't forget how accessories can change and lift an outfit - get some new earrings, necklaces and scarves etc - and new lipstick and nail varnish, if you wear those.

Honestly for £200 you can get armfuls of stuff on Vinted. I made a list of what I’ve bought recently (lost weight so needed stuff in a new size) - I spent, including postage, £63.75 and got 3 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs cord jeggings, 1 pair trousers, 3 dresses, 3 skirts, 1 pair gym shorts, 4 sports bras, 3 tops and a necklace! Nike, Next, Mango, FatFace, Oasis etc. About half for it still has the tags on. Look at a seller’s other items and build a bundle for discounts and to save on postage.

Ebay is your friend. I get almost everything from there now except shoes and underwear. People sell nearly new clothes for very little. You can search by brands you like or specific items and your size.

Charity shops are worth a look, it's not all worn out tat by any means. A lot of other people's fashion mistakes that are literally as new end up there. I've got some lovely stuff in them over the years that i could never have justified buying new.

@BurntOrangeAutumn – For some reason I don’t feel comfortable in shein or primark, the sizing is always off around the shoulders and arms

@IClaudine – I will try Sainsburys. In summer I was still wearing the same to be honest ☹ looked horrible

@Holdyournoseandthinkofchocolate don’t get me wrong I am grateful, just feel depressed and uninspired wearing the same thing in and out.

@WinchSparkle80 – thank you so much! I am a size 8-10

@Comefromaway - I really need to try Sainsburys!

@MrsFawkes Yes I think I need to slowly re-build my wardrobe – maybe one item a month or something.

A lot of people have mentioned Vinted which is new to me so will try that

@AtomicBlondeRose – This is the best advice! I am going to try that and see what I can get for £200 on Vinted, is it free delivery?

Well I can relate to how you feel because I'm at the end of my pregnancy now and at a point where most of my maternity clothes don't even fit anymore, it's too late to buy anything new though because I'm already a week overdue.

I don't know why you think so badly of charity shops either, it's a bit more hassle trying to find nice stuff in your size but given the total wardrobe items you've listed here even one or two new things is going to make a big difference to you and you should easily manage to find that much.

For £30 I was buying brand new tops from Kooples and Maje on vinted…

I sold bought a bnwt lululemon top and leggings for under £30….

honestly get on vinted.
also Local what’s App buying and selling groups. ours had a women clearing out loads of all saints tops and dresses for £10 and £15…

you pay for delivery but it’s like £2-4 depending on weight

try and find someone who is having a clear out and buy multiple items it’s best value that way…