Where Fashion Ends and You Begin

Posh clothes, a sleek car, stylish furniture, a trendy haircut… Come to think of it, staying hip is no easy job: you need to keep informed regarding the latest trends and be fast enough to follow them. Are you sure you need all that? With so many magazines and websites brimming with tips on how to stay voguish, many people will not even ask themselves this question: they will either follow the trend as well as they can or they will regretfully abandon the race – but not the desire. However, once you take some time to analyze all the aspects of the matter, this fashion race may lose its attractiveness.

The most obvious disadvantage is the strain it puts on your budget. Fashion is, by definition, short-lived – emerging styles cause old ones to rapidly become obsolete. From a financial point of view, the recursive process of keeping up with the newest trends is a rather wasteful one. Unless you’re quite wealthy, it may even be an impossible one – renewing your wardrobe once in a while is all right, but imagine changing your furniture a couple of times a year, in response to each season’s styles.

What about originality? What about creativity, the need to stand out, to be yourself? There isn’t much room left for such things if you just go with the fashion. All you do is adopt patterns set by other people, whom may have nothing in common with your personality.

Some people are afraid they might be considered backward if they don’t keep up with the latest trends. Indeed, the extensive coverage of fashion-related topics in magazines, on TV, and on the Internet might create the impression that everyone is interested in staying cool and hip. In reality, however, most people are too much concerned with everyday issues and they’re not even aware of what’s in and what’s out.

In other words, you shouldn’t concentrate so much on following trends. Whether it is on clothes, interior, or accessories, trends are not essentials. You create the want for them; you do not really need them. You’re likely to feel much better and much less constrained – and save more money – by simply being yourself and going for what you can afford and what makes you feel comfortable.

Have a Shoe Schedule and Save More Money

If you are one of the many out there who love shoes, and yet you are forced to remain on a tight budget or narrow income, then you are definitely in for a surprise when you go shopping; shoes are most likely one of the most expensive items in your wardrobe. However, this is one area in which you can reasonably splurge; although shoes are on average one of the most expensive items, they last much longer than other articles, such as blouses and shirts, and can be worn on a regular basis.

The best solution to this potential budget problem is to create a "shoe schedule." Set a predetermined time to purchase a pair of new shoes when you have determined that your old pair are no longer usable. This will curb the tendency to buy a new pair because of fashion trends, or just because you "feel like it." Having a shoe schedule, and sticking to it, will save you from overspending on shoes, which is very easy to do. You will then make purchases based solely on need, as opposed to frivolous want and save more money. Even with sticking to necessity, you should still allow yourself three purchases a year for the different styles you may need; for instance, an informal pair of running shoes; a formal pair of dress shoes; and perhaps a pair of sandals for the summer.

With keeping to a shoe budget, be perceptive to the style and color of clothing you tend to wear most often, and pick shoes that would match the majority of your wardrobe. Choose colors such as black, white and cream, since these will go well with nearly any type of clothing. For women, using these simple colors won't present a problem with the rest of your attire, such as a purse; if you choose a colored pair of shoes, then you'll most likely need to purchase a new purse and other accessories to match, which could definitely be more than your budget could handle!