How to Change Your Style Without Buying New Clothes
Do you want a new style without the costs of buying a new wardrobe? There are plenty of ways you can refresh your closet and the clothes you already own to get a new style without needing to spend anything. While saving money, you can help the environment by keeping and reusing your clothes instead of replacing your pieces every time there's a new trend.
Clothing and fashion can boost your confidence, so there's no reason you shouldn't want to switch things up every once in a while. But it can be hard to know how to improve your style if you don't have the budget for new pieces. This article will cover some simple and free ways you can improve your style without buying new clothes. You'll also learn some new ways you can get a little more creative with your clothes and accessories to make the most of your current wardrobe.
9 Steps to Improve Your Style Without Buying New Clothes
New, high-quality clothing can be a pricey investment. No one will deny that. With the culture of fast fashion, options are not always sustainable or ethical, either. But sometimes a new look can give you greater confidence or help you better represent your personality.
The good news is you don't always have to spend money to change up your look. Here are some straightforward steps you can take to change your style without spending anything and potentially without even leaving the comfort of your house:
1. Put All Your Clothes in One Place
It can be hard to remember every piece of clothing that you own, especially if you tend to wear the same outfits on repeat. A great way to change your style without needing to buy new clothes is to shop from your own closet. The first step to doing this is to pull every single piece of clothing into one spot so you can see it all at once.
2. Look at Your Clothes
Now that you have your clothes all in one spot, you'll be able to notice if you have repeat items or similarly styled pieces. If you have any duplicates in either style or pattern, set them aside. Unless you have a reason to keep more than one of the same piece, donate these items. This will clear up space in your closet and will make it easier to see your other options when choosing outfits, rather than always reaching for what you normally wear.
Similarly, if there are any pieces that you don't wear often or don't want to wear any more, donate them. You can also set aside pieces you want to keep but think need a little extra help. For example, if you like a shirt but don't like the sleeves, you could cut them off and have a new shirt that you'd wear more often. Restyling items you already have is an easy way to feel like you have a new wardrobe.
3. Pair Up Outfits You Normally Wear
Set aside outfits you typically wear for a better idea of your current style. For example, if you normally wear a green tee with a pair of jeans, that is an outfit you would pair up. This will show you what you're already doing so you know what to try and avoid to truly create that sense of a new style.
4. Try Pairing the Clothing in Different Pairs Than the Usual
Here, you can separate the pieces that you paired in the previous step and match them into new outfits. Remember to include your shoes, jewelry and other accessories here. Adding in accessories can really escalate an outfit and make your style seem brand new. Similarly, you could change up your makeup look as well by adjusting your lip gloss, eye shadow, lipstick or blush colors to make an outfit pop.
5. Get Creative
Even if you don't see yourself as a creative person, you can still make small changes to add new life into old clothing items. Change a top by splattering different colors of fabric paint across it, or add some iron-on patches to an out-of-style jacket. You can even simply clean old jewelry to make them look like new again. If you have sewing abilities, you could also alter clothes using free patterns online or your imagination. You could also take clothes to a seamstress or a tailor if you want to adjust a piece but don't have the skills to do it.
7. Clean the Rest of Your Closet
You'll want to dust and remove any extra items remaining in your closet. Keep the space as open as possible so you're more likely to look for different options rather than the same outfits over and over again. It'll also encourage you to look at your closet more, making it easier to change your style.
8. Organize Your Clothes in the Closet
Keep different items in their own sections to make it easier to find pieces and create outfits. Designate a specific area for T-shirts, blouses, skirts, jeans and jackets. You can even try to put them into color order in their individual sections to make it easier to find the exact item you want.
9. Step Back and Enjoy Your New Outfits
Now you'll be able to see everything that you own, find specific items easily and create outfits that give you a sense of a new style without buying any new clothes. Before you step into your closet to choose an outfit, remind yourself to try something to new. This small reminder can help you avoid reaching for the same pieces over again.
4 More Ways to Change Your Style Without Spending Money
Now that you have this newly organized and clean closet space, you may still feel a little stumped on how exactly to make outfits that show a new style. Here are some tips on how you can create new outfits that stand out from your current style.
1. Wear It a Little Differently
If you want to ease into a new style, take your usual outfit and change it just a little. Try tying up your shirt or cuffing the sleeves. Or add a jacket over top. Grab a different pair of shoes. These are small changes that can boost an outfit and make it more interesting while still reflecting your personality.
2. Add Accessories
Accessories can take an outfit to new levels, depending on how you wear them. Take your outfit from boring to trendy to stylish. It can take time to get used to using accessories if it's not part of your typical routine. Don't get discouraged if it takes you some time to get used to it. Try out different accessories to find the ones you like the most, from handbags to necklaces to earrings.
