How to get clothes for cheap or free.

I’m not very good at some things but one thing I am a master at is getting cheap or free clothes. I’ve had lots of people ask me my secret over the years so I thought I’d finally write a blog explaining my simple tricks.

1. 1. I’m not about the brands, I’m more about the style. I know myself and it doesn’t matter if it’s a “more quality piece” I will only wear it a few times or seasons before I am tired of it. If you are one of the people that care about the brand name you probably wouldn’t appreciate this advice very much. I don’t focus as much on the brand so I spend less money and recycle more clothes to keep up with more current trends. There are more timeless pieces that I will use more often, keep longer, and spend more money on. More on this below.
   2. I purge my closet regularly. When I purge my closet I get rid of a ton of stuff (typically a few times a season) and I take the clothes I no longer want to be sold so that I can make money to fund the newer pieces I want. I recently got rid of this bin full of clothes.With that money I went and bought this skirt, shirt and a new pair of jeans. The jeans were more expensive but I know I will wear them all the time this season. I found the skirt for $6 and the shirt for $5. I’m going to distress and restyle the shirt in another blog soon.
   3. 
   4. I’ve found reasonable places to shop in. I have my regular “spots” where I know I can go to get a good deal on clothes. Those include certain thrift stores and the clearance sections at stores like Target.
   5. I use the money I make from selling clothes to purchase new items. I normally will make some money when I sell the clothes that I purge at places like Plato’s Closet and Clothes Mentor. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d try selling them on Instagram but I don’t have the time right now. When I make money off of that I use it to go buy a few new pieces that I want for that specific season from my regular spots. I always keep a running list of things I want that are in season that I would like and when I sell items I use the money to buy the stuff that I want.

If you keep buying and selling clothes like this you will be able to have a more minimal closet that’s more up to date. I know it looks like a lot of clothes but these are all of the clothes that I own for summer and winter. I’m trying to get it down to even fewer items. It’s a process ya’ll. Ha!

Heres the before and after of my most recent closet purge.

Before

After

There are the pieces you will keep longer and the “trendier” pieces that will change more regularly. But if you keep recycling and doing this enough you will be able to break even on your purchases. This season I almost broke even because I was able to get rid of so many clothes that I just wasn’t wearing to get money to buy a few newer pieces.

I’d say start by finding the spots that are on the cheaper end of things but their clothes fit your style. I always know that certain shops wouldn’t let me down. They’ve got cute stuff that will fit my body well and are most importantly cheap. Once you find those places, this will help a lot. Next start purging!

Comment below if you’ve got any questions about the process or any thoughts on how you might already be doing something like this. Good luck!