Not long ago I became a minimalist, soon enough I became obsessed with Buying quality over quantity and started investing in my clothes, accessories, and tools that are durable and luxurious. This post is here to share with you all my way of doing this as well as sharing my wish-list along with things I got from that list.
Know Your style
Before making any decisions about what to buy it's important to know who you are and how you want to express yourself. I always say your style is what lies between what you choose to wear when you have no time to think and the images you pin on your Pinterest board. As they say the wishing world meeting reality sort of. Take notes and make a color palette of what you have and so on. I always like then to make sure I identify whether my style is classic, modern, boho, sporty, feminine...etc. Then start!
Decide on items
Once I knew my style is classic I kept looking for classic staple pieces for inspiration. I also saw celebrities and style icon styles that represent what I want to achieve. For classic closet items like a Trench coat, ballet flats, blazer, turtle necks...etc. started to show many times in my search suggestions. So my next step was to 1st write those pieces down, bearing in mind which of them would fit my lifestyle the best. Then 2nd I started to search what is the best choice to invest in, for example, I look for the best trench coats in terms of quality and resale value...etc.
Go Per Category
When it comes to investing it will be very hard to change your entire closet in a day. We have no money for that we ain't millionaires. Plus it will take ages to search up all categories at once. So what I did was to take them per category. I started with Shoes, then Jackets/Coats. I saw what I need most and gathered my top picks. In the shoes, I checked them with prioritizing winter ones as I was in the middle of winter. So ridings boots, over the knee boots, loafers, black classic heels, nude heels...etc. After the list was written I went on and choose which ones I want. Example: I knew I was Gucci loafers, Christian Louboutin heels, Chanel ballet flats...etc. Then it was time to plan how I will buy these things.
Financial Plan
To know how to plan for buying these no matter how much money you earn monthly you have to start a budgeting plan! I am very new to this so the easiest way was to go to google sheets and get the ready-made monthly budgeting sheet there. From there you start by putting the main expanses and see what's left and you are willing to put in the shopping category. Let's say you earn 1000 then you decide that 10% will go for shopping then monthly you have a 100. So if you want to buy something for 1000 you will save for 10 months this 100. Or you take from something like no eating out and save more to get there in less time.
Where to buy!
I like to be smart here! so 1st of all shopping online is a blessing with coupons every now and then and big sales like Black Friday you can get something very fancy for half price! Outlets, as well as shops like Tk-Maxx and Tj-Maxx, can have great finds. I got my T3 blow dryer for 69 euros instead of the full price of 250 euros! So be smart and patient and wait till you find the item you want at the best price. An app like Shoptager can help you a lot to notify you when something is reduced. Saving your eBay searches to be notified when something pops up in the second-hand department! Saving coupon codes for the right times! Waiting for traveling to somewhere to get the item with Tax-free, or from the duty-free. All this counts to help you get the item without the full price which you will need when you are like me on a student budget.
The day I saw Vestiare Collective I fell in love!! I now check what I want there all the time! I bought 9 items from my list already from there in a month that's how much it helped me create the closet of my dreams. Also checking Facebook Market place helps sometimes, I got my GHD flat iron there second hand like new for 50 euros! so also check there. I like also to try and offer the sellers a low price and negotiate until I reach a mid-price range.
Learn to Compromise
To make it happen I learned to compromise. The model you want maybe is too high in price so picking rather several options until you find the perfect match for the price. Also, the price per performance is important I make sure if the top of the list is over the knee-high heels boots I will get the flat ones to be able to walk in them and wear them more often. I would opt for a 7cm heel instead of a 10cm to be able to wear it on semi-formal occasions as well as fancy dinners. Have a couple of colors, for example, I want a Balmain Blazer I left it open whether I get black, navy, beige, or white to be able to score one in the least price. So have options and be open.
Top sites to shop for luxury
Vestiaire Collective / Farfetch / Mytheresa / Engelhorn / Net-A-Porter
MatchesFashion / luisaviaroma / The Outnet / TheRealReal / Moda Operandi
Shop My Wishlist
Founded this Blog to create content, for women who like to elevate their lifestyle by living a more meaningful and elegant life, through helpful youtube videos, thoughtful blog posts, and an inspiring Instagram feed.
