The Budget Fashionista

1. One of the way to recession proof your closet is to focus on fit. Fit is just as important as price. For example pants made with the Rightfit technology—available only at Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant, and Catherine—cost less than $50, but take the focus off of size and places it on fit.

2. Another is to use the “Cost per Wear” when shopping. Value is the key when building a great closet and The Budget Fashionista’s cost per wear formula can help you get the most bang for your buck . The cost per wear is the price of an item/divided by the number of times you think you’ll wear it. So if an item costs $100, and you wear it ten times, the cost per wear is $10. The more you wear an item, the cheaper it becomes.

3. Limit trips to the dry cleaners. This is a real money zapper, even for yours truly, until I learned, and this may come as a shock, that you’re only suppose to dry clean your suits two to three times per year and even less for items like coats. So how do you keep it fresh in the meantime? Spritz it with a bit of fabric freshner.

4. Learn to sew. Okay, I don’t mean learn how to create amazing pieces ala ‘Project Runway’, but learning how to hem your own pants, fix slight holes, and other minor alterations will not only save you money, but also save your garments.

5. Last but not least, follow the 70/30 rule. 70 percent of your closet should classic pieces that never go out of style, a great white shirt from Old Navy or even a pair of pants with Rightfit technology. Then the other 30 percent should be fun trendy items like a plaid skirt, funky bomber jacket, or a cool fedora.