The mass of storefronts on Strøget can make even the most level-headed, restrained person to fall into their trap. If shopping is one of your guilty pleasures, then there are better, more financially sound ways to satisfy your urge.

Denmark is a fashion country

With highly skilled designers and internationally recognized brands, fashion is practically at your doorstep. Whether you’re strolling through the Latin Quarter in the second oldest city in the country, Aarhus, or hanging out in a café on Vesterbro in Copenhagen, you’re bombarded with sharp senses of style. It can be tempting, buying whatever you see in fashion magazines, on your favourite bloggers or on stylish people you come across in your day-to-day life.

But having an unnecessarily big student loan when you graduate is not the greatest way to start the rest of your life. Luckily, burning all your money to find the season’s must-haves is not necessary.

Choose the right stores

The more exclusive the shop, the more attractive it looks. It’s also in these, however, that you end up spending all your money on a single item. If you’re on a student budget, you’ve just got to swallow the bitter pill and avoid the most expensive stores.

It’s become a bit of a cliché, but the highstreet stores are adept at spotting trends on the glittering catwalks of the fashion world and interpreting them via their own collections. And it happens in no time. So always keep an eye on the highstreet. For the minimalistic look, H&M remains the biggest player, along with Cos and Weekday. If your gaze is drawn further south, to more colourful, patterned trends, then keep an eye on the two Spanish inhabitants in the highstreet-collection: Zara and Mango. Highstreet is your way to the most recent trends while maintaining reasonable finances. And the quality can’t really be scoffed much at anymore.

Go wild during sales

Are there still items you just have to own, no matter the price? Expensive purchases should never be impulsively made by anyone on a student budget. That reason alone should be enough to make you thoroughly consider it, before you throw several thousand bucks after a single item. When you’re still in the decision-making phase, it might as well be a good idea to wait for a sale. Twice a year, the previous collections will go on sale and there’s a pretty penny to be saved. The January-sale clears out the latest fall collections, while the summer-sale lowers the prices of the spring collections to much more manageable amounts.

If you can’t live without a couple of must-have designer items in your collection, then it’s a good idea to go all out during the sales. Do resist the lure of the many tempting offers at hand and make a list of priorities for your purchases during the sale. Is it the designer stilettos or that nice leather jacket that’s at the forefront of your dreams? Use your sale money on what you want most.  

The vintage-hype

Another option is to go thrifting. An afternoon among the second-hand racks can be a good time and you can find items you’ll rarely see plastered on half the guys and girls at uni. Vintage is in; for the same reason, the most popular stores in cities like Aarhus and Copenhagen are also a lot more expensive than they need to be. Go after the hidden gems and keep your eyes open when you roll into the vintage-world.

Is your student grant bringing you on a city break with your study friends? Cities like London and Berlin are, in addition to being very affordable travel-destinations, amazing places to hunt for new vintage-finds. A visit to the underground; the creative and more grunge-like parts of the city are always great on the second-hand front.

Bazaar shopping

In the same vein as the thrifting trend, you will find second-hand marketplaces. Denmark is a clothing-country, and more and more markets focus of reselling the enormous amount of more of less used clothing. In a city like Aarhus is Mega Kup popular with students – on the stands, you will find used clothes from your peers, who need to clean out their closets. FindersKeepers is a second-hand fair where, in addition to up-and-coming brands, there is also a dedicated space to second-hand clothing.

If you don’t care for the idea of used clothes, outlet shopping may be for you. All over the country, you can find events like Outlet Messen (“The Outlet Fair”) and Fashion Outlet, where brands sell their previous collections and collections sample at very affordable prices.

So, there are also many opportunities to follow the fashion race through the four reasons with their assorted trends. Highstreet, sales, vintage and outlets can all help you to make your fashion fit your SU-budget.