Cheap clothes

I am at the point where I have to buy some new clothes.  But I am still shrinking and I dont want to spend much.  I would rather save the budget for the big finale.

Where can I find some decent and cheap clothes?  I have tried Walmart - the clothes are a poor fit no matter the size.  I have tried Target - all of the pants seem to be made for toothpick legs and wide waists.  Nope - thats not me at all.  I tried Old Navy - but there was nothing in short or petite lengths.  Seriously the pants were all 8" too long.  Where else can I go?

Oh I have also been looking at the thrift stores but that is very hit and miss.  But I am down to 2 pairs of shorts and 2 pairs of pants.  Thankfully these were overlooked when I did a closet purge a few years ago. 

Do you have Marshall's or TJ Max near by your place? You have to dig (sometimes) to get good stuffs for cheap but.. I think of them as Walmart price for nice brand name stuffs.

I also go for clearance or sale items in aeropostale, hollister and american eagles. I've gotten jeans for $20, t-shirts for less than $10. Call me cheap but I can't really understand when my friend pays $30 for cotton t-shirt..

consignment store can be a great source - especially the ones in good neighbourhoods.  often you can find really high-quality stuff, sometimes with the tags still on.

i know what you're going through.  i was in school the whole time i was losing weight, so the few pieces i bought along the way were very casual.  now i need work clothes, and even the pieces i bought in the spring for interviews and stuff are too big, now.

Ross.  The stores get messy but if youve patience, the pricing is great.  The have petite racks too.  In fact, if clothes shopping I will hit more than one Ross store while Im out.  Not as good with pricing as Ross but still better buys would be TJMaxx and Marshalls.

Shame about Walmart - I find great fitting clothes and have not had a problem with quality although I do check well and am sure they (like all stores) carry good and bad qualtiy - you just have to check out the items.

Smartset & Reitmans.

Hm. You may have to invest in learning/ or paying someone to alter pants while keeping the orginal hem intact. It's a good idea to practice on old pairs that don't fit/Etc. Or: Pay someone that knows what they're doing. Everyone has made awesome suggestions. Old Navy, Tj max,Marshalls, Ross, Thrift stores,GoodWill. ( Btw:The Goodwill usually takes all of Targets return items as donations. So they have a lot of new stuff from there marked way down. ) Try Clearance Shopping too! Most stores in the mall have clearance rakes.... Go straight to them! Ask where their clearance section is at when you walk in the store. Rummage through everything on sale then move on to the next store of interest. There are also yard sales and the craighlist has a clothing section. Try your local area it may be helpful to post a free wanted listing in the clothing section.Make sure it's describing what you'd like to buy/the price range/condition/etc. The yard sales in some areas are questionable. However, if you go to a nice neighborhood there are great finds! :)

Original Post by buggyhair:

Smartset & Reitmans.

pretty sure those are strictly canadian, buggy.  and i'm pretty sure the OP is not.

btw, reitmans - big yes.  smartset - big no.  never had a single thing from the latter that didn't fade and/or fall apart way too fast.

TJ Maxx and Marshalls are great. Macy's and Jcpenney have good clearance sales all the time. Consignment shops are good too. You just have to look for a good deal anywhere you go.

Thrift (or whatever you care to call them) stores are the way to go. You can find plenty of clothes that are gently used and with the tag still on. There is a lot of not so good stuff too, but it is really easy to sift through. I don't like to shop but I will go in there with $20 and come out with a big bag of stuff I really like.

You might even find a cute security guy there you can flirt with. At least thats what I did. ;)

You'll feel better if you look good, and will therefore continue to be motivated to reach your goal weight. 

Try getting a few decent interchangeable pieces: 2 or 3 shirts that match your pants, a skirt that goes w/the shirts as well, a nice pair of jeans.  Find sizes that look good on you now, and will look even better when you lose the next 5-8 pounds.

Stay away from looking too cheap - it's better to take some time looking for good quality used stuff than getting poor-fitting clothing at walmart, target, or old navy, especially if you have the small-waist-curvy-hips body type.

And congrats!

V.

Original Post by reila_and_my_chrome_heart:

Thrift (or whatever you care to call them) stores....

