When I started to go through my closet in order to organize my wardrobe, I realized I had many items I just didn't wear any longer as well as things I had put in a pile to give away. That’s when it occurred to me to try and work with what I already owned knowing I wanted to spend as little as possible to get my wardrobe situated. Here are six ways I cheaply spruced up my wardrobe.
- I tried on all of my trousers to make sure they all fit and I found that half of them didn’t. So instead of buying new trousers, I took the ones that didn’t fit to a tailor. Having a pair of pants tailored is far cheaper than buying a new pair, not to mention you don’t have to spend the time shopping for new ones. Having the waist brought in or the seat let out should cost between $10 and $25 depending how much work is being done.
- Another thing I did was to have a couple pairs of shoes repaired and polished. The soles were coming off of one pair and the other needed a good polish and new laces. This was a much cheaper route than buying new shoes and the bonus is that I don’t have to break in a new pair of shoes.
- I am a big fan of sweaters no matter what the season. And since I wear them quite often they tend to get worn looking rather quickly. Some of my sweaters had a few holes in them at the elbows and seams and others had a bad case of pilling. So I hand washed my old sweaters (you can dry clean also) and de-pilled them by hand. The sweaters with holes I had mended by my mother (you also can ask a quality retailer who they would use). I have to admit I was rather surprised how nicely they came out and I feel like I just got new sweaters. After all, I liked them when I bought them and still do.
- I evaluated my current wardrobe and thought about what I needed the most. I chose to buy just a few new pieces that will easily coordinate with what I already have. For me it was a new pair of black dress shoes and couple of new dress shirts to wear to the office. My advice is to just make sure it works with what you currently own. A few new things can really freshen up your existing wardrobe.
- A really simple thing to do is to have an old suit or sport coat dry cleaned and/or pressed. You can also have a sport coat that doesn’t quite fit tailored by taking in or letting it out so you can wear it again. I did this to a sport jacket I bought years ago and am thrilled.
- And lastly, a great thing to do is to consign or sell old items and use that money to buy something new. I have done this many times. There are consignment shops just about everywhere. You can also sell things on eBay or Craig’s List. And considering these bizarre financial times, it might be wise to sell or consign old things than just give them away.
