Ask The M-Network: Frugal Business Clothes Shopping
At the beginning of this month, the M-Network started a new feature in which readers could ask one of us a finance-related question and several of the M-Network members would weigh in with their answer. I received several questions, which I will be featuring on a periodic basis on the blog. One of the ones I received by email is the following:
My question is about frugality in clothes shopping. I make a good income and I work in a professional environment, so maintaining a wardrobe is probably my second largest business expense (after commuting). But the kicker is, I’m not an “average” size. The few retail and online stores I’ve found which sell durable, lasting professional clothing are expensive. How do you save money on clothing when nothing in a thrift shop or consignment store will fit you? Am I stuck buying off the rack?
I am not an “average size” either, but I don’t work in a business environment so I don’t have the same concerns. For my few “expensive” clothing purchases, I have turned to buying one of an item “off the rack” so to speak, and then scouring the internet for deals on several more of the same identical item. This worked for me for undergarments, but I somehow doubt you want 5 identical pairs of slacks. Maybe in different colors…
So I turned to my M-Network friends for help, and this is what they had to say:
Patrick of Cash Money Life:
When you are trying to build a professional wardrobe on a budget, it is important to remember that you do not need designer clothing to look good.
When I built my first professional wardrobe shortly after leaving the military, I focused on purchasing classic items such as solid color shirts and slacks. With classic cuts and colors you can mix and match to make several outfits. Avoid trendy clothing which can quickly go out of fashion.
Finally, buy quality items and take care of them. Quality clothing looks better, fits better, and lasts longer. You should also take care of your items as well, including polishing your shoes and ironing your clothes. These will help them last longer and give people a better first impression.
Lynnae of Being Frugal:
You might be able to find some discounted, professional pieces of clothing at stores such as Ross, Marshall’s, or TJ Maxx. If you do buy off the rack, make sure you buy quality items in classic styles.
The frugal option isn’t always the cheapest option initially. If you buy clothes that will last a long time and won’t go out of style, in the long run, you will save money.
Plonkee of Plonkee Money:
I am not an average size. I’m 5ft tall and US size 10-12 (too short for petite clothes and not exactly svelte). I have never found anything suitable second hand, not many people give away short and wide clothes.
I’m in the UK, so I probably can’t help you out with specific shops to go to. My tactics to cut costs are to have very few suits (I now possess 3) and lots more plain solid colour tops in different weights. I wear the suits in heavy rotation and so am willing to spend a fair amount of money on them - I alter the sleeve and hem lengths to fit. With the suits, I find that I can wear fitted t-shirts and they look just as smart as buttoned shirts, but it’s easier to find cheaper plain and basic ones that fit well in discount stores. When I find a top that’s at a good price, and fits I buy several in different colours.
If you’ve scoured all the second-hand shops in your area and can never find anything then I think you might be stuck buying off the rack. My only other suggestions are ebay and pricing up the cost of having a tailor make you up something. If you travel overseas at all, most large cities in Asia have areas where good tailors can copy an existing garment for a very reasonable price.
Glblguy of Gather Little By Little:
Tough one. From what I understand finding clothes like you need is tough. I know stores like TJ Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, and Marshall’s all have “non-average” size clothing…not much, but they do.
I might also suggest visiting yard sales and consignment shops. They will often have really nice clothing available. Yard sales are hit or miss, but I have found some really nice items, especially high end dress cloths. I bought a really nice high-end sport jacket at a yard sale for $10. Guessing new it was $500 or more. The lady’s husband had passed away and he was just my size. I even offered her more and she wouldn’t take it.
As plonkee suggested, eBay might be a really good option for you as well, just be smart and comparison shop. There are great deals on eBay along with great rip-offs.
One other thing I might suggest is posting a “wanted” article on Craigslist.org that you are looking for clothing and the details on what you are looking for. You might be surprised at the responses you get. I’ve done this a few times for hard to find items and always received good replies.
What’s your take? How do you find good quality clothing at a reasonable price?
(If you have a finance-related question you’d like to ask the M-Network, feel free to submit it via my contact form or by commenting to this post! Not all questions will be answered but all will be considered. )
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January 29th, 2009 at 10:55 am
I concur with all the above comments re: “buy quality clothes.” The other key to that is to spend money on accessories, so that if you only have, say 5 outfits, you can make them look different and distinctive with a cute necklace or a professional-looking brooch.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I’m also a non-average size (tall and 14+). My husband is also VERY tall, but not wide:) so clothing is somewhere I can’t be very frugal.
