My Solution To The High Cost Of The Ever Changing Clothes

[Kathy Dipzinski 2]

I STARTED OUT IN A SIZE TWENTY PANTS AND 2X TOPS. IVE LOST 32 POUNDS AND I'M 4 WEEKS OUT. I'M A PROFESSIONAL SO I HAVE TO DRESS NICE. WELL I COULD NOT IMAGINE BUYING CLOTHES THAT I WOULD BE IN FOR A COUPLE WEEKS, SO I HAVE BEEN HITTING SOME REAL NICE RESALE SHOPS AND CANT BELIEVE THE OUTFITS THAT IM FINDING. IM SO AHEAD OF MY SELF, THAT I HAVE SOME NICE OUTFITS WAITING FOR ME IN ANOTHER 20 POUNDS. I LOVE MY NEW STYLE AND SO DOES ALL MY FRIENDS. THEY THINK IM SPENDING MEGA BUCKS AND I DONT THINK IVE WENT OVER 100 YET. LOL OH AND MY OLD CLOTHES I JUST DONATE TO THE SAME PLACE IM BUYING MY NEW STUFF. TRY THE TRIFT SHOPS IT CAN SURPRISE YOU, I NEVER NEW.

[kemo46 82]

Kathy, you are correct. You can go broke buying clothes, especially as fast as we change sizes. I go to thrift stores and Goodwill. I like really like nice clothes and name brands. I get like new clothes for 4.00 a shirt and pants for 6.00. I wear them until I change sizes and then I donate them back. My latest find was 2 like new Tommy Bahama shirts for 5.00 each. These shirts cost over 100.00 each when new. I buy like new Polo oxford shirts for 5.00 as well. You had better watch out, it becomes a sick addiction. My wife says I need an intervention. I love getting these great deals, it is like a game.

[Kathy Dipzinski 2]

Oh my goodness, that is what my husband thinks too, except he has Berenice enjoying finding bargins too. I love Texas, I lived in Euless. I also lived in Irving. I was there for 12 years, cant wait to come back.

[Forensikchic 528]

My husband and I have taken it to a whole new level! There is a Goodwill clearance store here in San Antonio where they bring all the clothes that dont sell at regular goodwill. They pile the clothes on big long tables. There are about 25 tables or more in the store. The clothes are all mixed up and it feels like you are going through the laundry out of the dryer but we have found some great things! It sounds nuts but its fun. We got on either side of a table (they are wide) and just work our way down to the end picking through all the clothes. Some things still have tags on them and there are a lot of name brand clothes there. I guess if they are priced too high at regular goodwill, they will come here eventually. On Saturdays, all clothes are 25 cents apeice! We can only sift through about 5 or 6 tables a trip there and that takes a couple of hours. It changes everyday. They are always bringing new stuff in there. We are addicted to this place! We buy abercrombie, holister, etc for my teen daughter, and all the name brands for my sons too. My husband is a coach/teacher and he finally said... i have enough khakis! We are going today! We have not spent over 13 dollars there and we always buy a HUGE bag of clothes that barely fits in the trunk of my Honda Accord. I am buying in all the sizes below me because i know I will get there and need them. I have some really cute banana Republic clothes for court, lots of Ann Taylor, even some Lucky jeans that retail for over 100 dollars a pair! We are picky about the clothes but if you look you can really find great deals! I have bought capri pants in every size from 12 down to 4 and shorts in those sizes as well, because i know I will wear them by spring/summer. Even if i dont, its only a quarter. Love it!

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

I started shopping resale years ago and absolutely love it. My best deal ever was a Chanel suit from the shop Chanel shop in Paris at a resale shop in Richardson Texas. Absolutely beautiful. I have been going to a resale shop in Dallas as I have been shrinking - it is called "Larger than Life" and is for sizes 12 and up. A great shop.

