How to Stay Fashionable and Stylish on Little or No Money

This is a rather hot topic for me at the moment! The no spending money is forcing me to *gasp* wear what I own instead of buying new! You'd think for someone who owns tons of clothing this would seem like the purpose of having them. But, we all have trouble thinking that way sometimes! Here's what you can do:

• Shop in your closet

This one gets said a lot, but how to do it?

1. Buy a magazine (or go to the library or local bookstore and look at one for free) or go online to a fashion website. I recommend Who What Wear, Elle.com, and Style.com.
   
2. Observe the general trends. Is there a style you like/dislike? An item you feel like you have to have or a "look" you really like?
3. Think about what consitutes the look. Most of the time, it includes some kind of basic: a white shirt, a blazer, a pair of skinny or wide-leg pants (both are in right now), a skirt.
   
4. Go to your closet and look at it. What do you already have that looks like or could "pass for" the new look? Put some things together that you haven't put together before. Take some risks. It's okay to put something together that might be "weird." Put it side by side, on the bed, or try it on and see if it really is as strange as you thought. It's better to find out that it looks strange now, then after wearing it for a whole day.
   

You'd be surprised how many "basics" are fashionable right now. Just about every type of pant leg is fashionable: cropped, wide, skinny. And about every type of skirt: long, short, wide, pencil. Shorts are big for spring and summer, including cutoffs--which are very easy to make! T-shirts are in. Blazers are in--surely you have one somewhere you could dig out. Even if you think it looks strange, just try pairing it with some unusual combinations like you see in the magazines. You're bound to find a combo!

• Repurpose old clothes

This one gets said a lot, too. I won't belabor the point, but I'll recommend threadbanger.com, craftstylish.com, CRAFT, and MAKE. There are lots of DIY websites out there. Google "Make X" or "DIY X" or "sew X" and I bet you will find a way to make something you want out of something you have--even if you DON'T sew! There's glue and iron-on adhesive and lots of fun stuff.

And, you can always make cutoffs with those old jeans. :-)

• Swap

I hold swap parties at my house sometimes and they are always appreciated. This is where you bring your old clothes and then look through everyone elses old clothes to get new clothes.

If you don't have time to hold one, sometimes they are all around local areas. Search Yelp or Craigslist for local swaps in your area.

Swapstyle.com - this is my new favorite swap idea ever. You can actually swap your old clothes on here for new ones! I even saw some 7 for All Mankind jeans on there! I haven't tried it out, but if you do, let me know how it goes. And it's totally free! Hooray!

Those are all the ideas I have, but if you have more, let me know!