I am still very much on my style journey and have a very limited budget. And actually, I think it has been a good thing. I've tried some different things and some have worked and some haven't (and I lost some weight along the way so some things I really liked ceased to fit). Because I did not spend a lot of money on individual items early on, I think it easier to let go of the mistakes.
As I've learned things (especially about what fits and flatters) I have become a lot pickier and am happier to wait for the right item instead of settling for almost what I want. My working wardrobe is still smaller than I want and has a lot of holes. And there are things in my closet that are just taking up space (I've been working on that this week).
I think if I would have had a lot of money to just go out and buy clothes in the beginning, I would have spent a lot of money on a lot of clothes and still would have felt like I didn't have anything to wear. It's all about the journey for me.

Ditto everything Refugee said! I have made a couple of mistakes (i.e. bought a few things I may not wear much this season and that will probably be donated or consigned right after the season ends) but the total cost to me of my mistakes is about $50, and so if I wear the items even once or twice, less than $25 on a cost per wear basis. If I had been able to buy it all right away, I'll bet my mistakes would have cost me more.

Hey, MaryK - if you are still there - I'll bet Shannon and I, as petite sisters, would be happy to take on some of your closet rejects!!!! (Seriously).

xo

Lantana - clearly you and the others who have suggested sewing, don't know me! (lol). I remember taking a sewing class in Grade 10 and absolutely hating it! I'm all thumbs when it comes to sewing and have no patience for it I'm afraid. I'm so in awe of those of you who can sew - it's such a talent and one I wish I had.

MaryK - interesting comment about not being able to wear all the beautiful things you have. I never really thought about that perspective - thanks for your honesty.

VC - totally makes sense! Thank you.

Refugee - I really like your point of view and you've given me some food for thought. Much appreciated!

Suz - oh yes...let's sneak over to MaryK's and shop her closet! Maybe she won't notice anything missing!!!

P.S. Corny as it sounds, love you gals...you are all SICK!!! (according to my 16-year-old son, this is the highest compliment you can give in his lingo)

Shannon! Big hugs to you for starting this juicy insightful thread! I have loved reading every single response! I was going to say something along the lines of "necessity is the mother of invention" but it was already so beautifully articulated by VC and others. So how's this:

No, you absolutely cannot buy style. Not for any amount of money. Style is all in your head. It is intellectual property! (she said with a certain authority) I have been thinking a lot about this lately, partly to make myself feel better for not having a nice fat clothing budget, and I really believe that style is HOW you work with what you have.I wrote at the end of an earlier thread of mine about imagining my house burning down and starting all over....I would lose my wardrobe, but what I need to recreate it--or maybe even do it better--is all in my head.

Listen to all of the encouragement here; we can do this Shannon! We have Angie and the forum and a whole lot of motivation! Vouloir c'est pouvoir; where there's a will, there's a way!

Shannon what a great question! And Im so glad you asked it:) I havent read all the responses yet but I will come back tomorrow and finish them.

In my humble opinion money buys clothes, not style. Its up to the wearer to "create" the style and this can be done on any budget. I am essentially a "community worker" and I work part time. Like you my budget is limited but I believe I have become quite a savvy bargain shopper and often shop outlets as opposed to the regular retail stores. I have some favorites and many of my pieces are reasonably good quality but purchased at very low prices. I also LOVE what you Americans call "thrifting". We call it Op Shopping here. You can find some amazing things from basics to incredible vintage pieces. I would love to just purchase a brand new summer wardrobe for this season but its just not possible. So I am going to use what I have learnt at YLF to try and make my current summer pieces work more to my liking.

I think you have great style Shannon and I don't think this relates to how much you do or don't spend on your clothing. In fact I view my wardrobe as a bit of a creative outlet for me and enjoy the challenge of sourcing great pieces from unexpected places and at a cost that fits my budget.

I will say it again, you have got style my friend. And I encourage you to use all the resources here at YLF to make your budget work for you. Sending you a big hug.
Oh and apologies if I have rambled on here

Shannon always enjoy your WIWs. I notice that you have impeccable hair, a very pretty face(with beautifully applied makeup) and a bright smile. I echo what some others have said, when you spend more you often end up with less than ideal choices because you don't think about it as much. Some things that help to improve outfits are just plain old ironing, snipping loose threads, fixing any holes, shaving things that are pilled and generally maintaining the wardrobe you have. I am not suggesting that you are guilty of these things, I have never noticed any such thing, but sometimes less expensive clothes require more upkeep- am I making sense? I love to see women who dress well on a budget and you are one of them.

