Individual Style on a Budget
Here's how to save money, save the planet AND look AMAZING while you do it.
Shop online at WWW.RETROCHICK.CO.UK
Make sure you go to the bottom of this lens for links to some great Amazon books on the topic and more links to some great bargain online shopping sites for stylish vintage and retro clothing
Individual style on a budget
Times are tight and the credit crunch is tightening everyonespurse strings. But we still all love to shop and we all want to look our best,
how do we do it without looking like a high street clone or blowing this weeks
food budget on a must have handbag?
The answer is to shop savvy.
For every skint person looking for that fab new dress there
is a skint person looking to sell their old one, or someone looking to make
some more wardrobe space by donating to charity. You can certainly avoid looking
like a high street clone this way, but with a bit of imagination and a keen
eye you can also make sure you stay on the cutting edge of fashion.

Where can you buy these pre worn and bargain items? Out and
about in your area you're bound to have some specialist vintage clothing stores,
most major cities will have at least one. Quality varies. Some of these will
be dumping grounds for 50 year old junk, but among these you might find the
odd gem. Look for classic styles like 60s shift dresses, 50s circle skirts and
70s jackets.
Specialist vintage stores can sometimes be expensive, so another
place to look is local charity shops. You're more likely to find a super cheap
bargain in the more out of town stores, but city centre shops can still provide
the odd bargain. Look for vintage belts, gloved and shoes, and hidden among
the racks of unwanted rubbish keep an eye on the labels for some bargains. Charity
Shops are an excellent place to look for more recent items, anywhere back to
the 80s, as people clear out their wardrobes and think that no one would possibly
want their old stuff!
If you can't be bothered to trawl the racks at your local
stores then shopping from your own home is the way to go. There are many specialist
vintage sites, but by far the best place to look for a bargain is Ebay. Recent
changes have meant that it's now safer than ever to buy on Ebay,
especially if you use Paypal to pay for
your item.
Each season there are key trends and taking elements of these
to use for your search can produce fruitful results. For spring summer 2008
nautical trends are huge. Searching for nautical on Ebay will produce massive
results, but they will be the same ones everyone else has found and competition
could be fierce. Try searching for Navy Stripes, or Anchor, or just Red and
White could produce some unexpected finds that everyone else has missed.
If you find an Ebay shop that has a lot of items you like remember
that stock updates regularly and they will probably have a newsletter you can
subscribe to to keep updated and ensure you don't miss new bargains. My own
ebay store Retro Chick UK has new
stock being added 2 or 3 times a week, and you never know when the best stuff
will appear. I use a variety of mediums to keep people updated when I add new
stock. My Ebay newsletter can be found HERE
But by far the best way I have of keeping people up to date is my facebook page
Retro Chick on
Facebook
If you like a seller it's likely that they use similar methods
to promote their shop. Check their ABOUT ME page on Ebay for possible links
to websites that they may also sell on, or that may offer other promotional
opportunities such as update emails or discount vouchers.
Remember when searching for vintage and pre owned clothing
that sometimes accessories can make all the difference. A plain red dress can
be made to fit the nautical trend by the addition of a white belt and blue scarf.
Buttons can be changed, hem lines altered and issues like broken zips, missing
beads and ripped seams are often easy to fix but can bring down the price of
a fantastic item to one that is easily affordable!
Finally, if you're on a serious budget then I bet you've got
friends that are too! Get them all round, with their entire wardrobes, drink
wine and swap clothes! Happy Shopping!
