Saturday afternoon in Bristol city centre, and hordes of young women are swarming around, laden with shopping bags and frittering cash on the latest must-have fashions and accessories.

But one girl has slipped away from the crowd.

Rather than heading for the nearest Topshop, she walks into a small charity shop and starts scouring the rails of second-hand clothes for bargains.

“I hate unnecessary waste, whether it’s financial, by paying over-the-odds for clothes and food, or environmental,” says Jemma Watkins, a 28-year-old PR executive. “I try to live in a non-wasteful way.”

A devoted second-hand shopper who grows her own vegetables and shuns a car in favour of riding to work on her bike, Jemma is part of a growing band of ‘frugalistas’ – young women for whom splashing the cash is so last season, and who can spot a great money-saving opportunity at 100 paces.

“In the past, being described as a frugalista would have been quite negative.

"You might have been seen as a bit tight and a bit of a scrooge, but with the credit crunch biting and environmental awareness being so trendy, it’s suddenly cool to be frugal.”

And frugal she is.

Jemma admits to shopping almost exclusively in charity and vintage shops, where she digs deep among the piles of second-hand clothes to find unusual one-off pieces which she alters and customises herself.

“In charity shops, you find unique items as well as brands like Boden and Jaeger.

"I’ve always tried to cultivate an individual sense of style, and you just can’t do that as well if you shop on the high street.

"Most importantly, I can buy an entire outfit for less than a tenner.”

According to Mal Fletcher, an author and expert on social trends, frugality is a growing movement, which has its roots in a number of areas – the current credit crunch, environmental awareness and a realisation that extravagant lifestyles aren’t necessarily always the happiest ones.

“I think frugality is a very positive trend,” says Mal.

“It’s about people taking personal responsibility for their spending, and setting limits on their own behaviour as a consumer.

"Ecological awareness also has a role to play.

"Nowadays our concern for the environment has crept into many of the decisions we make in our lives – what we wear, what we eat, and how we dispose of things.”

Jemma shuns hair salons, getting her sister – a one-time hairdresser – to cut her hair, and regularly holds clothes-swapping parties at her home, inviting fellow frugalistas to trade unwanted clothes with each other.

“We put them all in a pile, have a trying-on session, and whatever you like you take home.

"Anything that’s left gets taken to a charity shop.”

Jemma’s frugal ways don’t stop at her wardrobe.

She grows her own vegetables and when she does venture out to eat, she scours the internet and newspapers for money-off vouchers and two-for-one deals.

“I’m growing tomatoes, lettuces, beans and courgettes this year,” she says.

“It’s so much more satisfying to eat them knowing I’ve grown them myself and not given money to a supermarket that grossly overcharges for fresh produce.”

Another frugalista who takes pride in counting her pennies is Rachael English, a 24-year-old editorial assistant from Oxford.

“If you asked my family, they’d tell you I’ve always been tight with money,” says Rachael.

“But it was four years ago, when I volunteered at my local Oxfam, that I started to live as frugally as I could.”

Rachael became a convert to frugality when she saw the bargains for sale in the charity store.

“I’ve bought so many lovely outfits and saved myself hundreds of pounds in the process,” she says proudly.

“Today I’m wearing a pair of Calvin Klein trousers, which cost me £5, and a French Connection top that was £3.

"If I’d bought this outfit at the normal retail price, I doubt I’d have seen change from £150.”

Rachael insists you don’t have to compromise on style to save money.

“There’s a perception that if you shop in charity shops you can’t be fashionable, but that’s not true.

"I like to look my best, but I don’t like having to pay through the nose for the pleasure,” she says.

Proud-to-be-prudent Rachael even spends Friday nights volunteering at her local homeless drop-in centre, when most girls her age are in the local bar knocking back overpriced cocktails.

“I’d rather save my money for other things, like a deposit on a house, than waste it on alcohol,” she says.

Back in Bristol, Jemma predicts that frugality is the future.

“The days of throwing money around and revelling in expensive treats are gone.

"Now it’s cool to be frugal – to find cheap vintage clothes in charity shops, to recycle and reuse, not to splash out on expensive haircuts and meals.

"Saving is definitely the new spending.”

‘I furnished my home from skips and ebay’

Jacey Lamerton, 38, runs Get Your Frocks Off – a party service that combines clothes swapping with fashion advice. She lives in York with her husband Garry, 33, a retail consultant, and their two sons, Joe, six, and Bertie, four.

“I was a frugalista before the word was even invented. I shopped in charity and vintage shops long before it was cool – in fact, my entire wardrobe is second-hand.

My favourite bargains are my Lulu Guinness shoes, which cost £40 on eBay, and my Paddy Campbell dress and coat, which were £60, reduced from £700.

I’ve furnished my home from eBay, out of skips and from the local rubbish dump. I recently found a Belfast sink, which many people pay a fortune for, in a skip, and my gorgeous Victorian brass bed cost just
£60 on eBay.

All my sons’ clothes are hand-me-downs from friends and family. Bertie starts school in September and a friend has given me a complete second-hand uniform for him that her child has outgrown.

I buy all the children’s toys on eBay, and recently got them a mini quad bike for just £20.

There’s a whole sub culture of frugalistas out there – it’s definitely a way of life that’s growing in popularity.”

You Know You’re A Frugalista When:
•You’re more likely to hit the local rubbish dump on a Friday night than splash cash on shots of sambuca.
•You can’t walk past a skip without jumping in and having a rummage, much to the embarrassment of your boyfriend.
•You can’t remember your PIN number for your Switch card because you only use it twice a year.
•You count your fellow eBayers among your closest friends.
•You only venture to the high street when the sales are on, and even then you shudder in horror at the prices.

Are you a frugalista? Or do you splash the cash? What great money-saving tips do you have? Have you always been careful with money or has the credit crunch kick-started your frugal ways?

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Photography: Syriol Jones Hair & Make-Up: Tally Bookbinder at Nemesis Get Your Frocks Off (01904 637244)