4 free styling hacks that will instantly update your wardrobe

Wallet-friendly wardrobe updates do exist

Have you noticed how, come the middle of each month, you get an overwhelming urge to go shopping? Yes, when payday is but a distant memory and the next one is still a fair while off, we suddenly feel compelled to ransack ASOS. You too?

Luckily, working on multiple fashion shoots over the years has taught us some helpful styling hacks that can update pretty much any look for free, thereby scratching that itch for newness without forsaking hot dinners for a week.

Now, we’re going to share some of our favouites with you. ‘Cause we’re nice like that.

But if you really can't resist a shopping trip, the mid-season sales have started - not to be enablers or anything...

Roll with it

Unless it’s a flare, full-length jeans are passé right now. But if you’re not happy to hack off the ends of your favourite jeans (though we have been doing a lot of that), rolling them up is a super-easy summer update. Best of all, you don’t need to be too precise - the more nonchalant the better. For baggy boyfriend jeans think Parisian left-bank cool and do a double roll. A single, deep cuff looks great on stiffer, straight-leg denim.

Customization is not just for kids

Gucci announced the launch of its DIY service last month, officially heralding the return of customization. Go raid the haberdashery, then get to work on that army jacket that's been sulking in the back of your wardrobe for years. The street style set has giddily embraced quirky badge-patched denim, so why not cheer up your denim jacket with some fun patches. Or, channel your artistic side and paint your denim or leather jackets à la Caroline Vreeland and Shea Marie (not to be worn in the rain, natch).

Layer up

Forget buying a new skirt, or new pair of trousers - just combine what you already own to create that classic nineties hybrid: The Scouzer. Jil Sander and Chanel championed the skirt-over-trouser last spring/summer, and it’s a comeback we’ve carried on. Fashion bloggers love this one, so there’s no shortage of style inspiration on the ‘gram or Pinterest. To work the look IRL, be wary of proportion and leave the voluminous tutu-over-boyfriend-jeans experiments to Leandra Medine and co.

Revive your eveningwear

With the recent cultural decline of nightclubbing, we’ve put a wealth of pretty skirts into early retirement. Revive your discarded eveningwear by dressing down luxey skirts with a vintage tee and trainers. Style editors call it 'elevated daywear'.