Creating Your New Summer Look for Less

*Collaborative Post

The summer will soon be here (we hope!) and what’s better than celebrating a new season with a new look? I must admit, I am awful for spending all my money on the children and they are often better dressed than me so this year I want to find what really suits me, I want to brighten up my wardrobe and I want to create a summery look and feel without spending a fortune.

Shop Around

I am a creature of comfort and I will usually just head to one (bargain) shop each time I go into town. I know I can get comfy casuals in there, I know it won’t cost the earth and I know I will get a good amount of wear out of each item. The only problem with that is that everybody else usually has the same items and you often end up passing on the street wearing the same top! I’m all for easy shopping but I need to step out of my little comfort zone and walk into stores that I may not normally consider. Yes, the prices may vary in these and I may have to hunt for some affordable ones but when you stumble across an amazing item in the sale it feels amazing, doesn’t it?!

Shop the Sales

With retailers constantly battling one another to increase their takings, it is very easy to find all types of sales these days. Mid-season, end of line, end of season, blue cross, black Friday and so on. I have learnt that one of the best ways to find out when these sales are on is to sign up to newsletters, ask for email receipts when you are in store (these will often trigger extra offer emails) and to sign up to alerts online. That way the sales come straight to your inbox without you having to traipse the high street!

 

 

Offers and Discount Codes

There are plenty of websites that can provide you with a discount code once you are at the checkout of your chosen online shop. I would highly recommend shopping on your chosen website, adding your items to your bag and then looking for codes that will fit with your selection. Sites such as Groupon have these type of discount codes all year round. Another option is to leave your items in your bag for a couple of days as this should flag up to the shop and they may prompt you to come back and purchase it and offer you a discount.

Upcycle Old Clothes

If you are good with a sewing machine or have a design flair, then upcycling some of your old wardrobe may be an option. Don’t forget that fashions come back around again– got anything from the 90’s left over? You may have noticed these styles are back in all the shops at the moment (if you are old enough to remember it the first time). If you have some pieces left over you could give it a fresh take with a bit of handy work.

Invest

This may sound as though it goes against all I have said above BUT if you invest in some good quality staple pieces these will last and you will get your monies worth. I would always go for items which won’t ever go out of date, that can be easily dressed up or down and can be put with several other items from your wardrobe. For instance, a floaty linen skirt, a silky white vest top, white linen trousers or a white shirt. If you look after them well they should withstand the test of time.

 

Accessorise

One way to transform your outfit it to accessorise it. Jewellery, scarfs, wraps, sunglasses, whatever takes your fancy really. It can be very easy to make a plain item look different for different occasions just by changing up the type of jewellery you wear. For a daytime look, you could wear a bright chunky necklace and bangle, small stud earrings and have your sunglasses on the top of your head. Click here to find out where I bought my sunglasses from. To update this for the evening, I would swap studs for drop earrings, wear an eye-catching necklace with either sparkles or gems and possibly add a hair clip or hairpiece to complete the look. Accessories are definitely an affordable way of updating your wardrobe when you are on a tight budget.

Do you have any other tips for creating a new summer look?

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.