For quality I can’t recommend Land’s End enough if you can wear business casual. They do have a few suits as well. They do send out a plus size catalog (and typically even have a page with outfits put together). They have an excellent selection of tall and petite clothing in both men’s and women’s sizes and custom hem pants rather than selling them in arbitrary sizes. I’ve never had an item for Land’s End not fit well and last for several years. Check out their overstocks section on a regular basis. It is particularly good right now.
If you’re female, Lane Bryant has some business clothing of good (not excellent) quality. They also have huge coupon offers (i.e. $25 of $75, $50 off $150, $75 of $250) that you can receive by signing up on their mailing list. They also have talls & petites.
The best shopping I have found is Macy’s in New York City at the end of a season. Prices are surprisingly good on non-designer (and even lower end designer) clothes and the selection is phenomenal. (For example the womens plus size section is an entire 1/2 of a floor!) And their prices were far better than Atlanta’s for the most part and there is no sales tax. If you’re headed that way on business or you have frequent flier miles to use up, it is a great trip to make! I use our frequent flier miles to cover airfare and hotel for 2 nights and do my before school shopping for the kids and typically try to buy all our fall/winter clothes at the same time. (There are tons of other great places in NYC for bargains - just do a search).
January 29th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I forgot to mention Eddie Bauer if you’re a tall or plus sized male. They have a great selection and have a frequent shoppers program. Nothing beats hitting their clearance racks for my husband for dress shirts.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:51 am
I agree with Laurie, I try to buy Eddie Bauer clothes for us when we need quality. If you wait for end of season or sales you can get them for a decent price, and they last us forever.
I also agree with buying a few different plain colored suits that you can mix & match, with different shirts/scarves you can make it look new and exciting.
January 29th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I also have the same issue. I’ve had limited success at second-hand stores - I can usually find blazers at Goodwill or Salvation Army, but have to invest in quality pants from places like Talbots. Since I wear my black pants ragged, I have found that the investment is worth it.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Buy five or six pairs of black pants when you find a style or size that fits you well. They’ll go with anything, and should be easy to find since they’re common work attire at many workplaces.
January 29th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
i tend to buy mostly off the rack due to the lack of thrift shops and consifnment shops in my area. if i was willing to pay the $30 round trip price to go into the city than i would. i tend to shop at off price stores (i am partial to Century 21, a new york discount chain). for things that i do not have to worry about trying on (pretty much tops) i do purchase off line. i find online shoping can be very effective but you need to set the price limit per garment (for me usually no more than 20 dollars depending on what the item is) and you need to have a list of exactly what you need to purchase so you dont stray from it.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
You could also try shopping the clearance racks. Whenever I shop clearance sales, there seem to be lots of XS and XXL clothing left.
January 30th, 2009 at 8:49 am
All of the above comments are excellant. I would add that some stores offer free tailoring which could balance out the price of a cheaper suit elsewhere. The last suit I bought the store did the altering which saved me money at the tailor’s and gave me peace of mind that if they botched it they could replace it with another suit.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:15 am
You might also want to think outside the box about how to come up with extra $$ to put towards clothing. I have a good friend who shops Goodwill weekly - she purchases name brand shirts (Polo, Izod, etc.) for her husband for about 25 cents apiece. She also purchases additional name brand shirts which she resells on Ebay. Because of the name, she’s able to pull in $8-$10 per shirt, making a huge net profit. She then puts all of those dollars towards their family’s clothing budget. She is able to outfit their two kids in adorable high-end clothing, that she buys second-hand, for little to no true impact on their budget simply because of buying and selling other clothing…amazes me!
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
i also fit in the short and uh… not skinny category. too tall for petite, too short for short length.
i thrift as much as possible. i find that after slacks and pants have been washed several times then i truly know if they’ll “fit”. it’s a crapshoot for me after items have been laundered.
a few years ago i bought a $95 sewing machine from wal-mart. this has opened my eyes more to buying pants that are too long (they’re all to long) but fit everywhere else or maybe has a busted seam in an armpit. it takes little knowledge to run a sewing machine and i must say it was absolutely worth the effort and money.