Staying Fierce in the Face of Recession: A Gameplan
It’s so hard to keep up with trends when money is in such tight supply. You don’t need me to tell you that the cost of fuel is up. Food is more expensive than ever. And cellphone bills and Internet companies charge you an arm and a leg because they know how much you depend on their services. With this economy, you can’t just run out and buy a pair of YSL shoes because it strikes your fancy…
Okay, I’m complaining. But it’s seriously hard to write about clothes, bags, belts and shoes when you can barely afford the rent! Still, a girl needs clothes. I mean, it’s one of the basic necessities of life: food, clothing and shelter. Right? So this is going to be my strategy as I save money for a house:
- I will reserve a $50 a week budget for clothes I genuinely need. If I discover any wonderful bargains along the way, I will alert you. And I do find bargains all the time, because I’m constantly putting together these “Chic and Cheap” stories for Latina.com.
- Another strategy I will try out is buying more vintage stuff. For $50 you can even get yourself a nice vintage designer bag. I will scour estate sales and yard sales.
- I will go to H&M and Forever 21 at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday, when the store is still empty enough to get in the fitting room.
- I will go forth to Loehman’s and Marshall’s undeterred by sale snobbery. Being frugal takes a little elbow grease!
This week, I’m starting out with this super-cute cream and purple circle skirt from Forever 21 for a meager $19.80. I think I can spare that.
How do you maintain extreme fabulosity in the face of dire budgetary restraints? What is your weekly clothing budget? And how much do you actually end up spending?
–Serena
[…] not very cheap— $10.50! Although, they are cheap enough for my recession clothing budget (after my “broke” post last week, I ended up buying two skirts from Forever 21 that I officially live in—but feel guilty about, […]
[…] I first started writing this column last summer, I limited myself to a $50/week clothing budget, which for me, as a fashion writer, was incredibly restrictive and unreasonable. Yet it was good […]