Dear Twolia Divas,
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the disposable income of the average American fell by $93.3 billion this past August. At the same time, expenses are rising — personal consumption expenditures increased $3.9 billion the same month. To face these hard times fashionably, I wanted to get you THE best budget shopping tips, so I turned to THE source Kathryn Finney, aka The Budget Fashionista. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the disposable income of the average American fell by $93.3 billion this past August. At the same time, expenses are rising — personal consumption expenditures increased $3.9 billion the same month. Kathryn Finney and the team at The Budget Fashionista, the top fashion blog, have put together the The Economic Survival Guide, a series of articles full of budget tips and tried-and-true economic advice for those dealing with the consequences of the shaky economy. “The Economic Survival Guide helps fellow budget shoppers maintain the same level of fabulousness they had before the financial crash,” said Finney.
According to Kathryn, here’s just a few tips for recession proofing your closet:
1. Develop a Signature Piece. This is the piece you’re going to be known for—sort of like your calling card. It could be fabulous shoes, earrings, blazer, dresses, etc. Focus your shopping dollars on these pieces. My signature piece is crazy necklaces, which I find at thrift stores and stores like Forever 21.
2. Use the Cost per Wear When Shopping. Frequent TBF readers know this is something I’ve been preaching for years. Value is the key when building a great closet and The Budget Fashionista’s cost per wear formula can help you get the most bang for your buck. The cost per wear is the price of an item/divided by the number of times you think you’ll wear it. So if an item costs $100, and you wear it ten times, the cost per wear is $10. The more you wear an item, the cheaper it becomes. This tip is especially important as it forces you to focus on the utility of an item, ie the usefulness of an item to you, rather than just the price. Paying $5 for something you never wear is $5 wasted.
3. Limit Trips to the Dry Cleaners. This is a real money zapper, even for yours truly, until I learned, and this may come as a shock, that you’re only suppose to dry clean your suits two to three times per year and even less for items like coats. So how do you keep it fresh in the meantime? Spritz it with a bit of fabric freshener.
4. Follow the 70/30 Rule. 70 percent of your closet should be classic pieces that never go out of style, a great white shirt from Old Navy or even a nice black suit that you can wear over and over again. The other 30 percent should be fun trendy items like a plaid skirt, funky bomber jacket, or a cool fedora.
For more of Kathryn Finney’s The Economic Survival Guide check out www.thebudgetfashionista.com. You can also take Kathryn’s wisdom with you to go thanks to her best-selling book. This book is not another useless fashion guide – it’s smart, practical and fun just like Kathryn.
Happy Accessorizing!
