Quality clothing on a budget - Part 2

Building a quality wardrobe on the cheap

Look to build a wardrobe of a few quality basics you can mix, match and accessorize. Using belts, shoes, bags and scarfs to make up many stylish looks. They don't have to be expensive. Look for them in thrift and consignment shops and on sales and specials in regular shops. You don't have to build your wardrobe overnight. Do it as you can afford and find quality replacements. When you replace your old clothes you can sell them (and recoup some of the cost of your quality clothes) at a consignment store or yard sale or donate them to charity.

This site will help you start thinking about how to mix and match as will this one .

Some basics for women to mix and match include: blue jeans, black trousers, a white cotton blouse. Black tops, skirts and pants. Suite 101's recommendation of a basic womens wardrobe comes with the good advice - that if you want to buy fashionable clothes that will go out of date next season choose just a few cheaper ones. About.com has a video with general tips on building a wardrobe.

And here is video guide to mixing and matching a basic woman's wardrobe. Check out the other videos in the series - on the same page - for good hints on other aspects on frugally buying clothes.

For men some basics include:

Tops - A white, cotton shirt. A V-neck sweater of Merino wool or cashmere. White T-shirt's to go under shirts and sweaters. It protects your tops from sweat and deodorant stains.

Pants - Dress pants, standard black or navy blue, a pair of khakis and a pair of blue jeans.

More on Mens wardrobe basics here.

For advice specific to men this site is loaded with useful tips. Bring out the metrosexual in you!

Quality clothing on a budget - Part 1

Mixing and Matching.

Ever look into a wardrobe stuffed with cheap clashing clothes and think, I have nothing to wear? Part of the reason for this is you may have so many clothes cluttering up your storage space you can't find the good ones. Part maybe that your clothes that were fashionable last season look dated now, and part maybe that when you bought your clothes you thought “wow that's so cute and it's 30% off!”instead of what went with what.

Take some time and go over your entire wardrobe, trying on all your clothes to see if they fit, what they look like on you now and how well they go with each other. Make three piles, a “I'll keep it” pile, a “maybe” pile, and a “hell no, what was I thinking?” pile. Be honest and consider if you keep an item, will you really ever wear it? If you haven't worn it in the last six months, how likely are you to wear it in the next six? Look for staples that are well cut and designed made from quality fabric - clothes that you can mix and match with each other and accessories. Test and experiment - try on various combinations. Look for contrasting or complementing colors, tones and lines and what flatters your shape and size.

I'll post part 2 Building a quality wardrobe on the cheap soon.