How do I afford my clothes?

Hey gals, bros, As and boths!

I've been getting asked how I afford my clothes a lot lately, and the follow up question is frequently something like "isn't it over the top? Isn't it a bit much?"  A video's a good way to explain to y'all how I collect my lolita clothes, and why I think it's perfectly okay to collect it. For the video, scroll to the bottom. For the short, sweet, and significantly less awkward, keep reading.

First of all, my closet isn't really that big. When I think of everyone I know, my wardrobe in general is the same size or a bit smaller than average.  I wear lolita every day except for when I'm cleaning or gardening or adding oil to the car or something like that, so as clothing it's not impractical for my lifestyle.

Secondly, I have been collecting and refining my wardrobe for 4 years. It's an endless cycle and I'm okay with that. Lolita's expensive, but if you saved all of your usual clothing and entertainment money, let's say 40 dollars a month, for a year you'd have enough money for a brand jumperskirt and matching brand shoes by the end of the year. Lolita's really worthwhile to me, so I've been able to save about that much or more on average since I started.

Even then, I only own a few brand pieces that were purchased new from the store. At least 2/3rds of my lolita is second hand or from much cheaper chinese indie stores. I don't have to have the most expensive brand thing, I just want to have the things I think are cute or beautiful.

I recycle my clothes. I can usually get at least half of my money back from selling my clothes to other lolitas online or I can trade items that I no longer want for other things that I do want. Any money I get back from this usually goes straight into my lolita savings. Knowing where to buy and sell is a key part of that. I've used ebay before lacemarket got big recently, but only when I was in a big hurry to get rid of stuff. Now lacemarket, facebook, and egl comm sales are my hunting grounds when I have enough put away for an item. Closetchild, Mbok, and Yahoo! auctions Japan all have lolita for great prices, but I have yet to get to an item I want before someone else xD The other day I tried to put a bid on an Angelic Pretty water bottle-one of those reuseable metal ones- and I screwed it up.

Work! For a couple of years I was working a pretty decent security job where I was doing almost 20 hours of overtime a week for several months, coupled with cheap rent, and what did I buy? Lolita. And tea xD
Even only working part time jobs, I've been able to use my tax returns or set a bit aside for lolita. I recently asked my friends and family for money for my birthday to reserve something from Alice and The Pirates' series Guilty Meltin' Sweets Town, and my best lolita friend (*winkwink Van*) bought me this insanely beautiful bonnet. Absurd.