One of the enjoyable things about being a woman in early-21st century suburban America is how little it costs to look decent. The fact that affordable clothes which actually look good on me are so abundant at Target, and the same goes for shoes at Payless. I won’t win any snob points for shopping at these establishments, but so what? I steer clear of K-Mart because their quality is crap and their service is the pits. I steer clear of Wal-Mart because their treatment of workers is the pits. But Target is acceptable as well as affordable. It’s the best place to outfit oneself for everyday business casual women’s apparel. Their selection of women’s socks is outstanding. They’re not my perfect dream store by any means; they refuse to stock pretty patterned tights in my size (Queen). But for outerwear I’m pleased with the deals. The embroidered belt I found there constantly brings me compliments.
Target has several el cheapo house brands in ladies’ wear like Mossimo and Merona; and Xhilarations for lingerie and casualwear. They seem to carry Isaac Mizrahi as a slightly more expensive label, but still it’s all affordable and they’re constantly putting stuff on 50% off when it was cheap to begin with. The pink Cherokee sweater I’m wearing now cost me $4 on sale. Some of their fashions actually look stylish and chic without being glamorous. I find the quality of these labels to be consistent and reliable. They actually sell smart looks at Target instead of frumpwear. Ahhh, do you know what a relief that is?
The only thing Target really lacks for me is much in the way of dresses. They practically never have any dresses to speak of, so I haven’t built up my dress collection as much as I would like, while my closet is overflowing with separates.
Then there are the secondhand stores where I find most of my dresses, and all sorts of beautiful creations. My best purchase ever was my warm winter coat of purple cashmere, fits me perfectly, which I got at the Salvation Army for $34, and it was like new. I must have saved at least $200 on it. 
I have so much fun making my friends jealous when I wear something absolutely gorgeous I found at the Salvation Army, and they ask me where I got it, and I tell them there was only one of these, and I got there before you, nya-nyah. The only drawback to shopping at the Salvation Army is when you have to dry clean the nice dresses before you can wear them, to get rid of that crummy thrift-store odor. Usually the dry cleaning costs two or three times as much as the price of the dress! That’s how cheap things are there. You just have to keep checking back in frequently and you can find all kinds of treasures.
One of my friends is a choreographer and dance company director specializing in classical Central Asian and Middle Eastern dance. She sews all the fabulous exotic costumes herself. You wouldn’t believe how many costuming supplies she finds at Value Village. (I guess it helps that she lives in an area of Maryland with lots of wealthy expatriate Iranians whose castoffs wind up in Value Village.) She calls it “the karma store.”
Then there’s E-Bay. Don’t even get me started on the lovely clothes you can buy dirt cheap there. You all know what I mean. It’s harder to find good clothes at Ross, but you can find them if you look long enough, and they’re even cheaper.
So between Target, Payless, Ross, the Salvation Army, and E-Bay, I have no difficulty affording nice looks. The only thing one needs to lose is snob appeal, and I don’t care about that in the least. Win-win all around. 
I realize there is nothing earth-shattering about this insight. In fact, it’s the most banal thought I’ve had all week. Mundane? Check. Pointless? Check. Thus share I.
