How Do You Find Clothes On A Budget?
Photo of clothing on hangers from Pixabay
Updated 2024.07.24. This post contains affiliate links and Useful Roots will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.
Clothing is one of the most important essentials of life. It’s right up there with food and shelter. It also wears out frequently, so it often needs to be replaced entirely, if it can’t be repaired.
When you are looking for clothing while on a budget, it can seem like every piece of clothing you want is way too expensive, but there are little pockets in the retail world that allow you to meet your basic needs, while still looking quite dapper.
Outside of making your own clothes, which isn’t always frugal due to the cost of some fabrics, there are a few ways that you can find nice clothing for less.
Below are 10 tips for finding affordable clothes -
Photo of colorful clothing in shallow focus on rack by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels
1 - Biannual Clearance Sales
For this one, you may have to do a bit of shopping out of season but shopping this way is easy with a little planning.
These clearance sales are usually once in January, after the holiday season, and another time in July, before the back to school season.
To tap into them efficiently: go through your wardrobe, and make a list of what you need to upgrade or replace. Then, shop for classic pieces during these prime windows.
You will get brand, spanking new pieces for far, far less than full retail, up to 70% off in most cases.
2 - Buy Nothing Groups
The Buy Nothing Project is a movement that believes in the worldwide community of neighbors caring for neighbors. They believe that local social networks have a web of abundance and are full of wealth.
Find a local Buy Nothing Group on Facebook by searching Buy Nothing and your area in the Groups Section. To join, you usually have to provide the cross streets where you live to verify you are in the area and then the admin will approve you.
When inside a group, neighbors, including you, can post things they are giving away for free. If you need that item, you comment on the post, and the giver will message you. You usually go pick it up at a time you both arrange privately.
Buy Nothing Groups range in how active they are in each area and with what objects givers are giving throughout the year - though clothing is a common feature.
When you are shopping for clothing on a budget, there is no price better than free.
3 - Old Navy
It is mostly activewear, though, you will find sweaters and dress clothes from time to time - making it worth the hunt. Best of all, with proper care, some Old Navy clothing lasts years.
4 - Thrift Shops
Using Google Maps or another business search service, make a list of thrift stores in your area and take time to visit each, noticing what each has.
Keep returning to the thrift stores with the best selections for what you need and while there, ask the store clerks about weekly sales or rewards programs, and get those prices even lower.
If you aren’t sure which ones to frequent, or have limited time, a strategy that normally works is to go to the thrift stores closest to the parts of town with the higher priced homes. These thrift stores often, but not always, have more lightly used items of higher quality.
5 - Plato’s Closet
Plato's Closet nationwide chain consignment shop. They take your lightly used clothes, give you cash or credit for what they want, and you can shop while you wait for what they have decided to take.
The store is filled with hand selected pieces from other’s hauls that still have plenty of time on them. You can get classy, business pieces for way less than full retail price at Plato’s Closet.
6 - Put Clothing On Your Birthday/Holiday Wish List
Let friends and family know you’d like to receive clothes for their next gift to you. Put the items you want on your wish list and let people know the list exists.
This gives your network the option to support you and people may even give you clothes throughout the year, if they know you are looking for them.
7 - Last Stop Retailers
Overstock buying stores such as Marshalls and TJMaxx purchase excess inventory from major retailers or producers. This excess inventory is often sold to them for discounted prices and the savings get passed to you.
By shopping at “last stop” retailers such as those above, you can get new, brand name items for a fraction of the full retail price. Inventory rotates frequently, so make sure to check back weekly if you are building a wardrobe from scratch.
8 - Walmart
9 - Shop the clearance section at Target
Target’s clearance sections can be a gold mine. You can find the clearance items at the back of each section of the store - men’s, women’s and children. The tags are usually hot yellow.
10 - Kohls
10 places to find nice clothes on a budget text overlay photo of colorful clothing in shallow focus on rack by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels
Okay, so these are just a few options for finding nice clothing on a budget. Some of the options above encourage you to seek used clothing, but others leave room for purchasing new clothes for less.
Either way, you can usually look good for less using any of the options above, while maximizing your financial resources.
Clothing is a necessity, but it does not have to be an investment that requires your life’s fortune. On your next clothing purchase, which technique mentioned in this post will you use?
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