3. Be Bold
Fashion is all about breaking the rules and wearing what you want and what feels true to you. Don't be afraid to be bold by pairing up different prints, patterns and colors. Try combining floral prints with stripes. Or mix animal prints. Also, don't limit your pieces to situations or seasons. You can always dress up or dress down a piece. There's no reason the top you wear to the club can't also be worn to brunch. It all depends on how you style it. If an outfit makes you feel good, that's all that matters.
4. Be Confident
Whatever is in your closet and whatever you choose to wear, own it. Confidence is always the best accessory to any outfit. If you're confident, it will show, and it will make your outfit look better to you and others.
5 Creative Style Change Ideas
Maybe you're feeling great about all the new possibilities with your closet. Maybe you want just a little more guidance. Either way, here are some extra ideas to spice up your wardrobe and create a new style without buying anything. These options are just a little more on the creative side:
1. Swap With a Friend
Swapping pieces with friends is a great way to change your style and get new pieces without spending a dime. You can also work alongside your friend when cleaning out your closets. Over time, you can keep each other motivated to try new things instead of sticking to the same pieces.
Your friend might have a piece they never wear but you love and vice versa. Having a fashion show together is another fun way to discover new outfits. And no need to limit this to only one other friend. Maybe you have a group of people who all want to join in— have a swap party! After you find new outfits, everyone could have a night out together in their new ensembles.
2. Dye It
Dyeing clothes is a great way to change up a piece you like that needs a little extra pizzazz. Most pharmacies and craft stores carry an array of fabric paints and dyes at low costs. You can dye an old piece a new color. Or create a new pattern on an item with various dyes, like ombre or speckled.
In general, clothes work better when moving from light to dark with dye. Colors pop the most when dyed on a white base. Unique pieces are the center of fashion, so why not create your own?
3. Look to the Movies
Watch a newly released film and take note of the little touches on the outfits for inspiration. Notice collars, accessories and the way items are paired. Find similar pieces in your wardrobe and recreate the outfit. Don't be afraid to add your own spin to it as well!
4. Challenge Yourself
As you discover your new style, try to follow some challenges, like the 30 in 30 challenge. In this challenge, you pick 30 different articles of clothing from your closet and mix and match them for 30 days. You take a picture every day as well. This challenge forces you to plan. Otherwise, you may run out of combinations. When you complete the challenge, you'll have the photos you took each day to use as inspiration.
You can repeat the looks in the future or find different ways to style them. You'll learn the challenges of styling, and you will feel more confident about creating varying matches rather than falling back into the pattern of choosing the same pairings.
5. Make a Capsule Wardrobe
This option is very similar to the previous one. A capsule wardrobe is a small selection of clothes that you can mix and match in creative combinations. It limits your clothing to a specific number of items. There are plenty of online guides that tell you exactly what you can keep in your capsule.
Getting dressed in the morning will be faster and less stressful since you'll have less options than normal. You'll also be able to keep your closet cleaner and better organized. You can try a capsule wardrobe just as a challenge or even make it a permanent change. Plenty of people live by capsule wardrobes.
Check Out Perfectly Priscilla for More Styling Tips
Follow these tips, and you'll be able to change your style without buying new clothes, saving money and making a positive impact on the environment at the same time.
If you're still not feeling confident on being able to change your style, start slow. Pick one item and work with it. For example, take one shirt and try on different types of bottoms, jackets and accessories with it. Small changes like these can make a big difference. Wearing leather pants with a top is a completely different look than wearing jeans and cowboy boots with it. One woman even went as far as wearing one dress the entire year with different unique styles everyday simply by changing the accessories. While trying to change your style, don't be afraid to work outside your comfort zone. You might love it once you put it on and wear it out!
If you've gone through the steps above and still feel like you need an extra item or two to really change your style, check out Perfectly Priscilla. We have an online boutique that offers a wide array of clothing choices for plus-size women. As a boutique, we don't limit our product to one style, so you can find any pieces you feel are missing from your closet to really boost your wardrobe.
We offer a program called Curvy Cash, where you can earn points while you shop that help you save money on future purchases. Just by joining the program, you'll automatically receive a $5 bonus! You can complete tasks like following Perfectly Priscilla on their social media pages and receive Curvy Cash for your birthday.
Perfectly Priscilla is designed to offer fashionable and affordable clothes to women in the plus-size categories that aren't always catered to in chain stores and other boutiques. Check out their website and learn more about how they can help up your style game.
