We’re all doing our best to look presentable, if not fabulous, but sometimes it can feel like it’s impossible to look great if you don’t have much cash to spare.
We spoke with over 150 women with young kids, and 78% said they would look ‘significantly better’ if only they had more money to buy clothes.
For most, it was due to the reduced family income as over 50% of mothers are at home with the children full-time, 1/3 are in part-time employment, and just 12% are in full-time paid roles. As one woman shared, “We are now on one income which means I can’t go out splurging on clothes, so my wardrobe really suffers.”
Some claimed their lack of spare cash was due to the money going toward the children instead.
As a mother from Bondi, New South Wales said:
“It’s hard spending on extra nice things for myself and not feel like I’m depriving my kids of something.”
But we’re nothing if not resourceful – and I’ll bet we’ve all got a number of ways that we manage to look great on little or no cash, or things we do to get the most out of what we’ve got. The things we all do to look fabulous and foxy even when we’re being frugal.
Over the past few months on Fox in Flats we’ve been running a few dares. The dares have been all about taking us out of the monotony of our day-to-day ‘mummy uniforms‘ and challenging us to think differently about what we wear, and how we wear it.
Those who’ve taken up the dares have said it’s made them reassess their wardrobes, and it’s given them a bit more of a spring in their step.
The dares we’ve run so far are all filed here – and you can try them yourself at any time. Just to give you a taste, these are some of the style challenges we’ve run to date:
I dare you to wear red lipstick from the time you wake up till you brush your teeth at night!
I dare you to… wear dresses every day for a week!
I dare you to… wear something on your head!
But this week, dares are being put aside. Instead, we want to hear the truth.
Like the games of Truth or Dare we played as kids, we challenge you to come clean. We challenge you to tell The Truth:
What’s your fab frugal foxy tip?
Do you cut open your plastic bottles of moisturiser and scrape the insides out? Do you sometimes use pink lip gloss on your cheeks? Can you not walk past a thrift store or garage sale without poking your nose in with the hope of unearthing a gorgeous stylish bargain?
I do all these things, and I’d recommend them all.
Making the most of what I’ve got, and being resourceful about fashion and beauty is sensible – plus, it means I’ve got a little bit more money up my sleeve when I really want to splurge.
But how about you?
It’s time to tell the truth about your frugality! I’ll betcha we’ll all learn some great tips from one another that will help us all look fab and foxy, with nary a cent spent.
So go on, ‘fess up to your fabulous frugality!
Missed out on the fabulous style dares we’ve run in the past? It’s not too late to try them. Click here, browse away and select a challenge that’ll take you out of your style comfort zone. Five bucks says you’ll be happy you did!
x Andrea
