1. Oxfam Online Shop

charity shop,fashion advice,money,vintage Oxfam online

By Julia Robson
 With high street stores\' profits plummeting faster than Sienna Miller\'s knickers, it has left many people wondering ‘where have all the shoppers gone?\' Well, we can let you into a little secret. While every style-savvy girl knows that auction sites, like eBay, are great sources of quirky second-hand pieces, what many people don\'t know is that Oxfam has an online fashion shop boasting more than 100,000 clothes and accessories with prices starting at a very wallet friendly £2.50. Here fashionistas can browse and buy from a mix of designer pieces, one-off vintage gems and a collection of ethical clothes from the web-based charity store. What\'s more, it beats the hassle of bidding for your must-have piece, waiting on tenterhooks for days and the bitter feeling your left with when your dream handbag lands in the grubby hands of a rival bidder. This is sustainable fashion at its best - you can still get your shopping fix, but with that feelgood factor and it won\'t put too much of a dent in your bank account. Remember you read it here first.
www.oxfam.org.uk/shop

Picture, Alice Dellal loves a second hand shop

2. Swapsies

fashion advice,money Swapsies

 This can only work with friends or family who trigger wardrobe envy. Sisters, friends, and mothers and daughters have been borrowing each other\'s clothes without thinking for years. Now "bring-and-try" parties, where you can swap an item of interest for an equally appealing fashion piece have become as popular as Ann Summers parties in the suburbs. Finally, a chance to find a good home for the sale items you has never worn. Too tight shoes? Too long dresses? Get rid. Go for stylish classics not one-hit wonders and avoid single white female types or country bumpkins trying to palm you off with their minging fleece. Meanwhile, nights like the Swap-A-Rama Razzmatazz in Shoreditch (see left) are catching on like wildfire as a great way to socialise and get a whole new look.

 

For more details of Swap-A-Rama Razzmatazz click here

3. Factory Outlets

fashion advice,money Factory Outlets "But, I Reeeeeeally Neeeeed It!" you shriek about the latest Jimmy Choo Ramona/Marc Jacobs Casey, like a demented six-year-old with a new Bratz doll. Factory shops are for people like you. Label snobs who can\'t settle for the next best thing. At classy discount malls like Bicester Village in Oxford (which mirrors the very US concept of man-made factory outlet villages), you\'ll find what you are looking for among surplus, past season or slightly faulty goods at a fraction of the cost of Sloane Street. This is not about fakes but designer brands guarding where their items are sold (ie, not off the back of a lorry). No one will ever know the difference.

4. Make Do And Mend

fashion advice,money Make Do And Mend

 Have you ever laughed out loud at the latest catwalk looks and thought you could do better? Your moment has arrived. Invest in a sewing machine (www.singerdirect.co.uk) and start creating your own fashions. All you need is a spare table top and someone who knows how to work a Singer like those lasses from Corrie. Equally try knitting. Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker and Stella Tennant do (see www.stitchnbitch.co.uk) - also crochet and crafts. Attack last summer\'s tops with this summer\'s hottest trend, tie-dying. Or simulate those fantastically fashionable Christopher Kane ripped jeans with a pair of denims from Oxfam, a bit of bleach and a cheese grater.

5. Go Gothic

fashion advice,money Go Gothic

 Get with the latest trend for autumn/winter 2008/9 and give yourself a new look while you\'re at it. Nu Grave, as they are calling the all-black romantic vibe, is a bit Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd with a romantic dollop of the original Rocky Horror. It helps if you like black and will save you a fortune on fake tan (although you initially need to splurge on white foundation and kohl eyeliner). Simply root out all the black in your wardrobe and never wear/buy another colour. Don\'t forget to continue the black theme with lipstick, hair dye, nail varnish, pointy shoes and sparkly spider brooches.

Left, Felder Felder & Alexander Wang A/W 2008 

6. Think rich and royalty

fashion advice,money Think rich and royalty

 Even if you are broke, dress like a princess and people will treat you like one. Step one: always look fabulous. Never leave the house without perfect make-up, salon hair and jewellery resembling the crown jewels. Never wear scuffed heels, snagged tights, weather-beaten jackets or anything creased. Step two: experiment with this season\'s "1970s Hamptons Heiress" look mixed in with Princesses Margaret in her heyday, but not Chelsey or Kate - way too chav. Wear country things in the City and townie things in the country (get ideas from www.royal.gov.uk - the official website of the British monarchy). Everyone will presume you\'ve left your regular wardrobe at your country pile.

 

Madonna works the country look in London complete with tweeds & Aran sweater (left). Carla Bruni looks every inch the first lady as she channels Grace Kelly, (who married into royalty) on her recent visit to London (far left).

 

 

7. Go retro

fashion advice,money Go retro

 There\'s a reason Kate Moss wears vintage when she could afford couture. It\'s not just because she can\'t be seen to favour mates among contemporary designers. Wearing pieces from bygone eras (when clothes were made to last by trained craftsmen and not in Far East sweatshops) somehow raises you above the ceaseless trend-treadmill fashion has become. Shop for dresses and jewels from the 1940s, quirky silhouettes from the 1950s and punchy prints from the 1960s and 70s and you will get noticed for all the right reasons. This season\'s trophy jacket? Try a vintage men\'s tuxedo. Check out markets, auctions and fashion fairs too.

 

Kate Moss wearing the fabulous vinatge gown which famously later got ripped at the V&A\'s Golden Age of Couture exhibition, Sept 2007.

8. Be a trend-setter not follower

fashion advice,money Be a trend-setter not follower

Spend a weekend going through your wardrobe pulling out anything you know suits you and that you love, regardless of how old or new it is, and whether or not it\'s in fashion. Experiment with looks, proportions and colours. Feel free to miss-match, layer, and clash prints. Mix high street and designer. Find your look. Dust off those shoes from the back of your cupboard. Root out belts, your old school blazer, dorky Saturday girl uniform, boyfriend\'s biker jacket etc. The end result - in theory - will have you looking a cross between Agyness Deyn and a fashion stylist. You are now beyond fashion, darling, beyond.

 

Agyness Deyn works her trademark \'mis-matched chic\' look.

9. Hire don\'t buy

fashion advice,money Hire don\'t buy

Where to start with this trend? It\'s going to be so huge. Websites like www.handbaghirehq.co.uk, www.fashionhire.co.uk, www.designerhandbaghire.com have educated us on the sense of renting, not buying, It-bags. Prepare to start thinking about hiring clothes top to toe, which has become popular in the US - and we always follow their trends. The idea is you can borrow a (brand new) £5,000 Louis Vuitton bag, Patek Philippe watch or Chanel jacket for a job interview or party for £50 for a week. Rental websites feature throughout the new Sex And The City film. Need any more convincing?

 

Chloe Paddington handbag available to hire from www.fashionhire.co.uk 

10. Pretend you are a student

fashion advice,money Pretend you are a student

 This season fashion actually gives a nod to Uni chic. Style yourself on Ali MacGraw in Love Story, with flares, preppy knits and polo tops, long hippy scarves and hats. Everyone will assume you are wearing Marc Jacobs, founder of grunge, who uses Ali as a constant source of inspiration. Scour second-hand shops for \'70s/\'80s vibe clothes to get the Grange Hill-look of the spring/summer 2008 catwalks (Luella Bartley\'s geeky specs and clashing prints). Or go Global Traveller-meets-gap student with ethnic scarves and dangly bits picked up at your local China Town. Remember, everyone is a student in the university of life.

 

Ali MacGraw is the consumate stylish student in Love Story (left)

 

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