[Soup-a-Woman 43]

I shopped consignment a lot on the way down. I got a great pair of Levi's and DKNY jeans for $6 apiece. I'm pretty much at goal now so I've splurged on some expensive stuff. It's SO much fun being able to shop in regular stores! I bought a pair of "Not Your Daughter's Jeans" - so much money but unbelievably comfortable.

My favorite part about being thin is that I can actually find stuff on clearance that's CUTE and fits. At a size 28 clearance racks were limited and on clearance for a reason. Ug.Ly. I just bought a pair of Tommy Hilfiger capris for $4 to wear this spring. Yay!

[cutie pie 71]

  

Got the Steve Madden for $12 retails for around $75

Got the Baby Nikes for $3 tiny fits in the palm of my hand for about $35

Got the Trendy Big Faced Geneva Watch for $3 retails for like $20

all under $20 not bad ...

For me it's harder to find clothes but seeing these post makes me want to look harder ... : )

[MoonSiren 48]

What great tips. I live in Dallas too so will be checking out "Larger Than Life". I'm a clothes snob so feel icky if I wear someone else's used clothes. I really need to get over that. I've spent thousands at plus size shops Avenue, Catherines, Fashion Bug, Torrid and Lane Bryant. I even have credit cards for all of them. Most do not fit me very good now so a resale shop is where I should sell them at. How do those shops work? Do they give you money for the clothes or let you trade them?

[Forensikchic 528]

My daughter was a thrift store snob until a place opened called Plato's closet. You can sell your name brand teenage stuff to them and buy from them for way cheaper than the mall. She loves that store. I asked her what the difference was between plato's closet and a regular thrift store? She had not good answer. We donate our clothes to goodwill. I said do you think you are gross? Do you think the people who buy your used clothes should think they are gross? After you wear an outfit once, its used. So you wear "used" clothes everyday. We wash everything and press it before it goes in the closet so I don't really know where anyone is coming from on the 'gross, they are used clothes" front. Just my two cents. btw... I found all kinds of Holister, Abercrombie and aeropostle shirts and jeans in her 00 size. She loves them and hasn't complained again since!

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

Moonsiren - the way it works at the three different consignment shops I have gotten rid of things through is this. You sign an agreement with the consignment shop. You bring in your clothes, drycleaned an on hangers. Most will have you schedule an appointment to drop them off. They will inspect them to see if they meet the criteria that the shop sets (age of garment, season, style, etc.). Usually, the garments will be on the floor for sale for 90 days. The sale price decreases the longer the garment is on the floor. Whatever the price the garment sells for, the consigner gets 50%, the shop gets 50%. You pick up your garments that haven't sold at the end of the 90 day period (again by appointment). Some shops will donate the unsold garments to charity - those details are in the contract you sign with them. You can get your money paid to you, or you can get store credit.

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

What great tips. I live in Dallas too so will be checking out "Larger Than Life". I'm a clothes snob so feel icky if I wear someone else's used clothes. I really need to get over that. I've spent thousands at plus size shops Avenue, Catherines, Fashion Bug, Torrid and Lane Bryant. I even have credit cards for all of them. Most do not fit me very good now so a resale shop is where I should sell them at. How do those shops work? Do they give you money for the clothes or let you trade them?

I grew up the youngest of three sisters - so I was used to wearing other people's clothes. That is why I have seen more than one resale shop named something like "my sister's closet" over the years. Another good resale shop in Dallas is Clotheshorse Anonymous - some larger sizes, but primarily regular sizes. They have a lot of high dollar designer clothes.

[kemo46 82]

I only buy high end clothes and yes, you can get these at Goodwill. Most of what I buy are "like new". I used to pay 80.00 for a Polo Brand Oxford shirt, never again. I now pay 5.00 and you cannot tell the difference after it has been washed once. I love paying under 10.00 for Tommy Bahama shirts, those are my greatest buys. I just bought 2 Izod, 3 Hilfiger and 2 Cutter and Buck golf shirts yesterday and paid a total of 28.00 ( red tag sale). You could not buy 1 of any of those shirts for that price. Being in size large has really opened up a lot more variety in clothes. I love my sickness.