Not far from my home in New Jersey is the Greatest Thrift Store Ever. Seriously. It’s called Village Thrift, and is absolutely enormous. Last time I was there I got a brand new (tags still on) Abercrombie & Fitch button-down shirt for two bucks. The shirt I’m wearing right now was a “treasure chest” find there and cost me an entire twenty-five cents. I love cheap clothes.
I also admit to doing a lot of my shopping at both WalMart and Target (mostly Walmart, beacuse it’s a lot closer). I despise both of their politics and big-box stores in general, but for things I really need (underwear, socks, ramen, imitation-brand Mountain Dew), they’re great. I even found a bathing suit that fit me (a rarity, to be sure) there last spring for about ten bucks.
Generally, I hate spending a ton of money on clothes - my ‘leisure’ budget is tiny and I like to stretch it as far as possible.
That said, I really, really am lusting after these boots. They’re not currently available online and I so should not spend a quarter of my monthly paycheck on a pair of boots, but the temptation is definitely there to keep watching if they start selling them online.
I’m a huge Target fan, also TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. I resent spending a lot on clothes, so I haunt the clearance racks at most of the stores where I shop and manage to find some good bargains. I’ve also been stocking up on inexpensive accessories since I love the styles that are available right now. A pretty sequined scarf (like the one I’m wearing today–$5 off the clearance rack at Wet Seal) can really make a difference in a blah outfit.
Same here on the shirts, and gap. For jeans I have found a great brand that I shall share with all you ladies. Cruel Girl. Best. Jeans. Evar!
They are a “western” brand of jeans and can be expensive if ebay is not your friend. But they are so cute! and the extra long inseam is 36" Long is 34" They have all kinds of styles and dont really look “western”
Sounds great, but I don’t think there is one in Madison WI.
Ross is another not in Madison chain The nice thing about ON is that most of the pants there have a good amount of material in the hem that you can let out if they arn’t long enough.
I guess i’m just destined to look like an Ape waiting for a flood!
I’m a guy and I buy almost all of my shirts and most of my jackets and outerwear at Village Thrift in north Philly. They’ve got half-price Saturdays and half-off colored price tags, which knocks the prices down really low. Average price for a t-shirt is 80 cents or a buck. A button up shirt is maybe $2-3. I’ve got a pretty sweet black leather jacket I got there a few years ago for $10.
There are closer thrift stores like the Salvation Army, but it’s not as cheap because its in a much nicer neighborhood and it’s pretty close to the college campuses.
Jeans and stuff I buy from places like Kohl’s or Marshall’s, and once and a while I’ll pick something up from a military surplus store.
On second thought, the best items I could find at Ross weren’t that good-looking. Ross isn’t in the front rank of my favorite places to shop. But they sure were cheaper than just about anyplace that sells new clothes.
None of the stores I mentioned have anything glamorous, of course. Even though I do like to turn on the glamour sometimes, it’s more important to me to have access to mundane, everyday looks that are cheap and chic at the same time. It’s a winning combination; how come so few have tried it?
Yay for resale! In my neck of the woods, Buffalo Exchange is the place to go for the funky and thrifty. I first started going when it was in this little shop next door to its current location. Boutique brands, Target prices. Now they have raised the prices some, but you can still find some good deals on great brands.
Otherwise, there is a Goodwill near my house which I get lucky at sometimes.
I LOVE Target. Except for the fact I need REALLY long jeans, and they dont carry longs at all. Gotta drop 60 bucks on pairs from the Gap. And it sucks cause Target has a lot of cute washes for their jeans, and they’re half the cost of ones from Gap. But I buy a lot of summer clothes from Target - flood pants/capris, polos, swimsuits (they have alot of cute ones) etc. If they had like 36" or longer inseams I’d be in heaven. Even Gap doesn’t carry a lot of khakis or dress slacks in longs, which sucks. I had to search long and hard for a pair of nice black dress pants that were long, and I still havent been able to find khakis, because I don’t like ‘super low rise’ cause I have a bit of love handles I like to cover up.
