We all know the feeling of looking at your closet before a themed party or special occasion and not having the right thing to wear: the double-edged sword of spending more money on another dress or battling the feeling of having “nothing to wear.”
Since coming to college, I’ve been digging deep to find a few different options that allow me to keep an up-to-date closet while also not spending ridiculous amounts of money every month. After all, my minimum-wage, on-campus job doesn’t allow for much spending money.
The first thing that I would recommend to absolutely anyone and everyone is Amazon dupes. Yes, of course it feels better to own the real thing, but let me tell you, there are some near-identical dupes that can be found online. My favorite fleece jacket is $150 on the Free People Movement website and can be found on Amazon for less than $60, and people mistake it for the real jacket every time.
Next up is online discount codes. We’ve all scrambled through TikTok influencer pages trying to find a valid Princess Polly or Edikted code once we hit the checkout screen, but if you simply make an account by inputting your school email on Student Beans, you’ll have immediate access to discount codes for hundreds of brands: ASOS, H&M, you name it.
Last but not least – and it may seem obvious, but it works every time – is simply borrowing from friends. As someone who lives in a suite with eleven girls, I can always count on a suitemate to have the perfect black dress for a date function or the cutest denim jacket for game days. Why spend money on a clothing item you’ll only wear once when you can borrow from friends and return the favor when they need something to borrow from you?
Fashion in college can be hard, and the urge to click “buy” during your online shopping spree in class is always tempting. But next time you find yourself standing in front of your closet before a date party, or even just a day of classes feeling like you have nothing to wear, remember that there are more solutions to that problem than buying expensive pieces that will break your bank account.