Skint but Stylish: A Definitive Guide to Dressing Well on the Cheap

There’s no denying the fact that at this point in the semester, we are all economically drowning. It’s got to the point where even buying food has become a question of want or need – I can’t be the only one living on a diet of Jacobs cream crackers and tap water.

However, the problem lies not with what is in you, but what is on you, and clothes shopping in Liverpool One is no easy task when the contents of your purse consists merely of manky McDonald’s vouchers and rotting Topshop receipts from the good old days. Clothes are expensive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create a lust-worthy ensemble to strut aimlessly round Abercromby Square in.

World War-drobe III

Firstly, get to the back of that wardrobe. Yes, it’s a hateful place to be, but having someone comment, “oooh nice top, is it new?” when all you can think is, “no I bought it when I was in year 9” is a strangely uplifting feeling. Fashion recycles, and that pile of clothes you haven’t worn for as long as you can remember can regain their use. Roll up your sleeves and dive into all those cute jumpers you bought in the January sales 2014.

Change it up

You don’t even need to go far back in your wardrobe to find a dress you wear on every night out. Whip it out as a day dress and stick a stripy T underneath it and no one will even realise you were sporting it in Baa Bar last weekend! There are never too many ways to wear a staple item of clothing.

Learn to love

Everyone has clothes they don’t like and literally never wear, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so you’re gonna have to learn to love those pieces again. The winter season is swiftly approaching, and that pair of Uggs under your bed are crying out to make their annual debut. Although no one actually knows whether the shoe is shouting snuggly or ugly, people still wear them! Once you realise how toasty warm your feet are as you brave the ice to get to your seminar, you’ll be thankful that you gave your feet some Ugg-lovin’. So don’t be afraid to sport something you think you don’t like, because you might just learn to love them.

Finally, DIY…

Instead of getting rid of those clothes you claim you just don’t like, them take a pair of scissors to them and chop away! Technically this could go terribly wrong, especially if design is not a particular forte of yours, however at this point you have nothing to lose- you don’t like the jeans anyway, remember? A quick ten minute tutorial on YouTube, (watched 20 times and paused every five seconds) should do the trick, meaning 1o pinpricked fingers and a bottle of wine later you’ll be calling yourself Gok Wan and strutting the flat like Dave from the MoneySuperMarket ad, except you may have accidentally cut your shorts a couple of inches shorter.

So there’s your quick guide to obtaining your broke-yet-beautiful wardrobe without spending a penny! Grow to love your old clothes and they’ll grow to love you, and the 10 pounds you’ve gained since freshers.