Love shopping but strapped for cash?

There’s nothing better than browsing through rail upon rail of brand spanking new clothes, stumbling into the changing room with your arms full and sitting on the bus home with the sound of fancy shopping bags rustling at your feet. 

But it doesn’t always work out that way. An unsuccessful shopping trip can turn into an afternoon that's about as exciting as sitting in your nan’s knitting circle as you spend hours trudging around the same old shops, only to discover the one thing you do like isn’t available in your size. 

If you're finding the high street uninspiring now, then here are a few great ways to make filling your wardrobe more interesting…

Shrinking

We all know that sensible decisions are best left for when you’re sober. You’d never sign an important document or sit an exam after a few cocktails, but I bet you’d think nothing of going shopping. In fact, some people even say it makes their shopping experience run more smoothly.  

Many clothes shops have cottoned onto this fact and started offering complimentary drinks for customers while they browse the rails, giving rise to a new phenomenon which Grazia have coined “shrinking”. 

“There's a champagne bar in Westfield London and you can't move for boutiques running new stock evenings (supplemented by a free glass of fizz). Campari is also introducing cocktails and complimentary canapés to all Harvey Nics stores,” say the Grazia team. What better way to annihilate those pesky shopping inhibitions?

Just make sure you keep all your receipts somewhere safe or you could well be stuck with those sequin hot pants that seemed such a good idea at the time.

Sharing

You’ve heard of car-sharing, well this is a similar principle, only involving your wardrobe rather than your motor. 

Simply choose a friend of a similar size to you and go shopping together. You go halves on everything you buy, which means you can splash out on that Reiss dress you’ve had your eye on with minimal damage to your bank balance. 

Between you, you can amass a wardrobe Alexa Chung would envy and still afford to go out and show your new clothes off. If you and your friend happen to be the same shoe size too, marry her. Just don’t fall out with your wardrobe buddy or there could be a full on custody war.

Swapping

Fancy a new outfit but short of cash - why not host a swap party?  Invite all your friends over and ask them to bring five unwanted items of clothing each. Your flat will turn into one giant changing room and you’ll (hopefully) end up with some fab new outfits. 

There are all sorts of ways of hosting a swap party, but the best one I’ve witnessed was in a club filled with rails of vintage clothes. Everybody had to don an outfit outside of their regular style and dance the night away, swapping clothes with the nearest person every time the music stopped. It's a bit like musical chairs and you go home in whatever you happen to be wearing at the end of the night.

Adopting a strategy is entirely necessary if you want to get your hands on a particular item, but it’s more fun if you don’t care what you end up with and just enjoy yourself.

For upcoming clothes swapping events throughout the UK, check out  www.swishing.org.

Customising

What better place to find new outfits than in your own wardrobe?  People have been customising clothes for years, adding funky patches, buttons, collars and cuffs to jazz up their existing outfits. 

The craft has never been more popular than it is now though, with the credit crunch leaving us strapped for cash. If you're just bored with seeing the same old stuff, a bit of customisation could make your old clothes feel like new, leaving many more pennies in your purse for other important stuff - like chocolate and wine.  

Renting

If you’re the type of girl who gets bored with her wardrobe every few months, why not consider renting clothes? With websites like www.rentnotbuy.co.uk, you can look for clothes available to rent in your area and bingo, you can revamp your wardrobe as often as you like.

If it’s a designer handbag you’re after, try  fashionhire.co.uk or  handbagsfromheaven.co.uk, where you can hire a great designer handbag (Mulberry, Prada; Gucci and Chloe to name a few) for as little as £12.75 a week.