"thrift" and "consignment" are two different things, if that's where the confusion is coming from.  thrift stores take donations and sell them, usually for charity.  you have to sift through a lot of garbage to find the good stuff.  cosignment is when people "consign" their stuff to be sold, and the store takes a percentage of the sale price.  the quality is much better, because the stores won't take stuff that won't sell.

Do you have Winners? How about one of those places that sell off stuff left/lost on airports/airlines?

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by reila_and_my_chrome_heart:

Thrift (or whatever you care to call them) stores....

"thrift" and "consignment" are two different things, if that's where the confusion is coming from.  thrift stores take donations and sell them, usually for charity.  you have to sift through a lot of garbage to find the good stuff.  cosignment is when people "consign" their stuff to be sold, and the store takes a percentage of the sale price.  the quality is much better, because the stores won't take stuff that won't sell.

aha, I see. Thanks Pg.

I'd say try H&M but I don't really know how much their pants cost. We have one in our mall and the shirts and stuff are often pretty cheap. If you really look around you can find nice stuff for pretty good prices. There's also JCPenny and Sears. but again I don't really know how much their pants cost. I only buy my pants at this one store called Peebles but I don't think they have any other locations..?

Do you have Mark's Work Warehouse?  I always assumed their clothes would be old/frumpy or just uniforms but I was wrong (and half my wardrobe is now from there).  They have a bunch of different cuts of pants, and there's usually a ton of stuff dirt cheap on the clearance rack.

I just got home from shopping for smaller clothes (my old clothes are now 2 sizes too big). I am only a few pounds from my goal weight, but on a limited budget. I went to an outlet mall. If you have an outlet mall near you I would check it out.... it is worth the drive if it is a little ways away. The outlet mall near me has coupons you can print online when you sign up for their free shoppers club. They also have a coupon book you can there with a AAA card. The prices at the outlets are a lot cheaper than the regular mall and the coupons get you some really great deals.

I am not petite, but most the stores at the outlet mall had a pretty good sized petite department.

One of the other posters mentioned H&M which I love!! They are great if you are looking for cheap trendy pieces.

Congratulations on your weight loss!!!

Kohl's has nice clothes, lots of them, and lots of great sales.  If you have one nearby definitely go in for a look.

The thrift stores in my neighborhood have lots of stuff, and they have it well-organised too!  In general, Goodwill, does the best job sorting clothes by size, etc.  They do charge a bit more though.  Lots of thrift stores have days during the week when then give a 50% discount on the clothes prices.  Keep looking until you find a place you like.  Also they usually get lots of new stuff in all the time, so be sure to check back.

I suppose in these economic times more ladies will be putting their unwanted clothes on consignment rather than donating them to the thrift stores.  Consignment stores charge way more than thrift!  And they usually tend to have the more expensive designer labels too.

In any case look for good classic cuts, Good luck and happy shopping!

KMart has a Jaclyn Smith collection of clothes. They look nice and are very reasonable.

Original Post by figurethefat:

 Lots of thrift stores have days during the week when then give a 50% discount on the clothes prices.  Keep looking until you find a place you like.  Also they usually get lots of new stuff in all the time, so be sure to check back.

True. On certain days different color tags are 50% off or more. They randomly do different color tags weekly for a percentage off. Plus: They have a 50/99 cent day every other Sunday. Ask about their sales if they have special days for different discounts. My brother goes on Sunday every so often for white t-shirts. That way he can buy a dozen white t-shirts at 50cents each. That's dirt cheap for clean/nice white tee shirts. He's a painter though so he goes through them very quickly.

JCPenney's has stepped up their game in recent years. Bisou Bisou, Nicole Miller, ABS, and a few other high end desigers have lines there now. They are always having a sale. You might want to try Dress Barn, Target, and Fashion Bug as well.  Do you happen to live near any Outlet stores?

Original Post by susiecue:

Do you have Mark's Work Warehouse?  I always assumed their clothes would be old/frumpy or just uniforms but I was wrong (and half my wardrobe is now from there).  They have a bunch of different cuts of pants, and there's usually a ton of stuff dirt cheap on the clearance rack.

i buy tonnes of stuff at mark's, too.  most of their stuff is pretty conservative, but it's good quality and very reasonably priced. 

btw, i stopped at a consignment store on my way home from work today and bought two great shirts for ~ $20 each.  one is mac & jac; the other is a designer i don't know.  they're just like new .