Fashion Tips on a Budget

Well, despite me being on a saving mission, I decided to splurge out a bit
on a suit – as it happened – it was not a bad deal for £42 getting a suit jacket,
trousers, and shirt. Obviously, we’ll see what it’s like before making any further judgements but it was nicely discounted.

I suppose that the reason to purchase is derived from the utility gained from a product – if the utility is sufficiently bigger than the price, then the decision is easy. For example, even if someone was broke, and a house was cut to half the price, then they would bust a gut to get it.  The credit crunch has cut this perceived utility though which explains why people are not longer as willing to part with their cash.

My wardrobe is still in development; I’ve thrown away or donated loads of clothes to charity since last year. The sad truth was, I was a bit clueless and a fashion victim. Let’s take a suit; of which I own perhaps one now;  subconciously I would fall into the trap of that more expensive = better. This is just not true and doubly more so when we are talking about the low to mid-ranges.

When you have limited cash, the most important consideration is fit, not brand. A cheaper suit that fits well is far better than any suit that does not. If you live in a city, then you can see by looking at guys just how many people have suits that don’t fit properly. Jackets that are too long or loose, trousers that are too loose. You’ll also see guys who have got it right; a guy in a well-fitted suit looks confident and powerful. The effect is something that money can’t buy.

Honestly – something well fitted will draw compliments; then when you tell people that it was cheap, they might say ‘oh’. But this is a symptom of the society we live in, that cheap = not good. Let’s not fall into that kind of trap.

Here are my tips that I’ve learnt:

1) Know your size. It’s surprising how many people don’t know what theirs is, or base this on a mixture of estimates or wishful thinking. Get the tape measure out and do it. Baggy is not a good look; if you look at the celebs that dress well, things verge on the edge of tight.

2) Play to your strengths: If you’ve got a defined phyisique, then get stuff that is tighter. Muscular arms, then show them. It is really amazing the difference that fit makes, even a simple white t-shirt can look vastly different when correctly fitted.

3) Know value. With a lot of sales on now, there is a lot of decent value in clothes. With fit as your first criteria, this opens up a lot of options. For example, I refused to shop in shops like Primark because it was cheap. But having rescinded this, there is a lot of acceptable stuff in there that fits great. If you see something you really like, then go for it – but bear in mind the usage factor. I find that it is always best to reserve bigger purchases for things that will last – suits, jackets, shoes – the longer the life, then the more you can spend.

4) Accessorize. This is a dead cheap and effective way of making different outfits look different. Belts, bracelets, chains, hats, the list is endless. Subtle touches, like matching your belt colour to your shoes, really go a long way.

5) Don’t go too fast too soon. Sales and the internet mean that it is often quite tempting to splurge and buy loads at one go. This is usually a mistake – resulting in extra clothes bought in ‘gag’ mode, that you realise won’t be worn. If you shop on the internet, go for someone with a good returns policy. And buy little at a time, consider each piece you buy and whether it will complement what you have got at present. This reduces those kind of clothes that you have in the wardrobe that don’t seem to suit anything, and therefore never get worn. I was an absolute sucker for sales, I would just add loads of things to the basket, thinking what great value it was.

6) Don’t be afraid to chuck things out. You see those dormants clothes – all they do is take up space in your wardrobe and make you think you have more clothes than you really have. You say in your mind ‘I’ll wear it one day’, but never do. Get rid of it; and you’ll motivate yourself to get some decent replacements.

7) Balance. Don’t go bananas on one type of clothing, for example, t-shirts, at the expense of jeans, or even the essentials, such as underwear or socks. Quality, not quantity is the way forward. You may get paranoid about seemingly wearing the same clothes, but believe me, other people care less than you think. I see pretty girls that dress quite similarly a lot of the time, and I sure don’t laugh at them.

A good site for men (sorry, I don’t know women’s) is www.kinowear.com. Check it out.

How to access the Financial Times for Free!

No, there are no updates on the sales. But, I thought I’d let you in on something I have discovered, and that is how to access the Financial Times website (www.ft.com) for free! Normally, I think this costs £100 a year or so; so this is a good saving, and this is also an excellent resource for anyone interested in Finance.

To get it, just get onto Facebook with your account and search for Financial Times. At the time that I checked, there were barely 1000 subscribers which is quite surprising for a good publication. They are looking to crack a new market here, with most FT readers being male and old-ish, I would guess.

