As we head into another new year it always brings about ideas for change, changing our exercise routine, what we eat and perhaps ideas of new hobbies, less screen time, more me time...etc!
Another change to consider is how we shop. There is a lot of noise right now around considered shopping, preloved shopping and shopping your wardrobe, all of which I am a massive fan of. This comes hand in hand with the campaign I started to chat about last year around making shopping a social fun experience again. If like me you remember life beyond internet shopping and shopping the newest trends at your local supermarket, you may also remember how shopping was a fun exciting date to look forward to with your friends and family members. Date made, time arranged and excitement at the ready, it would be so much fun. Encouraging each other to try new things and taking in something different to your usual style into the changing rooms, sometimes it would pay off and sometimes you would just roll around laughing at each other..as back then we didn't take each other too seriously...did we???! We accepted some things didn't work and loved it when we found that special piece that really did make us feel amazing! Sometimes you would just both buy it, I remember at school at one point about 5 of us had the same pair of school shoes, they were Dune Mary Janes, the shoe my minis now refer to as 'the ugly shoe', as I actually have about 3 pairs of Mary Janes in my wardrobe now!
This social shopping with friends rarely happens now. Would you agree? It's been replaced with convenience shopping, fast fashion fads, grabbing the weekends look from the supermarket before you get your dinner for the evening, endless scrolling at night in front of the TV when you are tired and uninspired. Its not fun anymore, there's no friends to ask their honest opinion on a new piece and you begin to wonder why you even made the purchase as you weren't thinking straight, were tired or distracted and hadn't even considered what it went with your wardrobe!!! This is where we are making unconsidered purchases too often with no memory of what we have already have in our wardrobes! Does this sound familiar? The reality is, because we are shopping in this manner we are making lots of mistakes and therefore leaving us totally doubting if we know our own style anymore, if we know how to shop and if we even have any clue what to wear anymore!
So, I'd like to try and give you some inspiration for style and shopping changes to consider making this year! It wont change over night and does not have to be the theory behind all your spending this year but maybe just something to introduce here and there to make small little changes and bring back the fun and excitement of shopping! So, take a look at my suggestions below and maybe get one into motion straight after you finish reading this blog!
Make a Date
My first suggestion is to get on your mates What App group right now and suggest a shopping date, it could be a lovely change from the pub or a restaurant. Maybe look at a new location, a different town to the one you live in, book a brunch in for some fuelling energy and a chance to chat what you are all looking for or want to try so you each know what is on each others shopping hit list! Ensure you all do a bit of an edit and review your own wardrobes before you venture out! It will be lovely just all openly talking about how your wardrobe makes you feel, what you want to change and are looking to invest in! Having your friends there means you can pick things out for each other, become each others personal shoppers! We tend to find things more efficiently for each other than we do ourselves! I honestly believe if you make this date it will be fun! Why pay me when you can take your mates!!!!
At a wardrobe edit with a client recently she was sharing some fab jeans and a great jacket that she had got during a spontaneous shopping trip with a friend! They both found that on the same day they had some very random, unheard of spare time and thought "sod it, shall we quickly pop to Milton Keynes shopping centre?" My client said it was such fun and her friend encouraged her to take things in the changing room she would never have considered or even looked at, they had a laugh together and came away with some winning pieces! I absolutely loved hearing this, it really did prove this is something we totally need back in our lives to enjoy our style again.
As humans we naturally crave reassurance and opinion and as much as we shouldn't, we do really care what others think, we doubt ourselves far too much! I have seen this repeatedly with my own eyes on many personal shops with clients. Someone in the changing room will hear myself and a client chatting about the clothes they are trying, whether they work, how versatile they could be and what footwear is then needed and it's not long before intrigued heads are popping out of changing rooms! They occasionally join in the chat to ask what we are doing and then gently ask if both myself and my client could share what we think of something they are trying! I have had so much fun in changing rooms with many women I have met for the first time on a personal shop or met briefly in the changing rooms, we all just need that little bit of encouragement and lift to have the confidence in what we purchase occasionally and there is no harm in that...in fact its bloody good fun! Its good for the soul and if women do anything well its when we really lift each other up!
So, have you reached for that Whats App group chat yet???
Shop your Wardrobe!
This is another little change that I know so many are definitely trying to do right now and it's something I always encourage when I send look books out! Before buying any of the items in the look book go and look at your wardrobe with the look book to hand to sanity check if you have any similar items to create the look. It's not always about the individual pieces but how they are put together! It's not unusual to get stuck in a routine of putting the same tops with the same bottoms through speed and ease of dressing in the morning but you may just need some inspiration of how an outfit can be put together in a different way and you may already have the tools for that outfit but hadn't thought of working with them in that way!
This is the same approach you should try and take with any outfit combo you may see that you really like on someone either on TV, social media, in a magazine or the school run! If you see how someone has put something together take that concept and again try and shop it from your own wardrobe, it doesn't have to be exact but if you can get some close alternatives you may be able to recreate the look from items you already have! It's just getting that inspiration to build a style up from the pieces you have!
