As a personal challenge I’m trying to cut my clothing purchases as close to nil as possible until I’ve actually worn out or donated enough stuff that I’m down to a sensible level where I’ll switch to one in and one out. So far since Sept’09 I’ve bought a tshirt, a 3pk of socks and a second hand sweater for a grand total of about $15 in 11 months.

I tend to stick to quality classics in basic colors and bought on consignment or on sale. I change up the looks with scarves, wraps, cardigans and jackets in more trendy colors. Even my outerwear follows this pattern – my trench coat and winter coat are black and charcoal grey, but I have scarves and leather gloves in purple, fushia, red, apple green, etc. I expect to get 7-8 years out of the coats and all the gloves were received as BD and Christmas gifts (when asked for suggestions, have a proper list of items you actually want ready to provide!).

We also save buttons from anything that dies, and save fabric scraps for later projects. Sometime soon, I’m going to start hand-sewing Barbie clothes from the really small scraps… a hobby that will happily take up some downtime at night or on a road trip and cost me nothing, especially if I end up selling any outfits.

Additionally… I’m not a big fan of local Goodwill prices, but nearby big cities have what is called a Goodwill Bargain Bin. Locally, it’s $1.50/lb, which ends up being around ~30 cents per piece for clothing from newborn to 4T (which is what I’ve bought before). We recently bought over 100 pieces of baby clothing for our baby surprise and it cost $30, which is amazing for clothing in good condition.

Another good place to look for good-quality clothing–check to see if the Junior League in your community has a garage sale, or if a local women’s group organizes an annual consignment sale. I know of 2 communities that do this, and you can find really high-quality clothing (including suits for the office) at excellent prices.

This year, I’ve decided to only buy clothes if I’m going to replace an item. It helps cut back greatly on spending because I don’t replace clothes that often.

“Buy clothes that accessorize well and match with many other items in your wardrobe.”

This make it much easier to pull together an outfit in the morning, if most things to together. I do have a few things that make me say “Oh shoot, I really wanted to wear this shirt but it really only goes with those pants, and they’re already in the wash!”

Adding to the “buy used” bandwagon, I have to third the recommendation of eBay. I’m wearing $10 (including shipping) Ralph Lauren jeans right now, and my $16 (also including shipping) mystery box arrived today with ~ 6 pairs of pants and 2 sweaters I’ll wear to the office, plus some odds and ends I may donate to a local thrift store. At back-to-school time I saw complete packages (jeans, tops, purses, belts) on eBay.

I’m fixing up another blouse that lost a crucial button and have a nice set of pretty blue buttons to replace them with from my collection. Both sets of buttons were from other worn-out shirts or blouses.

Stella, if you buy classic styles that never go out of style for “good” clothes you’ll be fine. Pencil skirts, basic blazers, a-line skirts, nice collared blouses, trousers, etc. will always be “in style” and look professional.

You might want to subscribe to the Clothing Chronicles newsletter for excellent advice. It is a free e-newsletter. Google it!

And for jeans, Old Navy has my vote all the way. I got a pair in ’98 that’s been worn hundreds of times, saved me from a dog bite, can withstand my husband’s juggling (he’s TERRIBLE about tearing his pants).

For dressing up, little secret, Syms has a bash labor day weekend and maybe memorial day(?). When my dad had to wear business suits 7 days/week for work, he got them all there at the bash days. Good quality, good price, tailored there. Last season’s styles, but you can USUALLY get away with that.

Likewise, they had some nice women’s stuff. Racks of stuff to go through, and not all of it to everyone’s taste, but worth the effort. I got a winter coat there that lasted 5-6 winters.

If you’re in an industry where what you wear counts, then you’ll have to spend more on what you wear. If that’s business suits, then look for sales and deals and exchange with friends and thrifting. If that’s high-fashion, then take good care of everything you buy, wear it until it’s out of style for your set, and see if you can sell it on e-bay for 25% of what you paid for it.

If you’re a lawyer, then you’re going to have to wear a real suit and an ironed shirt every day. You can save by buying your underwear/socks in bulk, buying your suits end of season, and keeping your clothes clean so that you don’t have to wash them or replace them as often, but you’re not going to be able to pick up business suits for $50 at Old Navy.

There are fields where you definitely have to dress “up” and while you may not need designer clothes, you really can’t get away with seasons-old clothes (no matter how nice) of the type you can get second-hand.

The cost of suits for women, even on sale or at discounters is not cheap, but if work in some places, you have to “invest” in this kind of apparel.

And the costs can add up. That’s why a lot of folks basically get leisure/non-work/stay at home clothes at thrift shops. There’s not a lot left after work clothes to spend on casual stuff.

When you need better quality clothes you can often find relative bargains (emphasis on “relative”) at consignment shops in high-end parts of a town or city.

It’s one thing to be an executive or someone who makes serious money and have the $$ available for upscale professional attire (and yes, folks, even today, some of us do have to dress up for biz or risk not being taken seriously by co-workers or clients, who really do watch what you wear).Where it gets tough is if you work in a company where the execs dress like that and you work FOR them, but your salary in no way can include such clothes.

There are a lot of secretaries and administrative assistants in offices all over the U.S. who work for execs who expect them to wear quality suits and other not-so-cheap clothing–as it reflects on both them and their business.

Some jobs, like these, come with built-in costs that are not covered by salaries.

Heck, we’d all love to work from home and dress in jeans/casual slacks and tops. It just doesn’t work that way.

Some of us have to trim budgets elsewhere to have money for clothing, including shoes and bags and accessories (women have more stuff) to go with it.

