Fashionably Skint: Zero dollar dress

You might not be able to have a free lunch, but you can certainly have a free dress thanks to Fashionably Skint, a new app that allows students to swap and borrow outfits. No longer do you need to go without food to look good, Fashionably Skint has you covered.

Founded by Amanda Baker, a 26 year old Graphic Design and Advertising Graduate and a previous Junior Designer at Volume, the app was designed to be the perfection solution to the time old problem of having ‘nothing to wear’. It took careful consideration and planning to come into fruition, however now it’s up and running, the skint student society couldn’t be happier.

The app can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices, giving flexibility to the fashion orientated student. It works by uploading photos of your outfit which can also be uploaded from Facebook, filling in the correct questions about it (size, colour, brand etc.), then you’re good to go. After scrolling through pages of endless options and being helped by the list refining functions, you can message the owner to organise the clothes swap, then rate the experience.

For the growth in the contest of impressing others and wanting to look good, limited amounts of money from growing uni fees, and still the demand to go out and have a good time, you no longer have to be worried about having nothing to wear. As Amanda says, “being skint doesn’t mean we can’t look awesome on a night out”. Despite it being early in the apps development process, it’s still got tones of potential to be insanely popular, with hitting the so sought after niche in the market.

Amanda got the idea for the app from her personal experience at uni:

“As a student, money was always tight but the opportunity to go out partying was pretty much every night. As well as studying, partying is a big part of the university lifestyle, but being a typical girl, wearing the same dress more than once always seemed a bit cringe, especially when I had lots of photos posted on Facebook wearing it. Luckily, I lived with three fashionable girls so we always borrowed each other’s stuff. This saved me a lot of money and enabled me to go out more regularly.”

Being a skint student doesn’t mean you have to compromise on fashion, looking good is a main priority on having a good night out, and with hundreds of outfits collecting dust that could be put to good use, why not try and get something out of it? Instead of just being skint, be Fashionably Skint.

Tamara Massey