Choosing where to shop these days is half the battle. If you haven’t determined where you would shop if you had a greater budget, there’s no better time than Winter Clearance season on the entire calendar.
By fashion personality types, a few pointers:
- If your style is purely functional, then it only makes sense to shop at those places which are most convenient for you. Most fun, too. This probably accounts for the fact that the stores I would choose to shop at, if money were no object, are all within a few doors of each other.
- A few chains cater somewhat to the Romantic, but the frequently overlooked western-type store is worth a look.
- What kind of classic are you? Classics of various shapes and sizes have probably already noticed that Talbots is offering 25% off already reduced clearance prices.
- True or false: For the contemporary classic, who mixes classic pieces into uniquely personal ensembles, the trick is to select the store that suits your age category?
- What I am really waiting for is the big reductions at Ann Taylor. For me, their stuff is primarily dressy social. If I were glamorous, I’d wear it for everyday.
- Now I realize that a true trendsetter is not going to be pinned down about where to shop, so I’m just going to throw out one suggestion: there’s lots of crazy bargains at the discounters (TJMaxx, Nordstrom Rack, and the clearance centers).
Allow me to be transparent. My reason for a post of this type is mainly to find out — where do you like to shop?
If money were no object, I’d buy my entire wardrobe from Boden (bodenusa.com). Bright, fun colors & prints, basic styles with contemporary fit. They are having great discounts right now, but there isn’t much left!
I did get a limey-green cord blazer though, with birthday money. thanks for the jacket inspiration (the pink suede one)!
Ann Taylor Loft! (Ah, the days of the employee discount when most of my paycheck went back to the store.) I like Ann Taylor too, but they are generally too expensive and too dressy for my everyday life. Ann Taylor Factory is great too, although I don’t usually buy their line, just the “left overs” from the other two stores. What can I say, I’m an “Ann” kind of girl!
I also like Banana Republic, although again, I tend to shop their factory outlet for better prices. I shop Gap and Old Navy on occasion. What is up with me and shopping these “family” stores?
On occasion I order from Eddie Bauer if I find a good sale. And I love Land’s End for on sale swimsuits. And…gulp…Target works for me in a pinch.
De-lurking……..I’m a SAHM to a nearly 11-month-old little girl.
I have culled my closet and am armed with a list and am now waiting for the *real* sales to start at Ann Taylor Loft and Eddie Bauer Outlet. I don’t need much and what I do need (and have been eyeing) I’ve been willing to wait for. Also, I have a tremendous amount of luck getting major deals on undergarments at Kohl’s. I wait and match their preferred customer coupons with their sales/markdowns and have walked away with tons of new bras, underwear, camisoles and pjs for next to nothing.
I saw a commenter above mentioned Land’s End for swimsuits, and I wanted to chime in that I, too, used to love Land’s End swimsuits until Sears started carrying LE. I’m not a Sears hater, I’m just against restocking fees on top of not getting shipping costs back.
For practical reasons – we don’t have a car, public transporation is inconvenient, I dislike mall shopping, I’d rather not spend more than an hour in a store, finances – I realized with surprise that much of what I have that is new, well thought out, and pleases me comes from the Rainbow shop, a low-end chain, and Payless. At Rainbow, I concentrate on shape and color and fit and leave the mismatched pattern seaming and embellished clothes alone. So I get updated basics. It’s difficult to shop there because they push the racks too close together and play heartbreak music on the radio, but I brave it once in a while. I’ve pared my wardrobe way down and go in there with an idea of what I need.
I noticed that all of the trends in my Vogue, Bazaar, etc., were showing up quickly there – they are next door to where I do my grocery shopping. I tend to wait for their sales even though it’s chancy because they don’t stock sizes very deep. In fact, I tired of my fashion mags and didn’t renew the subscriptions. It works just as well to see what the silhouette is at Rainbow. I can’t wear their shoes for some reason but the Payless across the street carries 6 1/2 wide. Their other shoes don’t fit me if I cheat on the size but those do. Since I have to walk miles on pavement and my feet are touchy, this works great for me.
I also shop at thrifts once in a while, though it’s a transportation Project. I used to shop almost exclusively at thrifts but the ones I used closed down.
Ross is easily reachable for me if I take a bus into Philadelphia. I had been looking for structured shoulder bags and, in a season where everything else was pouchy and slouchy, I saw they had them. I ended up buying no wearables but I had been looking for an exact size planner and couldn’t even find supplies to make my own and they had what I wanted on sale and in an orchid pink. So I have a good feeling about them. 🙂
I have a Walmart not far away and have tried them for basics – which I have worn – but am not so happy with the quality or the cut and don’t look there first. Though my 19 year old son is very happy with Puritan products and prefers the long-sleeved tees and the boxer briefs of that brand that I purchased there for him. My husband, who is exposed to the cold, likes to check the year end sales of Campmor catalog.