Anyway, let me know how you get on.

Selling of old Sky Boxes

Well, I did partially over the last week and got rid of two old Sky boxes after much hassle – another two down to go.
What I have learned is that:
1) Old Sky boxes are only useful for people that have had (or do have) a Sky connection. They are no use if you don’t.
2) You don’t need the card to receive any freeview channels (of which there are many on the sky system). There are loads of people who want the card, I suspect they will then get it activated or something like that. But I’m wary of that, maybe someone could steal the details on the card linked to your account and run up a huge bill, or something like that.
3) I don’t know why, but this type of ad attracts a disproportionate amount of Asian people. Maybe Sky should be aware of this demographic.

I also got rid of a small fridge that was bought for me for Christmas. I only used it once and was a total waste of space – the only thing keeping it in my house was the sentimental value as it was a present from my sister. However, she won’t find out for ages, and it doesn’t really matter either.

£20 each for the boxes and £40 for the fridge makes £80. This more than doubles what I have made in the challenge so far.

Total items sold: 14
Money: £156.52

I have pledged to trim my computer games usage – I have too many consoles. That will be next on the horizon so there could be further good profits soonish.

New Years Resolutions 2009

Have been ill for much of the last week. First flu-like symptoms which, after a brief respite (convieniently allowing me out for New Years),  have returned, resulting in a mad coughing fit and dodgy tummy.  I hope this ends soon!

I have been thinking of the resolutions for a while.  2008 on the whole was good, but I am really looking forward to the next year which promises a lot more. It has to,  it’s a real make or break time for me.

1) Be a nicer person

Sometimes I am arrogant and anti-social – I prefer my own company. Not all the time though, I regard myself as pretty normal. But, I think this is a result of being contented, you go into the comfort zone. Your girlfriend tells you she loves you, and I suppose you don’t chase as much and act accordingly. Looking at various facets, there is room for improvement here. I am a stubborn person and won’t call unless I am called. Which, thinking of the truly great social people, is totally the opposite.
This is not to say that I will be a ‘yes’ person; I need to respect my own requirements first (of which there are a few).  In some instances, I need to say no a bit more. But a nicer person will be happier about that.

2) Waste less time

I am a habitual time waster. To be brutally honest, playing games and watching movies online was probably costing over an hour of working time each day. This is not to cut it out altogether, but keep it confined to time I can afford to waste. Already there have been good steps: no Championship Manager addiction, and also, an uninstall of much-loved apps on my machine. I have to be taking the attitude when being idle for a while, to think: ‘Is this activity bringing me closer to my goals?’.  The answer should be self-evident.

3) Take better care of myself

At 28,  sadly I am not a kid no more and university feats just aren’t possible no more. I have to get 8 hours sleep, eat a good diet and exercise well to stay in shape. And this is not just for the internal, on the external I need to get back to basics and treat myself better; hair, smell, dress… etc.  I have already bought some shirts to move into a new type of style.

4) Keep up the clearout

I not only sold and traded my items last year. I threw a hell of a lot of stuff away, bags of crap that I never used. This has to continue. Of course, if I can get money for it, I will try – but I keep on selling things. I haven’t bought a major appliance in a while, probably a computer early last year.

5)Look after my house better

It’s a sobering thought that I have my own place that people live in. I want to make a pad that people will be proud of. I must be cleaner, declutter my own stuff while at the same time be more tolerant of other peoples. So far, things have been done on this front but has required a significant spend. But, it has to be done. Next year, I could be doing something totally different and things have to be ready at that point. I envisage something beautiful, with lots of space and also good gadgets.

6) Put the fun back into business

In the past couple of years perhaps, business has become a bit of a chore. I plan to recapture the magic, so to speak and to deliver better results. I will be maximising my opportunities to both improve my home and office life. And, as a bonus, will get some income.

7) Blog more

In the past year (and years before that), I rarely exceed 50 posts on blogs. Which equates to less than 1 a week.  I want to get settled here and just post a load of stuff. And, even though the title may be misleading in future climates (deflation may be the enemy), it is still mildly amusing for me. And if no-one reads it, that’s no big deal either. Writing this is a good release for me.

I think that’s good for now – too many will make things too difficult. I think that this will be hard enough in itself!