How to Refresh Your Student Wardrobe

Spring is the perfect time for fresh starts. What better way to turn over a new leaf than to renew your wardrobe and get a new look?

Before you rush out on a spending spree, take a look at some of our top tips on how to refresh your style for the year ahead.

Clear out your wardrobe

Chances are you’ve probably got a ton of clothing items in your wardrobe that you’ve either forgotten existed, no longer fit you, are worn out, or just not to your taste anymore.

It makes sense then, before you rush out to buy a new wardrobe, to do an inventory of everything you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.

As a rule, if you haven’t worn it for over a year, it’s probably time to say goodbye to that particular garment.Let’s be honest, you won’t miss it anyway.

Organising consultant Marie Kondo has suggested that we should not keep anything in our homes that doesn’t bring us joy- so if you’re bored of those jeans you don’t wear anymore – let them go!

Once you’ve decided which items have to go, rather than throwing them away, why not sell them or give them to a charity shop? It’s much more eco-friendly and your old clothes could go to a good home. On that note, buying pre-loved items is a great way to form a new wardrobe without breaking the bank. You can find some real, unique gems this way too!

When you’ve freed up that space in your wardrobe, you’ll be able to better organise your stuff into categories. Think tops, bottoms, dresses, and shoes.

You could even separate your clothes into different colours or purposes, such as outfits for lectures and classes, others for nights out in your uni city, comfy revision wear, weekend hiking and sports gear, and so on.

No more frantically rooting around at the bottom of your wardrobe trying to piece together a decent look before that Monday morning lecture!

Define your look

A big part of uni life is discovering more about your tastes, your opinions, and developing life skills. A lot of uni students go through somewhat of a transition from teen outfits into more stylish, adult looks throughout their university careers.

Think about what image you’re projecting and whether it truly reflects how you feel about yourself and how you’d like to be perceived. Don’t just follow trends for the sake of it – stay true to your own tastes.

What sort of a lifestyle do you lead? Are you an ambitious go-getter focused on studies and networking, with a base in high quality student accommodation in London? Or are you a homebody that’s content with living a comfortable life chilling with friends in a small-town uni residence common room, watching Netflix with fizzy drinks and popcorn? Are you a gym shark? Or a party animal? Or a bit of all of these things?

Whatever the case is, how you dress is often the first impression you make on people – and first impressions go a long way! So it’s essential that you have different looks for different occasions – formal and informal.

Start putting together a base wardrobe

Putting together a new look doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to chuck everything old away and buy only new things.

You may be able to mix one new piece of clothing with several key pieces that you already have in your wardrobe.

There are a few staple items of clothing that can go a long way, such as tailored blazers, black dresses, jeans,  a classic trench coat, and clothes in monochrome or neutral tones.

Playing mix and match with these items means that you can get lots of different looks out of the same pieces of clothing.

Taking monochrome colours and layering them with a colourful red jacket, for example, can add a totally different element to the same outfit.

By following this principle, you’ll save lots of time and money, and yet will come across as super stylish and versatile to your uni mates.

Accessorise!

Another great way to spice up your wardrobe is to start accessorising.

Something as small as adding a scarf, statement necklace, bangles, or vintage rings, can add a completely new twist to an outfit that you might have felt uninspired by.

Investing in jewellery, belts, bags, and shoes, in some ways can be more impactful than buying entire new looks. They can really say something about your personal style and let your personality shine.

And again, these items can be combined with lots of different pieces of clothing, so the possibilities are endless!

Try new things

So far we’ve talked about finding timeless pieces that go with everything, for different occasions.

While that philosophy underpins every great wardrobe, it’s also good to branch out a bit and try new things.

You’re at uni, it’s a great time to experiment and try different looks. It’s also a great chance to check out new trends.

One way to find out about the latest trends is to check out what’s going on on social media. Your Instagram feed is full of inspiration and you can easily see what your fave celebrity loves to wear, or follow lifestyle and fashion influencers.

Right now 90s and early noughties looks are in, so you could even follow some nostalgia pages to look for ingenious outfit ideas.

Follow these five simple tips and you’re sure to make waves with your new-look wardrobe this spring. Enjoy!