Nishi Selva

So something I was thinking about late last year was how much money I spend on clothes. As someone who is trying to avoid buying fast fashion as much as possible, I can say it has definitely been hard to find affordable clothing while keeping ethics in mind. 

I love building systems in my life as solutions, and I wanted to make a system that meant I had a way of affording all the clothes I wanted without having to spend more. 

I came up with ways that I could use the clothes I already have to make money. The goal is to use this as a cycle, so the money I make from the clothes I buy will then, in turn, be used to buy new clothes. 

This would motivate me to not overspend but also find ways to get the most out of the clothes I buy.

This month has been the first month I feel things have started to take off, and I felt less guilty treating myself to a new dress from a higher-end brand for my brother’s graduation. Below, I have shared my ways I have done this, as I’m sure someone can benefit from this too! As a girl who loves fashion but wants to get the most out of it myself and also wear whatever I want and not have money be the reason I can’t, this has been amazing for me. This has also led me to make better purchasing decisions when it comes to my clothes. 

1. Selling Preloved Clothes – First it was eBay, then Depop and now Vinted. Selling clothes I no longer wear is so important, so I can make space for clothes I actually love. Last month, I made a substantial amount of money selling some styles I hadn’t worn in a while and helped go toward my new clothing fund. I am buying clothes for an event, and I also consider their resale value.

     

2. Renting My Wardrobe – this is a new one for me that has been picking up recently. We all have those celebration dresses we wore to a wedding one time last year that cost us an arm and a leg, which we just don’t have the heart to get rid of. I use this site called Hurr to rent out my dresses, and it literally feels like free money. I simply send off the dress that has been hanging in my wardrobe without being touched in months, the person wears it, returns it, and I have it dry-cleaned or washed, and then return it to its place. It has been super easy and very low effort. When purchasing dresses for an event now, I think about whether I would be able to rent them out and what return I will get for it.

    

3. Affiliate links – this one I haven’t had as much luck with, but I have been doing my best to get this one moving.Affiliates is basically when you share a link for an item when you recommend it to someone, either on a website, on social media or in any other way you can. If the person purchases using that link, you get a small percentage, based on the shop and affiliate platform. I have been using LTK for this, and as fun as it is, it just hasn’t fully taken off for me yet. However, I have seen loads of people have great results with this one, so it’s not something I am going to give up on just yet. Small disclaimer: you do have to have a minimum of 5000 followers across your accounts to sign up. I feel like it is bigger social accounts and blogs that this will work better for. 

Here are my links to my what I am selling on Vinted, my wardrobe you can rent on Hurr, and the links to all my ourfits on LTK.

I am always looking to expand beyond the usual and see what else might work for me, so let me know if you can think of any other ways to make some money from my clothes. I will also make sure to keep you updated on my journey and let you know when I have reached the point where what I make covers the cost of the clothes I buy. 

Love from, 

Nishi x