Winter wardrobes are getting pretty stale right about now. We need to freshen up our style, girlfriends! How about dressing up your next girls night with a fashion theme? We know money’s tight, but fear not, recessionistas—here’s a roundup of fashionably frugal, sensibly stylish parties you can whip up for your next girls night in. And if you don’t have your next girls night on the calendar, use one of these ideas as your excuse. Spring *is* coming, and we all want to look our best. Right, ladies? photo by miss_rogue via flickr

Go “Unshopping”

Gather the girlfriends and hit the mall—not to buy, but for window shopping and trying on. Isaac Mizrahi, in his book How to Have Style, recommends the “just looking” trip. He says to focus on the things you don’t have in your closet, or styles you don’t usually wear – e.g. if you are afraid of accessories, try on loads of belts, scarves and jewelry. “If there is anything you feel you cannot live without,” Mizrahi says, “put it on hold. Go home. If when you wake up the next morning it’s the first thing that pops into your head, buy it.” With your gal pals in tow, you will get truthful opinions on what looks good. Remember to bring your digital camera so you can record some of your favorites (plus, the hat department might make for some fun girlfriend pictures!).

Swap Accessories

The quickest way to freshen up a wardrobe is with new accessories. But why shop when you can swap? With our accessory swap party, you won’t even have to buy new accessories. Plus, girlfriends of all sizes can swap accessories without worrying that they won’t fit. Click here for a very complete party plan!

Learn What Not to Wear

Pool your resources and bring in a personal stylist to help you understand what not to wear, and more importantly, what to wear for your body type. We’ve done this and our girlfriends found it incredibly useful. And, it can be done very inexpensively. For the how-to, including tres chic cocktails and fashionable party favors, see our fashion finesse party.

Share Your Fashion Finds

Our girlfriend Audrey McClelland at MomGenerations loves to have Fashion Sharing Parties (F.S.P.s) with her gal pals. Here’s what she had to say: “Having an F.S.P. is cost-effective (no paying for clothes!), it’s easy and it’s such much FUN!  I get a group of girlfriends together —usually around 10 to 12 girlfriends— and we all bring one bag of clothes. The clothes can be anything. Nothing is specified. Just stuff we have used (the best is when someone brings clothes that still have tags!)  and want to swap around. What I love about F.S.P.s is that we all come in and just have fun together trying stuff on… seeing what looks good on one another… and ways to look good while saving money and just having a blast! We laugh and we joke, and we just have a good time with fashion. It’s funny because now when we see each other out and one of us is wearing something hip, we’re always like, “Is that F.S.P.able?”  Rather than going to the mall and buying new clothes separately, we all get together and just “shop” from each other’s closets. And then after six to eight weeks, we get back together and “shop” again. We really try and do it once every couple of months. And the best part is, you know that every two months, you’ll have new pieces to add to your wardrobe. When I was pregnant, four of my other pregnant girlfriends and I created a Maternity Fashion Sharing Party. We shared maternity clothes and really were able to have fun with our clothes throughout the nine months. Girlfriends are the best ones to go to for fashion help and finds!”

If you couldn’t tell, Audrey is a bit of a fashionista! She’s currently giving daily fashion tips in her “365 Days of Fashion Advice for Moms.” You can even email her with your fashion dilemmas. Check it out here; you’ll love it!:

So there you have it, four fashionable ideas for your next girls night. Enter spring looking fresh and fabulous, and without spending a fortune!

Like these ideas? Have any fashion-forward girls night ideas you would like to share? Just want to chat? Leave a comment. We love to hear from our girlfriends!