It may be fun and affordable if you’re relatively young and single and have no other big expenses…but if you have a family, a home, etc. it’s money you hate spending.

However, the thrift shops around here are marvellous. Of course, the prices vary from outlet to outlet, even in the same charity chain (like Goodwill) – so scope that out. We just visited what we considered an expensive Goodwill while visiting relatives over the holiday…& others that weren’t too bad, but not rock bottom & without the $1 rack we find at some thrift stores. That said, all my BEST clothes come from thrift shops! All the designer lables I have are 2nd hand – Over the holidays I picked up jeans for @ $5-6 EACH – which are very nice! And I stock up on underwear when a shipment comes in at the 99 Cent Store.

The only problem with this sort of shopping is that you have to grab the deals you see asap – so it leads at times to impulse purchases. You should always have a mental list of what holes in your wardrobe you wish to fill – so if you, say, run into a nice pair of black dress shoes or some boat shoes for casual use, you can see how they fit into your wardrobe. And I always pick up good cheap tshirts, as they stain & wear out easily, so they are on a pretty fast rotation…Wear lesser clothes at home & save your better things for when you go out to meet the world – Avoid dry cleaning – many things can be hand washed – or brushed & pressed – or sprayed with Fabreeze to freshen them – Learn how to get stains out effectively to lengthen the life of your clothes – Do your own minor mending & have a mending kit at home with varying colors of thread and spare buttons. Bondex works well for some rips – elsewhere you can use iron-on facing which comes in black & white – or webbing to fuse a patch. And remember that torn & worn jeans are again fashionable!

You can also get good deals in vintage stores!(or vintage at thrift stores.) I scored a very nice summer dress for $5! (needed buttons, which I supplied). I frankly think that the Gap, Old Navy, Target etc. are expensive all things considered, when I can get equal quality much more cheaply at a thrift or bargain store. I have even gotten patent sandals at what I call an “Oriental bargain store” along with scarves – and also scarves at the 99 Cent Store! (Elsewhere they would be at least $5 each…) And accessories like scarves go a long way toward pulling together an outfit.

At cheaper outlets you can afford to indulge yourself in those accessories – and trendy details you don’t want to spend too much $ on. There are also deals on things like tights & socks and so on. Sometimes there are deals at higher end used clothing boutiques – Always look at the sale merchandise! (And remember that sales racks are usually placed in the back of a retail store – so go back there & check it out…)

There are some thrift shops that will regularly have brand new merchandise donated – so keep your eyes open at such outlets. I landed a bunch of $7 jackets at a Salvation Army that would have been $50+ elsewhere!

And remember that the added value of shopping at charity thriftshops is that you are ALSO contributing at the same time to the CHARITY the shop supports! So you have the satisfaction of being able to donate a lot more $ to these charities than you would be able to otherwise!

Be willing to look at a range of sizes – things shrink after they are washed and sometimes a perfectly good item in the next size up was donated because it shrank! I’ve bought pants in sizes 2,4,and 6 – all the exact same fit!

Buy quality, then extend the life of the clothes:
Hand wash delicates, almost everything labeled “dry clean only” can be hand washed – the exception would be a lined wool coat, I think!
Soak in cold water with your homemade laundry detergent or any other, if you don’t make your own – I usually use a huge mixing bowl. Lightly rub any stained areas together(collar, cuffs), rinse in cold water, roll up in towel, shake out and dry on one of those wooden drying racks. Sweaters stay nice indefinitely, even silk blouses. My washing machine has a hand wash setting, very little agitation, and I wash all my sweaters by machine (sort by color and never put wool in the dryer).

Spots and stains: Work a bit of concentrated laundry soap into the spot (or spray and wash), let it sit, then wash as usual.

Worked in a professional office – always shopped in thrift stores. Classic pieces never go out of style. Bought beautiful silk shirts, wool skirts and blazers, dress pants – you name it. The prices have gone up at thrift stores, so be careful (and complain – most are non-profit!!!)

Learned to sew when I was a kid (thanks Grandma!) so I can make anything out of fabric. Darning a hole, sewing on a button, repairing a ripped seam, hemming pants or skirts, are all within the realm of easy money-saving fixes. Replacing a zipper is much trickier, but many tailoring services will do this for about $8 in my area – worth it on a pricey item.

The Junior League in my town runs a thrift store of clothing donated by members. Gorgeous!

Buy socks in a bunch of the same color – one missing socks doesn’t ruin a pair.

LOVE a bargain when you find one!!! Consider yourself smarter than the average person for scoring such a deal!!!

And I will echo the comments about Goodwill, at least in my town, not being worth it. It is the highest priced thrift store in the area. I do use it because I can get household items there for a lot less than I can get them retail. Can’t find them at other thrift stores.

The best “hint” and one I haven’t seen anywhere else is to start low and go up. And makes a lot of sense. It gives a reality which I hadn’t put into words. Target, and I hate to shop there just because it is big business, has name brand underwear. Why should I pay more at Penny’s, Dillards, etc. for the same underwear?

Most people don’t realize that staple items like a white blouse and little black dress look awful with their skin and hair colour. My staple items include a plum blouse (purples look good on most people), a navy dress, and some colourful scarves to keep black and white away from my face.

Around here, the Goodwills are like the Target clearance center (and yet the items are priced higher then the tag) and I personally prefer Salvation army on half price Wednesday. It takes more than half a hour though.

I got the new edition of Color Me Beautiful for women; it even discusses jewelry (i.e. silver vs. gold tones) which is super helpful.