Thanks for asking the question. I found the responses very interesting. I love what was said above about constraints. Besides that, I think an essential component of style is knowing yourself and being comfortable in your own skin. Money cannot buy that. I certainly never would have guessed from your WIWs that you are on a tight budget. You seem to have a clear idea of your style and turn yourself out beautifully. I am a little surprised that you feel in need of a major overhaul. I will be curious to find out where you are headed.

Great discussion. VC, I love that bit about creativity and constraints! I've always found that to be true.

I have a little bit of guilt, because I know i'm one of the people who has undergone a huge turnover in wardrobe this year (mostly due to weight loss, but also a reevaluating of style), and I have not been penny pinching. Trust me, I know how lucky I am that I can do this without incurring a penny of debt. I have always been a shopper, but very much a discount shopper until the last few years. I still comb the deals at TJMaxx, even as I pay full price for a jacket or a pair of boots that I would have definitely ruled out as too expensive just three short years ago.

That said, I absolutely agree that style can not be bought, any more than taste can. Money makes it easier to try things but it also makes impulsive mistakes easier. I've seen people throw fantastic amounts of money into their closets but without any thought to what the clothes say about them or do for their bodies. Style is a product of time, creativity, attention to detail, and attitude.

I never look at anyone's style here and think of the price tag attached to it. I know there are terrific looks that cost less than I've paid for a tee shirt, and I admire that!

Money can probably buy style, but you don't need money to have style. I started here with virtually nothing, a few pairs of worn out Old Navy pants, cheap shirts, threadbare sweaters. I've built a pretty good wardrobe at this point, mostly from thrift or discount stores. But I'm going for the capsule wardrobe, pretty small, and I'm also learning when it's worth it to splurge.

There's a great quote I read once, I wish I could remember it word for word. The gist was "I don't know how American women get dressed in the morning. They have so many clothes."

Shannon you've gotten a lot of great replies. I'm in the same boat as you, i love to shop but i honestly don't really have a big budget for it. For a long time i've been in the trap of buying what was on sale or cheap so i could have more new things even if they weren't what i loved. I will tell you that for me thrifting and checking out vintage stores and ebay make it possible for me to be stylish, experiment with more trends AND have a lot of wardrobe items very realistically. I also recommend learning some basic clothing altering skills if you don't already have them which have really come in handy for me.

This picture below is made up entirely of thrifted items, clearance finds.

Denim shirt: $5
Lace Skirt: $4
Platform sandals: $8
Brown leather bag: $7
Vintage silk scarf: $2
Glasses necklace: $4

I honestly don't post the prices of the things i wear (even though i remember them, i do love a good deal) because, like you, I know a lot of YLF-ers make Nordstrom's their best friend while i simply cannot. But now that i know there are more among us with tighter budgets maybe i will start.

Excellent discussion.

Sure there are some things money CAN buy ;-), but there are many ways a person can up their style quotient just by paying a bit more attention to clothing choices.

I.e., if you are a going to buy a simple t-shirt, choose the one in your most flattering colors. Be conscious of the choice of a crew neck vs. v-neck collar. Note the thickness of the knit -- does it drape nicely or cling to any lumpy areas? If you have or can borrow a sewing machine it is straight forward to add a new seam just inside the side seams to taper a boxy fit into one that is more fitted.

Voila! huge improvement to the < $10 t-shirt you were going to buy anyways.

Shannon, I think money can buy fashion style -- and of course buy a beautiful house... but it is the owner that ultimately makes it a happy home.

I just discovered this blog "Girl with Curves" today after following a "Lovely Links 12/30/2011" from Already Pretty: http://girlwithcurves.tumblr.com/

Poke around this blog. This woman looks like a million bucks, and many, many, many of her wardrobe items in her outfits come from retailers like Target, Old Navy, Forever 21, H&M, TJMaxx etc. and thrifting finds!

Of course it doesn't hurt that she is exquisitely beautiful, but she isn't your typical size 4 model-esque waif, either. But just look at her in her clothes. She just simply oozes fantastic style and fashion sense. http://girlwithcurves.tumblr.com/page/2

Shannon, your posts are always so stylish. I had no idea you were on a constrained budget, you always look like a million bucks. I love your pretty retro ladylike style. I agree with everyone that style is something that you can achieve at any budget and it's more the creativity and confidence of the wearer than how much you spend. I feel like the time and effort we put into reading and posting and contributing to this site has been way more important than the money spent--even though I spent a lot, I wouldn't have been able to get to where I am now without YLF's support.

