The other day I had my traditional moan on Twitter on the topic of bein' as poor as a church mouse yet wantin' a brand new A/W wardrobe. See, the thing is that you can't just throw away all your old clothes that you no longer like/are never gonna wear again and just replace it with beautiful new 'in' pieces. This transformation takes time, money and thinkin'. Here are a few tips on better organized, more up-to-date, swanky wardrobe!

⇢ throw all your clothes on your bed, wipe the inside AND the outside of your wardrobe, spritz some nice air freshener (I tend to use a cheapo body spray/fragrance) and scatter a few wardrobe satchels (with lavender or some other amazingly scented mixture of herbs inside) on the shelves - et voila - here goes a nice tranquil home for your clothes!

⇢ stand in front of a mirror & try on all pieces that you're unsure they still fit you - this might be not because you lost/put on a few pounds, it might be because your boyfriend might sometimes take laundry a bit too seriously and wash a load on 60 degrees (true story!)

⇢ now we've eliminated all the unintentional crop jumpers and ankle bashers, we can move onto basics:
a pair of skinny jeans (black & blue)
a pair of smart trousers (black)
white & black tank top
white & black t-shirt
black leggings (this winter's meant to be pretty cruel!)
black cosy tights
if any of the above are missing or have holes, either repair or replace them (the same goes for socks, bras & knickers - no matter how good the fit is - if there's an unrepairable hole, there's no way to save it, soz!) 

⇢ look at your wardrobe now - this is the base you're working with, now everything additional to the basics is what makes your wardrobe 'your style'

but before you start upgrading your staple collection, hold your horses - you need to get rid of the pile you made with pieces that are too small/too big/too old/not you anymore/makes you look like a tramp - there's a number of options to do so:
donate these to your local charity $$$
sell everything at a carboot sale $$$
sell it on e-bay $$$
run a blogsale $$$
sell your used things on cash for stuff websites such as Music Magpie $$$  

⇢ now you've got some cash on your hands (or a good deed in your heart - in case you donated everything to a charity) & a half-empty wardrobe (you know, you don't have to give away literally everything), you can go wild (just a little bit) &  buy some new pretty clothes!

⇢ BUT - do think twice before you buy - when I go shopping with Justin and pick something up he always asks me whether A) I LOVE it (if my answer is I like it, then I may as well put it back), B) I'm gonna wear it more than once C) it goes with anything I already own - the best fashion advice anyone ever gave me, trust me

How do you go about updating your wardrobe?
Any tips on saving up pennies for new pretty dresses?