Budget-Friendly Ways to Revamp Your Wardrobe This Summer

In a world of ever-changing fast fashion trends it can be tough to find a sense of personal style you enjoy enough to last you through the years. The pressures of constantly cycling your wardrobe seem to be all encompassing nowadays, but this new found norm is taking a huge toll on our wallets and our environment. In fact, the fashion industry has increased from 2 main seasons to 52 micro seasons and is now the second most polluting industry right behind big oil. 

With the seasons changing in many parts of the world its so easy to look to the trends and want to re-vamp your wardobe for summer. And honestly, fair enough. There are a lot of resources and ideas availabe to do so in a more sustainable way so we aren't contributing to the seamingly endless cycle of trends and waste. If you are looking to upgrade your wardrobe or learn how to make more sustainable fashion choices, you’ve come to the right place. This article will walk you through the main components of creating an eco-friendly wardrobe without breaking the bank. Utilize some or all of these tips in a way that aligns with the goals and requirements you have for your own wardrobe. Fashion can be such a personal and creative thing, so have some fun with it!

Identify What Your Wardrobe Needs Are

When it comes to your everyday clothes, what purpose do they serve for you? What kind of clothing do you need/want for the different sectors of your life? What kind of style would you like to have? These questions and plenty more can offer you a little bit of guidance about where to start. Most of us have at least a few different areas of our life that require separate clothing. For example, you can’t necessarily wear your office clothes to go for a run. With this in mind, identify the different purposes your clothes serve and which areas you would like to change or which you are okay with using what you have. Please know it is also okay if every outfit does not inherently match your sense of personal style, leave that to the celebrities who have stylists. The outfits I wear to work everyday don’t always align with my sense of personal style but fit within the dress code and look put together, and that is just fine. 

Take Inventory Of What You Already Have 

Oftentimes people think the first step to revamping a wardrobe is to get rid of what you no longer wear, and while that is necessary, it’s also important to take inventory of the pieces you currently own so you can avoid accidentally buying similar items. Identify which items currently serve you and which ones have potential. If the goal here is sustainability, it’s imperative to work with what you already have. Once you have a better idea of what peices you're starting with you can build new outfits around them. Something i like to do is look to Pinterest for outfit inspo and try to recreate looks with peices I already have, but might not have thought to style that way. Its a fun way to freshen up your outfit rotation and it won't cost you a dime.  

Be Leary of Trends

When it is time to shop for some new clothing, be careful going for the first viral outfit on tiktok. While it may look great now, it might not later. Take a moment to ask yourself if you genuinely like the item or if you just like it because it fits into a current trend. Ask yourself “when this trend dies out, would I still wear that piece?”. The inverse of this principle can be applied to clothes you have now that are “out of style”. First of all, if you like something, wear it regardless of whether or not the newest generation of teenagers think it's cute or not. Secondly, fashion trends always come back around. Trends usually make a comeback every 20 years or so. We’re seeing this now with a resurgence of 90’s styles from hair accessories to low rise jeans. If you have staple pieces you used to love, there’s no reason you can’t still rock them now, or style them differently to make them fit a different style. A good rule of thumb with trendy peices is to wait 1-3 months before impulse buying it, if you still want it then, go for it. Not only is this a good self-discipline practice, but it will reveal if you genuinely like the item outside of the immediate gratification of fitting in.

Sustainable Ways to Get Rid of Clothes

So you’ve gone through your wardrobe and have the dreaded box of clothes in your trunk. Now what? While donating clothes is a noble practice in theory, less than 20% of donated clothing actually is recycled or reused in some way. Be empowered to do further research on the thrift stores you are choosing to see where many of the clothes actually end up. Doing a clothing exchange is a great zero waste and zero cost way to grab some different pieces, and could serve as motivation for your group to all do some spring cleaning. You could also take lesser used clothing and name brands to a place like Plato’s Closet to try and earn some extra cash. That extra cash could be used as your budget to grab new items. There are also a ton of sites and apps now to buy/sell second-hand and could be a great way to make a few extra bucks if you have good quaity peices. A few popular ones are Depop and Vinted. Plato's Closet has a buy-back program as well, though they are notoriously picky about what they buy from you. The clothing they do not buy, you can leave with them to be donated.

Shop Second Hand 

This one is obvious. Shopping previously loved items is a great way to find items for cheap and to support clothing recycling. Thrift stores are great places to look for both staples and fun accessory pieces. Second hand could also mean shopping Mom’s and Friend’s closets, or checking out some of the sites mentioned above. I personally have had some great finds on Vinted, and they allow you to shop by specific brands and styles.  

Utilize Take Back Companies 

The company For Days now offers what they call the “Take Back Bag”. You purchase the bag from their website and fill it with clothes you are getting rid of. In return, you are issued credits to shop their online store. Check out the take back bag here. This is a great low-cost (virtually free) way to get some new pieces in your wardrobe in exchange for your old ones. 

Re-Vamp Old Pieces 

Another option if you are looking to introduce some flare to your wardrobe is to embellish things you already have to bring them back to life. There are a plethora of ways you could do this and chances are if you don't know how to sew, someone you know does. Editing pieces you already own to better suit your style is the perfect affordable way to expand your wardrobe and create pieces that are tailored specifically to better fit your style. Examples of this include cropping and hemming shirts at a length that better suits your build, embroidering a design on them, distressing old jeans, turning old pants into shorts, dyeing clothes you don’t like the color of, and even adding some lace or trim. When in doubt, turn to social media for some inspiration. 

While it's perfectly normal to want to change up your wardrobe, there are plenty of ways to do it sustainably and on a budget. At the end of the day, the most eco-friendly and affordable thing you can do is work with what you already have, or find pieces that have already been in circulation. Bookmark this post for the next time you need some inspiration, and check out some of our other atricles about how to live more eco-friendly.