We're on the Squidirectory! Squidoo
Directory
Vintage and Retro Fashion Shopping
Add and vote for you favourite sites
Womens Business Suits
Top Quality Womens Suits, Jackets, Trousers, from more...8 points
Lingerie de nuit
David Nieper, l'élégance, la qualité et le char more...7 points
Corporate Clothing
High Quality, extremely durable suits. Internet pr more...6 points
Mens Clothing
New Autumn collection arriving daily. Fantastic se more...6 points
Women Nightwear
David Nieper Classic Ladies Nightwear Designer Fas more...4 points
Ladies Business Suits
New spring collection arriving daily. Fantastic se more...4 points
Corporate Clothing
High Quality, extremely durable suits. Internet pr more...3 points
Mens Suits
New Autumn collection arriving daily. Fantastic se more...2 points
Titanium Jewelry with retro-chic look
TitaniumOnline is the #1 online store for all your more...1 point
Fine Gold and Sivler Jewellery
Find an exquisite collection of fine gold and silv more...1 point
vintage watches | antique jewellery | vintage jewellery | vintage cufflinks
Cufflinks, Jewellery, Watches, Estate, Vintage &am more...1 point
Wedding Planning Checklist
Wedding Planning Checklist are extremely important more...1 point
What to Wear By SuitsMen
What to wear by Suitsmen, talks about tips about m more...1 point
What to Wear By SuitsMen
What to wear by Suitsmen, talks about tips about m more...1 point
Natural Stone
Realstone is one of the largest suppliers of natur more...1 point
Mens Suits
New Autumn collection arriving daily. Fantastic se more...1 point
Retro Chick - Vintage Clothing and Retro Style
Vintage and Retro Bargains0 points
Vintage Style
Clothes jewellery and accessories with a vintage t more...0 points
Kiss My Cherry | Burlesque, Rockabilly and Goth | Hats, Clothing and Accessories - Home
Wedding hats, fascinators, mini toppers, bridal he more...0 points
DollyDagger
Dollydagger. Cool clothes for rock'n'roll chicks. more...0 points
Buttress & Snatch, Home
0 points
Whats Mine Is Yours
Swop and sell your old designer and vintage clothi more...0 points
Vivien of Holloway
Vivien of holloway, Range of 1940s and 1950s repro more...0 points
http://www.modern-age.co.uk/
modern-age vintage clothing, vintage mens, women more...0 points
Vintage Clothing For Sale from the largest vintage clothing store in the world
The Largest on-line Vintage Clothing Store in the more...0 points
Moulin Rouge Fancy Dress
Find the perfect Moulin Rouge Fancy Dress, with th more...0 points
Point of sale software for clothing
Point of Sale Software specifically designed for t more...0 points
Retro Items From Thundercats to Duckula, Tshirts to Retro Kitchen
Relly Good Site That Has everything retro. If you more...0 points
Wedding Rings
Huge selection of wedding rings, diamond wedding r more...0 points
Vintage & Victorian-Style Wedding Favors
Favors with a fashionable eye on the past, that ar more...0 points
What To Wear Personal Stylist & Image Consultant
What to wear personal stylist & image consulta more...0 points
Absolutely Fabulous Colour and Style
Absolutely Fabulous Colour and Style Image Consult more...0 points
How To Dress To Be Fabulous
Getting dressed is easy but looking fabulous is ha more...0 points
Outfits you can wear Knee High Socks with!
Photos that use knee high socks to accessorize the more...0 points
Juicy Couture
Juicy Couture Clothing at WishList. We offer a gre more...0 points
MENS TRENCH COAT
mens trench coat on sale0 points
MENS PEA COAT
this winters mens peacoats0 points
Volcom Clothing
Volcom is a brand recognized world-wide for its yo more...0 points
Retro Chick Online Store
Vintage Clothing & Retro Style
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byVintage fashion titles on Amazon
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Reply
- siennapacific siennapacific Nov 5, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
- I love vintage clothes... It is usually difficult to find cool clothes. Thanks for the tips.
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Reply
- BurlesqueClothing BurlesqueClothing Sep 23, 2008 @ 4:51 am
- Love your lens - I love the fact that you show where to find vintage clothing on a budget. You sure are savvy shoppers.
If you get the chance, check out my Burlesque Clothing blog.
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Reply
- somelikeitvintage somelikeitvintage Aug 3, 2008 @ 12:01 pm
- Great lens! Glad I stopped by.
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Reply
- amandaquerque amandaquerque Apr 21, 2008 @ 7:41 pm
- Another excellent addition to the Vintage Clothing Group
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Reply
- Fiona Phillips Fiona Phillips Apr 17, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
- Love this article. Really useful tips there and love the clothes on your site.
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