How to Dress Well Without Money

Looking glamorous without money is obviously a challenge.😄 The good thing is though that there are some tricks to maintain your glamour even when you don’t feel good, your confidence is down and you are surrounded by low class bullies and are totally penniless. 😂

Here are 25 things I have done to maintain my glamour while being single and unemployed:

1. Utilized my old good quality clothes. You all have probably some clothes you bought when you had a job in your wardrobe, but abandoned them when you lost your job. Get them out! 👗
2. Bought clothes from flea markets/ second-hand stores. Some clothes are good quality, but avoid buying used shoes because of feet bacteria.
3. Utilized sales sections in expensive stores.
4. Bought clothes/ shoes online for a much cheaper price.
5. Fixed my good quality clothes/ stuff myself. For example, you can fix a hole in a sweater or an umbrella yourself instead of buying new ones.
6. Subscribed for high-end brands’ newsletters and received campaign offers and sales by email. (and they keep reducing the prices the longer you wait)
7. Bought classic, clean cut timeless pieces of clothing. One good quality little black dress can last for even ten years and still stay in fashion. You can use it for different occasions too, such as work, party or vacation by accessorising this one dress differently.
8. Took care of my shoes/ bags. Leather care is a must if you want to keep your leather shoes and bags looking good for years. Leather will last for decades if you take good care of it.
9. Ignored the a-holes. Useless people will always talk, so to keep yourself glamorous, don’t engage in BS. Don’t lower your standards and values for crap people. That’s their goal, they feel intimidated for whatever reason and need validation. Nothing will make you look cheaper than lowering yourself to the level of the useless bullies. Even when the bullies have millions in their bank account and an expensive car, they make themselves look like cheap garbage with their behavior.
10. Combined cheaper clothes with expensive items. You can wear a one euro T-shirt and look glamorous if you accessorize it well with more high quality items.
11. Wore clothes that fit my body. Even if you could afford a 10 000€ dress, it will look cheap if it doesn’t fit your body type. You CAN look glamorous in a 10€ dress if it fits you perfectly. Don’t show too much skin, no matter how amazing your body is or hot the party is, because it won’t look glamorous.
12. Maintained great hair. Great hair is the first step to looking glamorous regardless of your financial situation. In my opinion, all men look absolutely GLAMOROUS with a beard. 😍 Not a dirty hippie beard, but a sexy short lumberjack beard.
13. Maintained my skincare and makeup routines. Even when I can’t afford expensive skincare products. Soap and a shower go a long way when you don’t have a choice. 🤣
14. Bought good quality and comfortable shoes. It’s not very glamorous, if you can’t walk and your feet are full of blisters. You can buy good quality for a reasonable price, just look online, utilize sales and sometimes you can even buy clothes/ shoes with monthly installments. (Interest rate will of course be higher with monthly payments and you end up paying more in the end.. poor people’s problems. Sigh.)
15. Ate healthy but cheap food. Instead of popping pills and vitamin supplements, eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Fresh vegetables aren’t very expensive either (compared to meat/ fish) and have all the vitamins you need for a healthy glow.
16. Kept my nails short and natural. Many people seem to think long witch-like fake nails are glamorous, but I think it looks cheap. Not to mention you can’t do anything with your long nails and if you chip one, you look even more ridiculous. Then you have to constantly run to the nail salon to fix your nails and in my opinion, glamorous people don’t waste their time in useless stuff.
17. Never tried (and never will) fake eyelashes. So many women think they look glamorous and posh, but again in my opinion (you don’t have to agree with me) they look fake and make your whole look fake. When you don’t wear any make-up, you still have your fake eyelashes on and it looks strange. Dying your eyelashes gives you a more natural look. Even if you have short eyelashes, dying your lashes will make your eyes pop out and of course a great mascara/ eyeliner. Natural eyes/ eyelashes make you look younger BTW!!
18. Wore high heels, but not too high and accessorised them well. Who doesn’t love high heels?! They make you look glamorous, but only if you style them well and wear heels that fit you. Classic black/ nude pumps with 9-11cm heels are my favorites. You don’t trip over even if you’re a bit tipsy. 😉👠
19. Avoided hair extensions. Who doesn’t love long hair?! Men find long hair very attractive, but times also change. The modern woman can look amazing with a short and simple hairstyle. If you like to use hair extensions, try a different haircut instead. New hair color and style can make even thin hair look gorgeous and glamorous. Check how celebrities style their short hair. A new short look will also be cheaper to maintain than hair extensions.
20. Avoided perfume/ men with strong cologne. Don’t get me wrong, I used to LOVE to splash on perfume. But now my financial situation hasn’t really allowed me to spend extra money on expensive perfumes. Think how much you will save and perfume is something nice to have but not a necessity. Deodorant, soap, shampoo and a moisturiser are MUST haves for men and women. Perfume/ cologne are not a must and especially if you use too much of it.
21. Drank mocktails instead of cocktails. Nobody thinks being wasted is glamorous. Maybe when you are a teenager in a music festival but chances are you will end up vomiting and whatever glamour you had… ENDS there. 🍸 You can drink alcohol and be glamorous, but for an unemployed person’s budget it’s not really worth it.(Nightclub prices). One mocktail in a nightclub in a company you actually enjoy will do the trick. I used to have a bad habit of drinking a lot simply because I don’t like the country where I live.
22. Took care of my mental/ physical health. Being crazy isn’t exactly glamorous even though Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence made it cool (and broke the stigma surrounding mental health) in Silver Linings Playbook. If you can’t afford therapy like me, do other things. Exercising is number one for both mental and physical health. Spend time with your friends (if you don’t have friends like me, get a pet). Do the things you love. If you can’t afford them, find cheaper options. Google it if you have to. Having a support network is crucial and the lack of it is extremely damaging. Go online to find a community you like or try to find a job in a new country.
23. Wore good quality accessories. If you can’t afford it, don’t wear it. Fake bags and sunglasses aren’t very glamorous. Find a style that doesn’t require expensive brands. You can buy a good quality watch for a reasonable price if you avoid high-end brands and simple earrings will go a long way. You don’t need to buy gold and diamonds to look glamorous. Find jewellery that is timeless and simple, like pearls.
24. Avoided making racist/ sexist/ mocking jokes. Racism might have been glamorous in nazi Germany in the 1940s, but it sure as hell isn’t glamorous anymore.😆 Nothing screams more cheap trash (regardless of your financial status, race, nationality, gender, country) than cheap jokes on others expense. Especially if you mock the most vulnerable people of the society such as refugees, minorities, handicapped, single mothers, gays etc. You can be the president of the country, CEO of a powerful company or have an elite business school degree and still look cheap if you make disgusting jokes. The only people it will attract is other disgusting non-glamorous people. Some super rich like to act like morons because they have so much money that they simply don’t care. However, the older they get, they start to realize nobody around them actually respected them at any point in their lives. Simply tolerated because they had to.
25. Volunteered for different causes. Single and unemployed people have A LOT of excess time, so use it wisely. I will write a separate blog about boredom, but there’s nothing more glamorous than helping others. You can walk around with a 5000€ handbag or drive a 200 000€ car, but if you don’t help others, you are not glamorous. Selfishness in my opinion isn’t glamorous. Exploiting volunteers is trashy. Healthy selfishness in the other hand is glamorous. Don’t waste your time on people who don’t care about your help/ volunteering/ empathy and be glamorously selfish!! 😂 ✈️