Save On Your Summer Wardrobe!

It’s England and the sun has come out. This means only one thing; summer garments will spontaneously appear on every individual as long as the temperature remains reasonable. After a hideously long winter it can be all too tempting to run into the nearest Topshop and buy yourself a hugely expensive but absolutely necessary new summer wardrobe because YOU HAVE NO NICE SUMMER CLOTHES.

But just stop for a second, put your card back in your bag and have a read of the following tips to make sure your student loan doesn’t disappear too fast (or faster than can be reasonably expected).

-If you’re going to buy into the latest trends, keep it cheap. Just because a magazine does a lovely photo shoot of all floral items, or tie dye items, or tribal prints, do not under any circumstances buy your whole summer wardrobe in accordance to that one trend. The same applies for finding a section of a shop where everything is very similar but all appealing and you want to buy it all.

The fashion industry is very very cheeky and tricks you into thinking that you need to buy more than one item from them to make ‘a look’. If you love Aztec print (YAWN) buy one dress in it, if you wear that dress loads, buy a tshirt in it, and so on and so forth. The odds are that a new must have trend will be in existence by the time you’ve worn that first item a few times, so it’s best, if boring, to hold back for a while.

-Invest in a staple item of summer denim. Be it a really good pair of shorts, a skirt, or a pair of dungarees, a good piece of denim will provide a strong base for a whole multitude of summer outfits to come, and even if the weather doesn’t hold up, there’s always the option of sticking tights on underneath.

Dungarees have made a huge comeback this season, which it’s hard not to be thrilled about. Vintage shops have some amazing genuine articles from the 90s, whereas many high street shops have been churning out decent new versions of this denim staple from our childhoods. If you’re sticking to shorts, Goldfinches Vintage in Norwich has proven to be a treasure trove of affordable but super sassy denim shorts.

-Leave off the accessories! Warmer weather means sunglasses and beach bags and flips flops and summery headscarves and hats etc.  The biggest money waster in this category is the summer hat- tried on in the shop and decided to be a great statement and then never worn out in public ever.

Think rationally, if you’re being daring and want a huge vintage style hat, go for it, but if you’re really not that kind of person do not kid yourself! It will only cost you money. A pretty great alternative is a colourful headscarf, which you can wear as understatedly as a hairband but still add a bit of summery colour to your ensemble.

And lastly, have a dig through your wardrobe; it’s surprising what you might have forgotten about since last summer, especially seeing as it has been around a year since we’ve seen any sunshine.

Sunglasses especially fall victim to being lost in handbags, so before you decide you need a new pair, have a little rummage. Happy saving!