I confess that I've been one of the fast and furious wardrobe overhaulers and if I've made you feel bad at all with my posts then I'm so sorry. I was packing five years worth of clothing purchases into six months since I hadn't bought any new (non-maternity) clothes since my first child. My time was more constrained than my budget and since I never seemed to be able to find anything in consignment/thrift stores I went the route of buy a bunch online to try on, return most of it, and stalk sales and price adjustments. I also shop at Gap, H&M, etc. a lot. I do wish I had more ability to thrift amazing finds like Mo, Rae, Nicole, MaryK, lyn, Claire and many many other YLF'ers. I still did keep the total wardrobe cost under 5% of my income, but it's definitely not going to be nearly as much this coming year since I am pretty much done and going on SYC for a while. But I am going to try again in 2012 to explore thrifting (esp since I won a copy of the Little Guide to Vintage Shopping, yay!) I am envious and have a lot to learn from all of you about how to score amazing bargains!

ETA: How great that you and Lyn are in the same little corner of the world! You are both similarly fab and stylish! You must meet up and report back to us!

I'd say for me, it's attitude/energy'attention that makes the difference. I've had times when I've had money and when I haven't, and I've looked good and I've looked frumpy during both of those times. For me, it's having the energy and attention to make looking good a priority. I also think knowing yourself and what you like is helpful too.

It is easier to go out and buy pieces you like when you have money, but I've found that energy/attention makes the biggest difference for me.

What a wonderful question, Shannon, and what thoughtful responses and ideas!

I love your sense of style, Shannon, with a retro/vintage vibe tucked in there and always so polished!

I just wanted to add how I find it super motivating when a stylish WIW post is put together inexpensively.

Whether the items are thrifted, deeply discounted, eBayed, self-made, self-altered, whatever. . .it makes me stand in awe of the creativity, and resourcefulness used to express such style within monetary constraints (thanks, Suz, for articulating that constraint idea).

As with other things in life, throwing money at a problem is usually not the best solution (assuming there's any money to throw in the first place

I'm late to this discussion, but find it uplifting...

I agree with many others here who have said that money buys clothes, not style.

We all go thru seasons in our lives when our income can fluctuate, etc. for whatever reason -- but that doesn't mean we can't be stylish. It takes more time and creativity, but it can be done!

My new DIL recently bought a thrifted brown plaid blazer with chocolate suede elbow patches for $5 at thrift store, a new denim blouse on sale at JCrew for $7. To that, she wore her skinny jeans, boots, and a new gold chunky necklace (Christmas gift), and she looked like a million dollars! I was so proud of her, b/c my son was out of work for 18 mos., and she recently lost her job, but she always looks stylish! It is possible when there is a will, there's a way. I also think that having style does not mean having an overflowing closet, but how you dress your body with whatever you have -- whether it's little or much.

I've read on YLF that sometimes there is a clothes swap here. Not sure how that works, anyone? But maybe it could be done every season and we could help each other out? Just a thought...

Hang in there Shannon, because better days are on the horizon. I believe, too, like Angie said, that times like these will help us learn good things -- like appreciating more what we have, and then taking care of them.

sorry for ramble.

Shannon, I totally understand where you are coming from. When I first came to this site, I made the embarrassing mistake of commenting on a member's post about how much a certain item cost, because I was so new to the idea of buying anything expensive and absolutely shocked that anyone could spend half my mortgage payment on one item of clothing. Now I've probably (but temporarily) gone to the opposite extreme - when I see something I love, I buy it even if it is a little scary. Then I consult all of you, sit on it and contemplate whether I'll really wear it. Thank goodness for Nordstrom's liberal return policy.

I only recently found this site and I have to say I've spent more in the past year than probably in the rest of my entire life on clothes. But I've made up for it by consigning, returning anything less than perfect, and thrifting items. I have found myself less willing to compromise with thrifted items since finding YLF, which has been part of the problem but also made me dress a lot better. Sadly, we do not have great thrift stores here, or I would probably be more like Claire, Suz and Rae in hunting down thrifted items. I love the Value Villages in Seattle!

In regard to your question, I think more money can buy more stuff, or more expensive stuff but style is something more ephemeral. You have loads of style and your WIWs are something I look for every time I log in. The hard thing on a budget is not compromising on thrifted or cheaper items when you just want to scratch that itch so badly. I have done that and ended up unhappy - just a tiny bit off is as irritating as completely wrong to me now. No matter what, it's still worth waiting for something you truly love or that can be made perfect. And that's where money can help - but there are still a couple of things I have not been able to find at ANY price!

I love your outfits and you are doing an incredible job of figuring out what suits you... don't lose heart!

Oh no, money doesn't buy style. Money buys stuff TO style.

Actually, I think the ultimate style exercise is to take something just awful and make it wearable.