12 Ways To Build A Wardrobe On A Budget

It's hard to build a wardrobe that consists of all the trendy pieces every season. Not all of us have the freedom or the desire to spend a lot of money on our clothes every season change. Thankfully, there are a few ways to build up your wardrobe in a budget friendly way. Here are 12 simple ways to build up your wardrobe to work for your wallet and your confidence.

1. CAPSULE WARDROBE: Build up your capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is basically different pieces in your closet that are basic, timeless pieces that you can take with you through each of the seasons, for years to come. A good example of these pieces would be white tees and black tees, black leather jackets, denim jackets, white sneakers, solid colored dresses, band tees, silk scarves (see my blog post on silk scarves here), a pair of nude flats, a little black dress, etc. These items are going to be great layering pieces and all the pieces that have really stood the test of time. Your wardrobe should have all the classic pieces that you really just replace every few years or as needed. This is the backbone of it all and most people already have these items in their closet already.

2. THRIFT AND CONSIGNMENT: The obvious option would be thrift stores and consignment stores. I am no thrifting master. This is something I really want to dive into a little more but from my experiences, you can find the most versatile pieces for so cheap and the best part they are usually some of the most quality items. It's honestly a win win. People give their old clothes to consignment and thrift not knowing there are so many hidden gems that you can be repurposed into something amazing. All trends have a way of circling back around after all. The key is to find the best consignment and thrift stores in your area and really take the time to go up and down the aisles. Recently, I found this purple lululemon workout top for $6, a few Nike tops at around $6-9 a piece, and this multicolored Madewell shirt for $8. That is a steal.

3. AFFILIATE LINKS AND DISCOUNT CODES: There are many influencers and bloggers (like myself) that work with a myriad of different stores that give us discount codes and affiliate links for our followers. Take advantage of these! You get discounts that other people may not have if they didn't follow us. Not to mention, when you shop these links and use these codes you are helping bloggers and influencers and their small businesses! Typically, we get a small commission when you shop through our links or use our codes. We work really hard to find you great deals and provide all the tips and tricks and we are so happy to do so! We really appreciate when you support and take advantage of all our hard work. All of my finds are linked through my Liketoknow.it found on any page of my website or there are a few codes on my HOME page. It's truly a win- win for everyone.

4. SALES RACKS: This seems like a super obvious thing but I don't know if it's emphasized enough! Almost every store I have ever been to has pretty hefty sales racks. I have found some amazing deals just sifting through the racks. When the clothes on the sales rack are gearing up for seasons change, I look for pieces that I might be able to buy and wear the next season. I'm not really one to always have all the trendy things. I really just pick the things I like and I wear them and I tweak them so don't worry about it potentially being out of style for the next season. If you like it and it's a good price GRAB IT! I found some of the new designer dresses from Target on the sales rack for $15/ piece. They were originally $50-$60! They are so cute, bold, and extra. I love them so much! Workout clothes are the best on the sales racks because they aren't really seasonal just discounted and awesome.

5. BIG YEARLY SALES: There are a few times a year that a ton of stores have HUGE sales. They literally happen every year and have some of the cutest items at highly discounted rates. The best time to find these sales are around certain holidays. New Years, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, basically the entire month of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and of course Black Friday. These are the sales that you look for a statement piece, quality pieces, investment pieces, things you will get a lot of wear out of. These sales allow you to purchase the larger ticket items at more affordable prices. These sales are the best ones to save up for since you know they are coming and really go on a shopping spree. Then you stock your entire wardrobe all at once and for good prices! Say goodbye to impulse buy!

6. POPULAR INEXPENSIVE STORES: Look, a lot of really well-known stores are catching on to our needs and they are delivering. Stores like Walmart, Target, Old Navy, Amazon, Nordstrom Rack, Forever 21 are GREAT places to find affordable clothing all year round. These stores always carry the pieces that belong in your capsule wardrobe and they're VERY inexpensive. I recently bought a really cute pocketed black tank top at Walmart for $6 and they had every other color you could think of. I found an adorable jumper at Old Navy that I was able to style a few different ways. They were having a good sale so it was so so affordable. Target is always adding Target Circle Offers on their app to get extra discounts on clothes at various times. I found this white floral dress at Walmart for $15 that I will probably wear for a few years. The workout shorts I found at Walmart are a whopping $10. You just can't beat that.

7. SWAP CLOTHES WITH FRIENDS: This is one of my favorites! If you have a good group of friends, SWAP CLOTHES. Even if you're borrowing for a short time and not trading for good. This is a free and easy way to diversify your wardrobe. There are also clothes swapping groups on MeetUp, Facebook, and even Instagram. The difficulty in this is you may not always be the same size as your friends, but most accessories fit all! Even the smallest accessory change can give a wardrobe new life. What a unique way to meet friends and grab some new clothes!

8. ROLL THE DICE: This is a really fun way to give your mind and wardrobe a refresh. Grab 6 of your tops or dresses, 6 bottoms, 6 pairs of shoes, and 6 accessories. Label each item 1-6 in each category. Start rolling your dice for each category and grab the item that corresponds with the die. At the end you should one top/dress, one bottom, one accessory, and one pair of shoes.... and BAM there is your outfit. This allows you to see other possibilities in your wardrobe. you'll end up pairing pieces together that you would have never paired before. It's so fun and a free way to change up your outfits.

9. BUY VERSATILE PIECES: It's really wise to buy pieces that can be worn in many different ways. This is a awesome way to make your wardrobe feel like it's much bigger and more diverse when you can use one article of clothing a make many outfits out of it. This really cute Old Navy jumper is not only great for a casual brunch but add a designer dupe belt, some heels, and a leather jacket and you can head straight to the office or out for drinks.

10. SELL OLD CLOTHES: There are a number of consignment shops around the country that would gladly buy your gently used clothes. When you are feeling like you need a wardrobe reset go through you clothes and try to find the in-season ones to part with. The probability of a shop buying your clothes is much higher when they can turn around and sell your clothes right away. Typically when a store buys your clothes they will give you more for them if you opt in for store credit opposed to cash. Take that store credit and grab yourself some new digs.

11. BUY DIFFERENT COLORS OF THE SAME ITEM: When you find a great item that you love and it comes in multiple colors, grab them. There is nothing worse that buying clothes that you don't love. It's a complete waste of money so when you do find the clothes you're obsessed with just take advantage. When you buy multiple colors of the same item you can easily create tons of outfits that all look different even though some of the contents are very similar. This sounds really boring but if you have multiple colors you can pair them with different tops and bottoms that wouldn't normally match with just one color.

12. DOWNLOAD STORE APPS: Technology is both a curse and a blessing but when you're shopping frugally, it's your best friend. All major stores have apps and reward programs you can join. The Target app has tons of sales that you can only get when you use the app. There are also tons of promotions that you can access through apps or emails. Sometimes they can be annoying, I will admit. However, I have really scored some sweet deals by opting in. If you get too many emails or notifications just delete them and wait for the ones that are worth your while! It's worth it when you're looking for a deal.

Well friends. This was fun. Go out there and score some deals and send me a message with any of the deals you find. I wanna see, girlfriend! Happy shopping!