Here at The DOM, it’s no secret that we love fashion, and we know the people who shop here love it, too. But there’s no denying that buying new clothes can sometimes come at the expense of your hard-earned savings. When you’re really trying to save some coin, little luxuries like designer garments usually don’t make it into the budget.

Which is why we’re committed to making designer fashion more achievable, offering great discounts on sought-after brands all year ’round. Sales are the number one way to treat yourself and still save money, after all.

But waiting for the right discount is only a temporary fix, and there’s another impactful way to fuel your fashion habits without dipping into your savings every week. It’s a matter of changing your perspective and reconfiguring your approach to fashion by distancing yourself from the need to follow trends.

Trends are everywhere, making them pretty unavoidable and incredibly tempting. But by minimising the urge to follow trends as they come and go, it’s possible to completely change the way you shop and spend.

The Downsides of Trend-Centric Fashion

The trend cycle moves at a faster pace than we’ve ever seen before, with new styles, aesthetics and garments entering the cultural zeitgeist on a weekly basis. While it’s easy to get swept up in the latest and greatest things, following the trendy cycle can be a serious money suck.

On the simplest level, keeping up with trends as they come and go means buying new clothes at least every couple of weeks. Buying more clothes equals spending more money equals less savings.

And, just as trends pop up seemingly out of nowhere, they also go ‘out of style’ at breakneck speed. You can buy three new shirts because you saw multiple influencers wearing them and got excited, then a few days later those same influencers tell you that shirts are a faux pas and nobody who’s in the know is wearing them anymore.

With a trend-based mindset, you might be tempted to throw those shirts to the back of your wardrobe and never look at them again, instead moving on to the next big thing and placing another online order.

But, while caught up in this never-ending cycle, you’ll notice that you never have enough time to actually get your money’s worth out of your purchases. The hard-earned dollars you spent on those shirts have largely gone to waste, because you’ve likely only worn them once or twice.

‘Trendy’ clothes are also more expensive in general, because they’re new and exciting and in high demand. They won’t go on sale until the trend cycle has moved on, forcing you to choose between ‘keeping up’ or saving money.

But What Are the Alternatives?

It’s all good and well to say ‘don’t follow trends’. On the surface, it’s a simple idea. But it’s easier said than done when trends are unavoidable and tempting by their very design. Freeing yourself from the iron grip of the trend cycle means actively shifting your priorities and finding more freeing, expressive ways to approach and engage with fashion.

Here are a few reminders to help you feed your love of clothing without draining your bank account on the latest trends.

Last-season Isn’t a Dirty Word

Sure, the current trends won’t go on sale until after the zeitgeist is done with them, but plenty of other amazing clothes will. At The DOM, we love last-season fashion. We know garments don’t stop being worth our time because a calendar says so, and there are plenty of treasures to be found in seasons long passed.

You can find great deals on past-season clothing that fits your personal style, allowing you to reinvigorate your wardrobe and save some coin at the same time. You might feel a bit of FOMO by not engaging with the same trends as everyone else, but this approach will encourage a lot more thoughtfulness and creativity whenever you get dressed.

Clothes Can Be a Great Investment

If you’re financially minded (or just trying to be) try looking at your wardrobe like an investment. Spending money on clothes is a way of investing in yourself and your lifestyle, but it can require a bit of a shift in perspective.

The most important thing is to think ahead into the future instead of getting caught up in the moment. A good investment has a good return, and needs to provide more than an instant hit of dopamine. Buyer’s remorse and purchases thrown to the back of your wardrobe are signs of a misjudged investment.

A worthwhile clothing investment, on the other hand, means really getting your money’s worth. Think about how much wear you’ll get out of a garment, how long it will last you and how inspired it makes you to find new styling opportunities.

One high-quality piece of clothing that you wear 100 times is a much better investment than 100 pieces of clothing you wear once or twice each, and making the right shopping choices can lead to more meaningful, responsible use of your money.

More Doesn’t Always Mean Better

A capsule wardrobe is all about owning less clothing, but ensuring that every single item in your wardrobe is as versatile as possible. This ensures that you’ll get more wear out of everything you own, in turn giving you more bang for your buck.

An effective capsule wardrobe should be largely seasonless, which is an approach that we really try to highlight at The DOM. Start with timeless staples like high-quality T-shirts, the perfect pair of jeans and a great blazer, then build your wardrobe out from there by figuring out what you can pair with those staples in multiple creative ways.

Thinking about your clothes this way not only makes getting dressed much less stressful, it can really change the way you shop. You can still add new pieces to your wardrobe when the urge hits, but by considering how any new purchase would complement and enhance your existing capsule, you’ll get the most value and enjoyment out of whatever you buy.

Knowing that a new piece of clothing will slip seamlessly into your wardrobe and open up multiple new styling opportunities helps to both eliminate that ‘I have nothing to wear’ dilemma and tamper with the urge to impulse shop.

Your Personal Style Is Always in Fashion

The number one antidote to the trend cycle is dressing for yourself. Getting to know what you really like and feel good in means you’re less likely to be swayed by trendy purchases that you never actually wear.

We’re big believers in personal style at The DOM – using your wardrobe to express yourself and exercise your creativity. It takes some serious thought and a bit of experimentation to find that style, but once you do, getting dressed will be a lot more satisfying.

Putting together an outfit should be an enjoyable experience after all, as should shopping itself. Despite all this talk of saving money and curbing unnecessary spending, we’re still big fans of a ‘treat yourself’ moment. But we also know that buying clothing that fits your style and gets you inspired will make you feel so much better about that treat than an impulse buy you regret a week later.