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

Another one of my favorite tricks is to mix highs and lows. I love designer accessories. When you are finished reading this article, you can check out my recent YouTube video where I shared 5 tips and tricks to save money when buying designer fashion. I like to splurge on designer accessories to elevate my high street fashion finds.

 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.