How to double your summer wardrobe for free (yes, really)

Written by Naomi May

There’s more than one way to swing a cat and, apparently, wear a cardigan, top, shirt. This is how to get double the pieces out of your wardrobe (and it won’t cost you a thing). 

You know the state of affairs is bad when not even Martin Lewis has a financial solution to the current cost of living crisis, which has seen inflation soaring to its highest level in years. Our purses are strapped and the purse strings are being tightened.

As those old enough to remember will recall from a famous 00s TV advert, every little helps, and that extends to fashion too. While official figures have pointed to the fact that clothing sales have experienced a spike despite the current financial climate – recent data released by Kantar suggested that shoppers are spending almost a fifth more on clothing than they did last year – it’s likely that many of us are looking to cut non-essential costs wherever possible.  

Make the pieces in your summer wardrobe work harder with these smart DIY hacks.

Fashion hacks might be extolled at large across the industry and social media, but who has the time, when we’ve got budgeting to do, to sift through tips and tricks to find the ones that are actually worth our attention? The answer is us; we have the time to do precisely that, which is where this round-up will be your BFFL for how to get double the outfits out of the clothes that are already lying in your wardrobe. This is how to double your wardrobe for free (yes, we really are your fashion fairy godmothers).  

1) The tank top hack

You know the last-minute dash before the inscrutable summer heat hits? The one that involves mindlessly throwing a load of £5 tank tops into your IRL or virtual basket, “just in case”? This hack solves several of those problems.

Knot the front part of the tank top through the other arm of the tank top to unveil a knotted-in-the-middle tank; the sort that you might have snapped up brand new, rather than DIYing. 

2) The slip dress hack

Ah, slip dresses – that summertime perennial that deserves a slot in our warm weather wardrobes year-round. Should the fit of yours not be quite as silhouette-skimming as you might like, though, there’s a no-brainer hack that’ll ensure you can tweak the dress to fit your form as much or little as you wish.

Tie a hairband or elastic band around a bangle at the back of your dress while it’s inside-out; turn your dress the right way around and there you’ll have a slip dress that fits like a glove with minimal effort. 

3) The too-big jeans hack

Don’t let the gaping hole at the back of the waist of your jeans deter you from feeling fabulous in them. Instead, thread a necklace through the back loops of them, fasten it as tight or as loose as you need, et voila. Jeans that fit just as you wish they always had, with a cute belt-type accessory to boot (you’re welcome). 

4) The sole protector hack

It doesn’t matter how much money you spend on your shoes, the most humbling experience of all is that every sole the world over will be subject to some form of erosion during their existence. Some scuffing on the soles of our shoes is worse than others, of course, but for anybody looking to restore theirs to their former glory, this is a smart DIY hack for you.

Trace the sole of your shoe on a piece of sticky-sided parchment, press the sticky side onto the sole of the shoe and away will peel most of the damage of the shoe’s sole. Almost brand new shoes that cost nothing? Don’t mind if we do.

5) The too-big belt hack

One of the worst sartorial mishaps has to be looping a belt through your jeans while it flops and sits awkwardly on your waistband. The fashion gods have spoken, however, and this is their hack to stop the uncomfortable flip-flopping of your belt.

Tighten your belt to the length that feels comfortable and, instead of tucking it into your waistband, attach it with a strip of double-sided, extra-strength sticky tape. There you have a belt that does its job and behaves without its end flopping around like a sartorial deviant.

Images: Getty

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