Dress For Less

Looking Like A Million Dollars For Under $20

I know what you are thinking. This is another one of those articles that really doesn’t tell you anything but how to go to another source and find out the answers. Wrong! I am going to show you how to dress it up and to spend less than your grocery bill! It is tremendously easy. The whole set up may take a few weeks, maybe even a month to get into the hang of things, but once you do, you will never be the same.

I am with people 24/7 and not a day goes by someone doesn’t comment on how wonderful I look or how beautiful a piece of clothing is I have on. I used to just smile, nod and carry on and let people think I spent millions. The guilt set in. Here I was sitting on many gold mines. I could help others look just as good as I was looking and I wasn’t sharing. So….. I started sharing my secrets.

In today’s economy where everything seems to be going downhill, investments looking like roller coasters, the housing market taking a dive, oil prices skyrocketing, and who knows where the dollar is these days, there needs to be a bright spot in some part of our lives…..and here I have it! You can go shopping, bring home bags of clothes and when your husband gives you “the look” you can run to him with open arms and tell him you only spent a little and hand him his change. Or……. go one step further, don’t let him see you bring the goods home. Dress in your best buys, and when he asks if he won the lottery you can tell him no, but he indeed married a thrifty woman.

How is this accomplished? Very skillfully, very cunningly and very carefully. You have to want the best of the best for less. You have to know you don’t have to pay hundreds to look like you want to. Let me show you.

There are many avenues in which you can find bargains. I have listed my favorites here. You need to remember because of their nature and source, you may go and find nothing one week and the next find a bounty of goodies. If you are persistent, you will be rewarded. Here we go….

Consignment Shops

I was introduced to these about five years ago when a woman opened up a consignment shop in town. Of course, at first I was too proud to think I could shop there. I remember the day that changed my mind. I went to our town’s ladies meeting and the day I chose to attend, their theme was party dresses. These women were decked out! I thought there was no way I would be able to afford to join this group, if their “themes” were this extravagant. As the meeting progressed different ladies were asking questions about the officer’s dresses. It was at this point I was “enlightened”. Almost every lady said she had purchased her dress at a consignment shop, for less than $20! I was floored. But, I was sold! The very least I could do was go in and check out this goldmine.

I could fill a book with the buys I have found in consignment shops, but the best thing I love about consignment shops is the selectiveness of the items the owners choose to sell. Some shops have end of the season sales. At one I went to I got beautiful two piece and some three piece suits for $10.00 a piece! I walked out of there with six suits for less than the cost of one of the jackets I would have bought at the store! The one shop I frequent quite often carries almost exclusively, designer brands. A down side to consignment shops are they are not stores, therefore, they may not always have the items you are looking for in your size. You need to plan ahead if you are looking for a particular item for a special occasion. Also, there is little room for bargaining as there are many sellers they deal with.

Resale Shops

Not much different from a consignment shop, but the selections are much broader. Instead of looking through one or two racks of jeans which may hold 10-20 pairs in your size, you may have to go through 50-60 pairs to find a style or color you want. These shops seem to have sales more often than the private consignment shops. There was one resale shop I went to that had 50% ofF Wednesdays! Depending on the resale shop, there may be room for negotiations.

Church Resale Shops

These are a mix between the resale shop and the consignment shop. I love them because you can find a lot of nice things for change on the dollar……And I mean that. The church resale shop I go to, hosts a resale shop twice a month. Prices are wonderful. Suits for $2.00! Jeans for $1.00 and shirts for $.50! Keep in mind, there is usually nowhere for you to try on the clothes. How I see it is I can get a bag of clothes for usually under $10 and if one or two items don’t fit, it is fine, I’ll redonate.

Garage Sales

My final goldmine is garage sales. Where I live there is an executive neighborhood just north of us. Every year they have a neighborhood garage sale. It is wonderful! I have bought Coach purses for $5.00! Last year I was there and one of the houses had a shoe sale and most of them were marked $5.00!

Saving money on clothes and accessories is fun! Be creative. There is nothing wrong with looking great and knowing you paid a fraction of what it would have cost at full retail. Spend away!