revive your wardrobe without spending a dime and look stylish

Cute Statement Earrings

One of the things I wanted to be more mindful of this year was my spending habits. In the past, I’ve done a not-so-good job at saving and tended to use shopping as a sort of therapy. If I had a stressful day I always found it therapeutic to go shopping – that was always something I could count on to make me feel good. Well, for the time being anyhow. Then when reality hits and you realize you spent x amount of dollars at the mall and don’t have a whole lot left in your bank account it really has an adverse effect. Now, I am not saying I am giving up shopping all together – clearly (LOL). I mean I do have a fashion blog so that would be really kind of hard. However, I found this year I have been EXTREMELY mindful in what I am purchasing. I’m not just purchasing something because it would make a good Instagram photo (YES – I have done this in the past) and I am also not purchasing items I am going to wear once or twice and then be done with. I want to focus more on purchasing items I can wear over and over again. Because to be honest, most of the items I wear on a regular basis are items that I’ve had for a long time and can always count on.

One way to help me with my mindful spending is to evaluate what I already have and revitalize my current wardrobe. I am sharing some tips on how I did this below, and trust me it must have worked because everything I am wearing here has been worn many times before apart from my jewelry.

How to revive your current wardrobe to make it feel new again:

Clean out your closet – This step is a MUST. It is impossible to make that old top in the back of your closet feel new again if it’s hiding behind piles of clothing. I went through my closet recently and packed up a bunch of sweaters that were taking up shelf and drawer space. I ended up putting them in vacuum seal bags so they can stay safe while in storage. This freed up SO much space in my closet and I ended up finding items that I love but just haven’t even though about wearing because they’ve been buried in the back for so long. Another good tip is if you haven’t worn something in 6 months-1 year then it’s safe to get rid of (unless it’s an item you are saving for a reason. ie; sentimental reasons, designer, etc)

Organize – Once you have all the old stuff out of the way you can go through and organize your clothing in a fashion that makes it easier for you to choose what you want to wear each morning. I like to organize from left to right by jackets, blazers, dresses, white tops, black tops, colored tops, and then more miscellaneous tops all the way on the right (such as bodysuits, cropped shirts, etc).

Try on Session – I like to spend time trying on clothing that you haven’t worn in a while. And now that everything is cleared out and organized it is easy to see what you are working with. Try pairing that cute slip dress with some polka dot tights – cute. Now what shoes? Trying different options will give you ideas to for when you are running out of the house.

Snip, Snip – This is one of my favorite tips as it involves bringing out the scissors. Sometimes you might be over that old pair of jeans in your drawer because they just don’t feel fashionable anymore. Try distressing the knees, cutting off the hem to make it a frayed hem, or even adding a step hem! This is an instance refresh to any old pair of jeans and will keep them current and on trend if you are into that style.

Layer up – I used this trick with the outfit I am wearing in these photos. I’ve had this top for probably about 3-4 years or so and the dress for over a year. Every time I put the dress on I felt like it needed something more which is why I decided to layer this lace top underneath. It gave a whole new look to the dress and the top which makes them both feel fresh and new again.

Try wearing a button up dress as a jacket or layering piece – I have a couple of dresses that button up the front and love the way they look when left unbuttoned and worn over jeans and a cute top.

I hope these ideas have helped. The most important thing I think is to just organize your clothing so you can see what you have. Then you can have fun playing dress up and trying on different outfits to see what looks good together.