You thought I would say Susan, right?!! LOL!! I think that was a movie from the 80's?

Actually, I am desperately seeking NEW fall/winter clothes without a high price tag. I no longer work at home and I'm realizing the limits of my wardrobe. Even if I lost 20+ lbs. I still have mostly jeans and t-shirts/sweatshirts that I could fit into. And really, because we never see our clients in person, I can go to work in jeans and t-shirts. But, I've noticed that I feel better and am more productive on days I wear nicer clothing. Not that I am in a suit or really dressed up, but in either really nice jeans, heels, and a great top or in a pair of nice pants with a nice shirt or sweater.

I'd like to expand my wardrobe and dress more professionally. Part of this is that I want to change careers and enter into the legal field. My office sits on "lawyer row", as I like to call it. We are a block from the county courthouse so there are lawyers everywhere. My plan is to stop in, visit, ask questions. I can't very well do that looking like a college student in jeans. They will never take me seriously. Plus, I just feel better when I look nice.

Any suggestions? I can't fit into clothes from Express or Limited or stores that are similar. I wear a 14/16 so I tend to go to the Gap or Lane Bryant. Both have great clothes, but there is a nice price tag attached.

I keep hearing that with the economy, more and more people are shopping at consignment shops. Has anyone had any luck with them? My thought is that the clothes in these shops will be outdated. Who's giving away in-style clothes? I'd think most would wait until they were outdated. I want to look nice and I don't need high-fashion pieces, but don't want to be wearing shoulder pads and leg warmers (yet another 80's reference for those of you 80's girls who had big hair and wore stirrup pants)!!

Jill

I second the Target recommendation. They have a ton of cute tops that are all really affordable. I have even found some cute skirts there. I have a bit of a challenge finding pants there. Pants are the one thing I will usually spend a bit more money on so that they fit right. Lane Bryant has some really cute wide legged jeans available now that look dressier than regular jeans.

I say go to Goodwill and Consignment shops. You never know what you are going to find and it doesn't cost anything to look. I know that the Goodwills around here often get the remaindered stuff from Target that didn't sell at 80% off or whatever. A lot of stuff there still has store tags on them.

Marshalls and TJ Maxx are also good places to look. It's about as much work as looking for stuff at Goodwill. Some days I will find a ton of stuff, other days I come out empty handed.

Are you crafty? Have you considered re-manufacturing your clothes or jazzing them up a bit? You could add a bit of trim or new buttons on a jacket. I just bought some new shirts from Old Navy and added some embellishment to them. If I had bought the shirt at Anthropologie I would have spent about 78 dollars, but by doing it myself I only spent about 15. There are a ton of cool websites on t-shirt reconstruction and such. I would be happy to point you in that direction if you are interested.
--Francie

Jill, I recently read this blog entry on Elastic Waist about cute clothes at Target and on target.com. Hope it helps!

i love getting the max for the minimum at TJ Maxx...but it does take time. i find the clothing is poorly organized. not organized by size, color or whatever. it is probably not the clerks. it is probably the consumers who leave things all over kingdom come.

quote:

Originally posted by SheriaVa:
I don't know if you consider this too "low rent," but I like Kohl's a lot and found some great cropped jackets there last year that I got raves on at work. The Apt. 9 stuff I find tends to be younger. Then there's the Daisy Fuentes stuff and the Vera Wang stuff, which I don't buy but would probably wear if I was built differently.

I do like Kohl's but the closest one is about an hour away so I don't get there much.

I think I'm going to check out the mall first and see if there are some good sales, then if I don't find anything I'll try consignment shops. I agree, Iz, that consignment shops and also places like Ross and TJ Maxx take a lot of time. I went years ago to a consignment place and I remember buying a bunch of shirts. But I also remember having to dig through racks and racks of clothing. I guess if you have the patience or a good eye for things, it is worth it. But, to save some money, I'm willing to give it a shot.

Jill

quote:

Originally posted by Tayhudson:

BTW, you would probably wear a Chico's size 2 if you do decide to have a look there. Our sizes are very different.

I bought jeans at Lane Bryant and bought one in a size 1 and one in a size 2. I like that sizing because psychologically it makes me feel better to not be looking at the numbers 14 or 16, even though it still IS a 14 or 16.

Jill

I don't know if you consider this too "low rent," but I like Kohl's a lot and found some great cropped jackets there last year that I got raves on at work. The Apt. 9 stuff I find tends to be younger. Then there's the Daisy Fuentes stuff and the Vera Wang stuff, which I don't buy but would probably wear if I was built differently.

I just went to Forever 21 with dd. she was looking for a dress for a school dance but i was surprised how much stuff they have that is business appropriate. I found shirts on clearance for $5, and the most expensive thing I bought was $27. I did some early holiday shopping also.

They also have a website.

one of my best buddies is a successful business owner, with multiple offices, and she sits on a very important Board. She regularly shops at thrift and consignment shops. i admire her style very much. for me, consignment shopping is more time consuming. you have to search and search and come back to see if the inventory has changed. If I had more time, I would do it regularly.

Jill don't be afraid to go look into stores that are consider higher end. With the economy the way it is markdowns are happening faster than before.

Chico's currently has many fall clothes on sale for 30% off, and the markdowns are 50% off the markdown price...there are some fall clothes/year around clothes in the markdowns.

I'm sure Chico's isn't the only store doing this, I just happen to work there so I know what their markdowns are.

Dawn

BTW, you would probably wear a Chico's size 2 if you do decide to have a look there. Our sizes are very different.

I do shop occasionally at consignment stores & Goodwill. You'd be surprised at how much stuff you can find that's new or gently used. One of my favorite sweaters is a Goodwill find that still had the new tag on it.

Give it a shot. You never know what you'll find.