There a million articles out there on how to look expensive on
a budget, how to look elegant on a budget. While they offer great advice that I
also use, this article will expand further on those ideas giving you insider
tricks you have not heard before and at the end of the article I will share my
ultimate tip to look elegant and expensive on a budget. read the article till
the end for my ultimate trick.
1. The Neutral Wardrobe
Starting
with probably the most popular advice which is to wear neutral colors. This
is great advice, I also have a very neutral base for my wardrobe, however,
I also have pops of red, pinks and peaches in my wardrobe because I find
that those colors make me pop, they truly make me sparkle. For example,
red is my favorite color to wear because when I wear red, my face
instantly looks brighter, my eyes look brighter, my teeth look brighter,
my skin glows differently and I just look healthy. My advice would be to
find colors that make you pop, colors that make you sparkle and sprinkle
those colors into your wardrobe. I love this trick because looking
expensive and elegant is all about looking your best without looking like
you tried very hard. It’s a very subtle thing that kind of becomes your
essence in a sense. Having colors that make you sparkle will instantly
make you look like you are just elegant and expensive effortlessly without
trying. The try hard look is not elegant or expensive.
2. Tailoring
Another
popular advice is tailoring your clothes. This is again great advice that
I also follow but there is one thing that I have been doing that helps me
save money from tailoring which is shopping for clothing that are optimal
for my body type. For example, I am an hourglass which technically means
that I can pretty much wear anything that I want, but I am very petite, 5’3
with long legs and a short torso along with curves. I usually go for garments
that are already tailored and structured in cut like the red blazer below. I also love a feminine silhouette,
so I go for garments that cinches in at the waist and flares out at the
bottom. Finally I love bodycon dresses and pencil skirts to play up my
curves. My advice would be to figure out your body type and shop clothing
that will accentuate your best features. There are times when you will
absolutely need a tailor for certain pieces but shopping for garments that
are optimal for your body type and will save you time and money from tailoring.
3. Expensive Looking Fabrics, Fibers and Materials
Another
popular advice is to train your eyes for expensive looking fabrics in your
garments and accessories, the stitching and craftsmanship. The rule of
thumb for me is to look for fabrics and materials that look closely
related to natural fibers and materials. When shopping on the high street
at stores like Zara, And Other Stories, Topshop, etc. I look for materials
that look like leather, wool, silk, cashmere, cotton, linen, chiffon which
is a made from cotton or silk.
4. Shopping Preloved Fashion
Another
popular advice is to shop preloved fashion. This is again great advice
that I also follow. My favorite trick when shopping pre loved at thrift
stores or consignment stores is to shop in affluent neighborhoods where
people who have money live because those are the people who will most
likely donate to those stores or sell to the consignment store. The likelihood
of finding something that is expensive or looks expensive is higher in
those neighborhoods.
5. Fashion Maintenance
One
of my favorite tricks is to take care of my clothing and accessories. Doing
things like ironing your clothes adds to your expensive, effortless and
elegant look. One of my favorite tricks to take care of garments that I
buy from high street stores like Zara is to wash them and air dry them.
Airdrying helps tremendously with high street fashion because some of the
garments tend to shrink. Airdrying helps prevent shrinkage. You can end up
wearing something that you would otherwise wear a couple of times longer. It
is one of my favorite secret tricks.
6. Mixing Highs and Lows
7. Grooming
Now
that you have all the elegant and expensive garment looking wardrobe, let’s
discuss grooming. Grooming is a very important part of looking elegant and
expensive on a budget. I would honestly say if you have to choose where to
spend your money if you are on a very tight budget it should be your
grooming. Things like your hair, nails and skin should always look good. Skipping
grooming is a big mistake, it’s truly a waste of your time to put so much
effort into your outfit but have chipped nails, ashy skin and bad hair.
Believe me I made those mistakes in the past which is why I think it is
very important to add this into the list. To save money on your grooming,
you can DIY a lot of it. You can learn how to do your nails, hair and take
care of your skin on YouTube, You might be interested in my
skincare for healthy and glowing skin video.
8. Smelling Good
Smelling
good – You can have an expensive and elegant looking outfit with nice hair,
nice nails and healthy glowing skin but if you smell bad, it throws your
work in the garbage because you will not be perceived expensive or
elegant. Again you do not have to spend a lot of money here. I have a
video coming up, "How to Smell Expensive on a Budget." I am very excited to
share this video because I have a
huge secret to share with you in that video that will save you so much
money on fragrances. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on the notification bell to be
notified when I upload that video. You can also DIY your perfume.
Perfuming is a very feminine hobby that I want to try this year. You can
even use perfume oils but make sure you always smell good.
9. Renting Designer Fashion
My
ultimate trick to look expensive and elegant on a budget is to rent my
fashion. I am speaking about renting designer garments and accessories. I
use a rental service called Rent the Runway. I am obsessed with this
service and believe renting fashion should be the next big wave in fashion
because not only does it help us save money from buying clothes, it helps
us to have more space in our closets it is also a more sustainable
approach for the environment. Instead of having to buy fashion and get rid
of them, we can rent it, a million other people can use the same items
with having to get rid of it. I think that is genius. There are websites
that also rent high end designer bags, I am talking about Hermes, Chanel,
etc. Yes there is a fee attached to these services but it is a lot cheaper
than buying for me. I think this is a personal choice and you might want to
do the math to see if you save more renting v. buying.