I have seen a lot of this on Instagram recently where by stylists or influencers have found outfit inspiration on Pinterest and they will take that image and re create it from what they have! Helen of @40plusnotgivingupyet is really good at this! I also try and do it a bit and just writing this blog has made me realise I may do that a bit more this year! Rather than scrolling the internet for things to buy scroll Pinterest for some Winter or Spring outfit ideas and see how you can get the look from your wardrobe. It may also help give you some direction for a style personality you want to focus on for yourself. Its always helpful to have inspiration or direction for both dressing yourself and shopping.
Right, now time to make some time for that fabulous shop in your bedroom!
Find it Preloved!
I expect if you are reading this blog then you already know what I fan I am of preloved and no doubt you have dabbled in preloved shopping yourself, but if you haven't then now should be the time! Preloved, second-hand, charity and vintage has been building in popularity for years now and seeing some of the noise on social media from the start of 2025 is really seeing a huge shift! People I have followed for some time who have always been advising what new purchases to make are suddenly showing off their thrifted outfits and chatting all things second hand! Second hand is at last becoming super cool! I love the fact that if I pop into my lovely local charity shops during lunch time there is quite frequently kids on their school breaks in there hunting through the rails without the embarrassment we may have had all those years ago. There is no shame in buying preloved anymore and everyone is really quite proud to share that their item was a Vinted find, charity find or better still, a hand me down from the sister in law! My sister-in-law also works in fashion and I still have some fabulous pieces I have been given from her that I wear regularly!
I suggest taking a similar approach here to the "shopping your wardrobe" section of this blog, if the new item you are loving isn't already in your wardrobe then is the exact item something that can be hunted out on Vinted or something similar? Many high street retailers will have versions of their best sellers every season so there's every chance that you can get the piece you want now on Vinted but just a slight variation at perhaps an eighth of the price! This is the great thing about Vinted, if you cannot bare to scour the rails in a charity shop or vintage warehouse then Vinted is just like any other internet shopping site, you can filter a search by brand, colour, size, style and then even by condition, so you can filter "new with tags" if you weren't keen on getting something that had been worn already....but you really shouldn't let this put you off!
Recently I found a top in the January sales of a 2 piece set that I had loved in Marks & Spencers when it launched back in September. It was reduced from £30 to £14 and sadly the skirt was sold out but I risked buying the top (which could have been returned anyway) and went on a Vinted hunt for the skirt! The filter searches meant I could look for what I exactly wanted in my size and I immediately found the matching skirt, which had been worn once for £10! So with postage the set had cost me £26 as opposed to £70 and I know I will love it!
So, if you haven't yet why not delve into the Vinted app and see what you can find, it's also super easy to list things so if you have had a chance to go through that wardrobe then why not sell a few bits...although I warn you it can get addictive!
Clothes Swap with Friends
This is another fabulous date to add to your diary this year! You could even do this before the shopping date as its a great way to get into some fun deep conversations about clothes, style and your thoughts on it all with friends before actually hitting the shops and this is all in the comfort of one of your homes (well done to the hostess for arranging!). I know we are all shapes and sizes but the fit of items are so different these days and how you want something to fit can vary, so even if you aren't the same sizes some of you may prefer items more loose fitting than others so it can work, there's also the fact that shoes and accessories can also be included, what about a handbag swap?
Keep it simple and not too chaotic, so maybe set the items to 6-8 including accessories and footwear and try and keep things on hangers so they can be hung up around the room. Get a few mirrors in the space and just start having fun trying things on! You may discover a new brand that you love, a colour that looks great on you that you may have never tried before, the perfect pair of boots that now means you can finally wear those jeans you have at home, a statement bag that just finishes off every outfit you own! How exciting, and not a penny spent other than the cost of a bottle of fizz and some snacks to enjoy!
Anything that isn't swapped can just be bagged up and donated to your local charity shop! It'll just create a fun evening of trying new things and may give you some ideas and lessons to take shopping with you to ensure you make some more valuable and considered shopping decisions going forward!
So, as well as that shopping date its time to get that swap date in the diary! I reckon swap out one of your book club dates for a clothes swap date!!!
What will you pick?
Did any of that resonate with you? Writing this really did mean a lot to me! As someone who has always enjoyed shopping and still does, whether by myself, with friends or with my Mum and also my Aunt I really feel passionate about bringing this back into everyone's lives. I do believe to shop alone or online is what makes it so unenjoyable, it's lonely, its too overwhelming, its no fun, there's nobody to swap a size or colour for you! I can very honestly say that there has never been a personal shop I have done where someone has turned around and said "well, I hated that!". They have loved the company, they have loved someone picking out things to try for them, they have loved chilling in the changing room whilst I swap sizes or get additional things to try to create outfits and help build a capsule wardrobe! Remember, when you go shopping there is never pressure to buy it all either, use it as a learning curve, take photos to target things in the sale or on Vinted.
Also, for every mean, moody and unhelpful shop assistant, there are usually 5 more lovely helpful ones who are also encouraging you to buy that fabulous dress that you looked gorgeous in!
I am on a mission to bring back the shopping enjoyment again! Are you in?
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