Spring wardrobe makeover
Finally, the weather is warming up. Don’t know about you, but I’m sick of all my winter woollies and am ready for some lighter and brighter fashions. Here’s how I’ve revamped my wardrobe for spring without spending too much. I’ve done this in five quick steps:
- Pick a look
- Wardrobe tidy and organise
- Accessories declutter
- Jewellery declutter
- A little shopping (including this week’s hottest deals and offers)
Picking a look
I’ve written extensively about capsule wardrobes before – they work well with a little thought and planning – and I’ve gone with a fairly relaxed mix and match look for day to day wear (see below). As it isn’t exactly high summer, this needs to be medium weight dresses, skirts, jeans and jackets, with a few interesting tops and lighter knits. Choosing an overall theme helps to pull a coherent look together more easily using fewer pieces, and also helps curb the urge to overspend.
Wardrobe tidy and organise
As I’d already sorted out my shoes and boots during my March spring clean, I only needed to sort out the clothes. The thickest winter knits and coats have been put away, which makes more room to see what’s actually in the wardrobe. This time round I’ve also grouped items of clothing by colour, and so far it does seem to save a fair amount of time and makes coordinating outfits easier.
After that, I made a note of useful items I thought my capsule wardrobe was missing (mostly long sleeved tops), and moved a few items into the ironing and mending piles downstairs. Things that don’t fit with the capsule wardrobe have been given to charity, put up for sale on eBay, or moved out of the main wardrobe into easy access storage to make room.
Accessories declutter
In particular I’ve gone through all my scarves, belts and bags. The scarves have all been put through a delicates wash to freshen them up, and the belts and bags have been checked and cleaned. A few things were put away for the summer, and I made a note of new things I wanted to buy. It’s worth spending some extra time hunting down great accessories: they’re an easy way to pull outfits together more stylishly, and give plainer items of clothing a fresh new look.
Jewellery declutter
Like accessories, I don’t tend to throw jewellery away. However, I did have a good think about what will go best with my clothes this season, both plainer pieces for busier outfits, and more eye-catching ones for plainer clothing. I’ve cleaned and mended anything that wasn’t at its best, and put the things I’m most likely to use at the top of the jewellery box so they can be reached more easily.
I also bought a string of turquoise coloured beads and a small second-hand turquoise pendant on eBay for casual wear. It came to less than £10 all in, including postage.
Now, on to the shopping…
By now I had a very good idea of what was missing from my wardrobe, so I made a shopping list and was pretty strict with myself. At this time of year it’s all too easy to get caught up in sale fever and summery over-optimism, and I wanted to get the most out of my budget. The best part of what I wanted was clothes for the weekends, informal stuff that was a bit of fun, plus some jersey basics that could be layered and dressed up or down.
I’ve had quite a bit of luck with the Dress For Less website, including a Converse sweatshirt (2. £21.90) and a blue and grey scarf (1. £5.90). I also got £10 off this shopping just for signing up for their newsletter before making my purchase – the voucher arrived via email seconds later and had no minimum spend, so that’s highly recommended.
Then I had a look round the Dorothy Perkins sale (up to 80% off and some good stock), and then scanned through their top rated clothing (as voted by their customers) section which was very handy. That led to me picking up a pair of their indigo bootcut jeggings (3. £23.00) to wear with longline jumpers and tunics at weekends. They contain lots of elastane (not mentioned in their description on the site) and they fit like a dream so no wonder they’ve been getting the good reviews. I promise solemnly never to wear them with the waistband on show, unlike some people do. Also managed to use a 25% discount code, but unfortunately that’s expired. You can still get 10% off by signing up for their newsletter though.
The House of Fraser blue cross sale may have finished, but you can still find pretty much all of the same clothing and discounts in the clearance section. It’s still great for high end tops, shirts and jumpers at bargain prices. I’ve picked up this print blouse (4. £15.00) to wear casually with denim and knits, or smarter with tailoring, and there are plenty of other designs to suit all tastes.
My other favourite finds were some of the online exclusives and jersey basics at Matalan. I managed to pick up a very nice pair of real leather/suede ankle boots for under £40 (5. £38.00), and a couple of plain, lightweight jersey dresses to dress up or down (6. £12.00, various colours). I also managed to get 20% off with a friends and family code, but sadly that’s no longer active.
Honourable mentions also go to the current promotions at USC, Zalando, and the ASOS sale where there are still plenty of gems to be found, and the Pima cotton basics at H&M.