Honestly, most of the things that I really love and wear over and over are items that I have thrifted. This is probably because when I buy things full price I tend to be “safe” and buy items that I know will last through several seasons and through “fad” changes. So I tend to buy solid colors and classic styles. Then when I am thrifting and spending so much less money I tend to go out on a limb and buy different patterns or different silhouttes, like bell sleeves or interesting necklines. Then those very details that had me “scared” to buy in a full priced item make those thrift items my favorites.
Does that make any sense?
Without going into a big discourse on my fashion idiom, I think I tend to dress as who I WANT to be, if you can understand that. I want to be perceived a bit more as urban and arty, but live in a rural area, so I can do that by wearing things that are a little more contemporary-it makes me feel more chic and not so much like a frumpy stay at home mom. Not to say that I don’t run out of the house in jeans and a sweater sometimes. But anyway, those fun, chic pieces I pick up at the thrift store.
Since reading your blog I’m trying to pay more attention to what those details I really like are, and on a cost per wear type thing look at buying them on sale at bigger retailers if they make me feel fab.
All that aside, when I do buy full price from a bigger name place, I tend to go for true classic like LL Bean or Eddie Bauer for extremely conservative classic stuff like t-shirts, turtlenecks, chinos, jeans etc. Then I fill out my wardrobe with basics from your Mall anchor stores if I really need something. I have rarely ever even set foot in an Ann Taylor or a Talbots, mostly because the cost and the style were unecessary for me. I do like the dramatics of some things like “Coldwater Creek” or “Chicos” but think that they are geared to a more, uh, mature figure and at 34 refuse to go there yet. . . .
If I had tons of money, I would buy 80% of my wardrobe at Brooks Brothers. Because apparently I am a 75-year-old pearl-wearing WASP just heading out to play an envigorating game of polo at the country club. 😉
Currently, I shop at lots of different stores. Some of these are T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, J.C. Penney (their clearance sales are great), occasionally Maurice’s clearance, Van Heusen, Target clearance, Ann Taylor and AT Loft on serious sale, thrift shops, and some online shopping. This is only a tiny sampling of the stores I go to. I like classic clothes with the occasional trend thrown in, and I have certain ‘go-to’ stores for certain things. For example, when I want trendy and cheap accessories, I go to Cato.
I just enjoy shopping in general.
even though i have four kids, i’m still young and don’t want to look “mom-ish”, so my favorite store is h & m. their stuff is very cute, and very budget-friendly. also, i can find things for all the kids and even my husband there. i also like old navy for jeans and plain tanks, and i have found very cute skirts at target.
and i totally agree with one of the above commenters about kohl’s for bras and underwear. they have all the good brands that more expensive department stores carry, for half the price (or sometimes even less!).
Thanks to everyone for sharing! There is so much good stuff here it’s almost overwhelming.
Suffice it to say, for now, I am definitely looking forward to the arrival of Kohl’s in our neck of the woods.
Oh, and Jenn (Upstate), yes that makes perfect sense. And I think you answered my question about the age thing. 🙂
And jennifer, I did like Boden. I have never seen it before, but it totally works for your idiom: contemporary and colorful.
I like Coldwater Creek – though they are indeed too pricey. Other than that, I’m not sure what my style is. I’ve changed so much lately – I’m still working on finding out who I am fashion-wise! 😀
Boden is pricey, but they have GREAT sales twice a year and almost everything gets marked down to at least 50% off. I have bought from them in the past on those sales. They have really adorable girls clothing as well! I have a collection of really cool coats…I know strange thing to collect, but I am obsessed with them. I get great coats on EBAY!! I have over 40 coats. One is from Max Mara, beautiful orange and brown tweed with orange and brown and pink embroidery with an orange fur collar. Absolutely amazing. It retailed at the SAKS for $1,200 (GASP!) and I got it on Ebay for…drumroll please…$99 plus $20 shipping. In absolutely perfect condition! EBay is great if you have the time to look and you can fit into the sample sizes. (sizes 2-6 usually are the normal sizes you find in the designer high end stuff!)
Oh Elleabelle, that’s amazing! Do you ever sell anything on EBay? And you don’t happen to have a spring coat you’re looking to part with cheap, do you?
He hee.
That’s a good tip, because I do need the smaller sizes. 🙂
Pingback: The Space Between My Peers » Judging By The Cover
I’m late on this one, but I love LL Bean. Their stuff wears forever…and I’d love to be able to shop from them whenever…alas, Target and JC Penney are my usuals. And Penney’s isn’t quality anymore…I’ve been kind of mad lately at the cheap zippers and frayed hems. I pretty much only go there during their big sales.
I’ve always wanted to order from Eddie Bauer or Land’s End. I never run across them at sale time unfortunately!
Pingback: The Space Between My Peers » Timing Is Everything (What's a Good Deal Now)