But yeah, I try not to spend a lot of money on clothes. I hit sales. Right now I’m wearing a green polo under a navy and green soft argyle sweater, which combined cost me like 25 bucks with tax from Aeropostale, regular over 60 bucks. A good deal makes me happy.
Color me in as an outlet store junkie. About 80 miles from here, in Commerce, GA, there are at least 50 outlet stores just waiting with their discounts and clearances. About three weeks ago, a buddy and I went and spend about a grand on clothes, all drastically reduced in price and practically filled up the back of my Explorer. And all from Nautica, Calvin Klein, Timberland, Banana Republic, Polo. Great stuff for cheap.
I got enough new clothes that now I only have to do laundry every two weeks! WOOHOO!! Now that’s what I call a good deal!
I have a pair of AirWare shoes I got about 6 years ago that I paid $130 for, and I still have them and I still wear them. They also still look like they did the first year I bought them and just keep getting more comfortable. I don’t know if you own other shoes this brand, but they are totally worth the expense. At the time I bought them I thought I was throwing money away, but now I’m glad I did.
I agree, badbadrubberpiggy. Value is more important than price alone. Going with better value saves more money in the long run. Buying stuff that lacks value just because it’s cheap means you waste money on worthless junk. Investing in good value gives the most efficient use of your limited funds.
I praised Target and Payless because I found there the best intersection of good value and low price.
I work right across the street from a Salvation Army. Not only do they have great stuff, but I can go there on my lunch break. I love that convenience.
I also work in rental property management, and part of the job is cleaning out apartments after tenants leave. Clothes are often just left there, and when something is my size I hit paydirt.
I have to avoid Target. I feel the clothes are so inexpensive, I’ll be more willing to buy things that I “love” without thinking. And then my closet gets stuffed, I don’t wear it, and it’s a waste of money.
I’m training myself to buy clothes that really look great on me, rather than because they are on sale and look okay. I’d rather spend the money with my eye on the long run. Still have some work to do, though!
This is my new mantra, too. So often I end up buying all these clothes that look ok, then hardly wearing them. I would rather spend more on a few great looking pieces that will last.
That said, I have also discovered that you can buy clothes at expensive stores and not pay anything close to full price if you know how to shop. I buy clothes at Gap, Banana Republic, and Marshall Fields for a fraction of full price just by waiting for clearance and sales. Gap and Banana have such quick turnovers that their clothes go on sale very quickly. I have quite a few pairs of Gap jeans now and I never spent more than $20 for any of them. I can buy pants and sweaters at Banana Republic that are originally $70-100 for $19.99. I go straight to the back of stores and check the clearance every time I go by. I can get stuff cheap for my son this way too. Sometimes I get comments that my 15 month old son is always wearing ‘expensive mall brand names’ but I always tell people I probably paythe same or less per item than if I bought anywhere else (except consignment, and I buy stuff there for him too.)
Marshall Fields sometimes takes out racks of designer stuff and literally sells it for super cheap, I am talking 99 cents or so - just to clear out stuff. Ask someone who works there when they do it, I have gotten great stuff this way. My best find there was a Ralph Lauren top that was supposed to be $175 that I got for a dollar. I also got Kenneth Cole jeans for $9.99.
I like to buy “fashionable” clothes - those that’re in this season but won’t be in next year - at Target. They’re great for that.
Then I hit the outlets for the “classic” look. I don’t mind spending more for good quality clothes that I’ll be able to wear year after year. In fact I’d rather spend a little more and get something durable. I hate finding something I truly love and then having it wear out after only one season. But at the outlets, I can usually get both good quality at cheap prices if I stick to the clearance racks. I love sales!
The nice thing about ON is that most of the pants there have a good amount of material in the hem that you can let out if they arn’t long enough.
