Now that winter-ready clothes are lining stores, you might feel a certain urge to burn everything you currently own and replace it all with the shiny new stuff filling the racks of your favorite stores. Well, don’t do that.
Sure, buying things feels great and there’s scientific proof that retail therapy actually works in providing endorphins to the brain that keep that underlying sense of emptiness and nihilism at bay. However, most of us aren’t actually as balling as we’d like to be, and the last thing you want is to end up with buyer’s remorse and empty pockets.
Before you spend all your monies on jawnz, consider these money-saving tips that’ll leave you with enough extra cash for the holidays, while still looking steezy:
Shop Inside Your Closet
First things first, clear out your lightweight gear and store it so you can bust out the heavy-duty winter stuff. In the process, you might rediscover a few hoodies, sweaters or a jacket you got a while back and haven’t worn as much as you’d have liked.
Take the opportunity to re-prioritize wearing the neglected stuff in your wardrobe, or decide to donate or sell it. That way, you’ll have more space (and maybe some spare cash) for new purchases this season.
Refresh Old Stuff
Got an old pair of jeans or chinos that you’re tired of? Consider chopping off the hems for a frayed, cropped look, giving them a new lease on life for the season.
Old jackets of the denim or military variety can be remixed in a relevant way with patches, or even graphics from T-shirts with designs you admire but hardly ever wear. Any tailor will be able to turn a good graphic tee into a sick back rocker for a denim jacket.
Old kicks can be rejuvenated courtesy of sneaker cleaning products like Jason Markk that’ll leave them looking fresh as ever, or consider switching out the laces to give them a new look, too.
Sell What You Don’t Want
Services like Grailed, Depop and eBay are great ways to sell off gently used designer garms so you’ll have some extra cash to spend copping new stuff on the racks.
Meanwhile, local consignment stores or shops in the vein of Beacon’s Closet or Buffalo Exchange will buy your old clothes and pay you in cash. You may not get as much as you would off of a resale site, but hey, it’s better than nothing.
Resale Sites Are Your Friend
Speaking of Grailed, the rise of “re-commerce” sites is a boon to price-conscious discerning consumers. You can readily scoop everything from cult brands like Cav Empt and Supreme to high-end designers like Raf Simons, UNDERCOVER and Dries Van Noten for much lower than retail on these types of platforms.
Just be wary of seller feedback, look at photos carefully and always check measurements to ensure a good fit. Most of these sites are filled to the brim with past and current-season goods ready to be copped, once you get past the initial wave of resale products that have been marked up.
Use Coupon Codes
A cursory Google search can reap benefits when it comes to big retailers, who eagerly dole out coupon codes on the regular.
In fact, there’s a Chrome extension called Honey that automatically searches for and applies relevant coupon codes to many sites. Adding it to your browser ensures you’re always getting the best deal possible.
Trade Jawnz With Your Homies
If you’re fortunate enough to have a stylish circle of friends, consider planning a meet-up to swap old gear from each other’s closets. One man’s forgotten garms are another man’s come-up.
It’s a free way to trade grails with people you trust, plus it provides the opportunity to put your friends onto obscure brands they might not know about.
Get the “Real Thing” On the Low
Military surplus and vintage stores are rife with the kind of jackets, pants and standard-issue knitwear that has long served as the inspiration for high-end pieces. Instead of splurging on a high-end BDU shirt or fishtail parka, why not get an authentic version for much cheaper?
Plenty of surplus gear is still manufactured by countries like Canada, Germany and the United States, and most of it doesn’t break the bank. Plus, mixing “real” army gear into a designer wardrobe channels the whole “high/low” trend in an accessible way.
Take “Cost-Per-Wear” Into Account
Before you splurge on something, whether it’s a coat or a pair of sneakers, really consider how often you’ll rock it. The notion of “cost-per-wear” posits that the more use you get out of something, the more it proves its value over time.
So, a $350 coat you won’t wear as often as a $500 coat seems like a bad investment from that perspective. As a good rule-of-thumb, just imagine what stuff you already own that you could rock a new piece with before you cop it. That’s a pretty good indicator of whether it’s going to mostly live on your body or waste away in your closet.
Don’t Get Gassed By Fast Fashion
Affordable fast-fashion retailers like Zara, H&M and Uniqlo are great for low-priced basics and accessibly-priced reinterpretations of fire jawnz, but don’t let that fool you into thinking you’re getting something you’re gonna wear forever.
Sure, collabs like H&M’s recent collection with KENZO offer fashionable pieces for less than the true blue versions, but once you stock up on a few pieces from the collection, you’re already well within the price range of the actual designer collection.
Plenty of these retailers are priced low to entice you to buy more, but to really get the most out of your money, you should focus on buying less things that are of higher quality, and feel more special to you. That way, you’ll end up with a closet full of gems that each get the attention they deserve.
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lllustrations:
Dan Freebairn