I have always been thrifty and have bought clothing that doesn't really last. Well I'm about to turn 30 and I want to wear some really nice clothes and stop shopping cheap. I just wanted to ask others what you pay for nice clothing. I usually look for tops that are 10 dollars or less and pants that are 20 dollars or less. Now I'm looking at adding 10 dollars or more to both so I can look more sophisticated when I reach my weight loss goal. I figure after years of being cheap it is time to treat myself. I am talking reasonable prices, but the good stuff. Nice intimates and nice clothes.

Although I'm cheap, I seldom give that up for quality. I'm a great bargain hunter and shop the clearance rails, oulet stores and sale sections in online stores. I'm in the UK so probably can't give the best advice about where to shop but for example last week I picked up two pure linen tops which had originally been around $50 each for $15. I've found $100+ designer pants for $25 in TK Maxx (I think this is TJ Maxx in the States). I hardly every buy things full price. Fortunately my style is more classic than high fashion.

Kitty

I think that some more expensive clothes are better made, so fit better. Since I am not rich, I wait for sales. I also have to try everything on and give it some thought before I buy it. If it fits well, it will look good. I also think that if you buy clothes that fit well and feel good, you get more use out of them and shop a little less. I like when macy's has sales, they bring their prices down to "regular" price elsewhere. I don't really have a clothing budget, I don't shop much, but saving a few dollars a week (or whatever you can afford) could result in a pretty good day of shopping! Good luck!

Jenny

I shop cheap for trendy clothes, and expensive for my "classic" stuff. If it's going to go out of style in the next couple of years I won't spend over $20 or $30 on a piece of clothing. My navy and black suits cost closer to $300 each - but they will NEVER go out of style, and still look brand new (they're 15 years old). I have two LBD's - one cost $110 about 15 years ago. The other only cost about $20 though - that was from a consignment shop. My boss, who only wore designer, had an identical dress that she spent a fortune on!

Consignment shops are good, but what's even better is if you can find the Good Will and Salvation Army stores that get the donations from the "better" neighborhoods. I revamped my entire wardrobe for a job change 7 years ago for $350 - got 13 suits, 5 or 6 dresses, lots of blouses and separates. It was awesome! And they were all really sharp - my co-workers were always wanting to know where I got my stuff.

I've spent too many years buying cheap $20 shirts and what do I have to show for it? A closet full of junk I'm too embarrased to wear and a whole lot of regrets. I'm slowly getting rid of this stuff, I can't stand the feel of it anymore. Life is too short for cheap fabric, and I'm worth more than that. I'd rather have 50 items of quality clothing in my closet than 300 pieces of scrappy clothing. Last year I bought a pair of boots for $150 which is way more than I thought I'd spend but here's the thing... I LOVE them, and I can't WAIT to wear them in the fall again!!! Just last week I bought a shirt for $90 but I LOVE IT and when I wore it with some leggings and a cute pair of shoes I felt like a million dollars. Nothing beats the confidence of knowing that you look good.

Plus I live in NYC, you can't get away with certain things here as I did when I lived in suburbia. People look amazing here, trendy, classic, and well put together. Gotta look the part.

Things I will not compromise quality ($$$$$$)
- handbags
- shoes
- pants
- jackets
- coats
- bras
- dresses
- undergarmets
- jeans
- shirts
- sunglasses


And this is the stuff I don't spend too much money on:
- leggings
- workout shirts/pants
- camisoles
- tank tops
- socks
- pantyhose
- t-shirts
- scarves
- wallets
- pj's
- shorts

Most of the time I try to spend less on pants but for my tops I usually splurge (as long as it's not just some T-shirt) I usually splurge at Torrid.com and Old Navy. It's about $30 for a top and $30 for pants as well. I also spend a bit more when it comes to Handbags, I love Juicy Couture !

I've always shopped at places like Walmart, Target, etc for clothes. I would always tell myself, it doesn't matter, they're just clothes. Tops I would go for less than $10 and pants less than $20. I don't own that many clothes actually and my wardrobe is rather drab.

I'm thinking once I start losing weight and needing new clothes, I might increase my budget to $25 per top and $35 to jeans, etc.

Well~I am a yard sale queen~and A thiftstore diva~LOL!

Those pants I have on in my avatar pic was 50 cents at a yard sale and are In Super Like new condition!!! I think they are L.E.I. But I also got several other pairs at the same yard sale for the same price...Such as Bongo,Levis,Tilt,Aeropostale,Arizona, ECT.
ALL ARE LIKE NEW.

I got the top I have on in the pic at another yard sale for 75 cents.
I got a ton of them from a lady that had to dress nice for work And they was all 50 cents to 75 cents and would have cost me a fortune if bought new
( I ended up with 17 tops all together from that yard sale and they are fabulous and expensive if bought new!)

My black shoes was Eddie bauer...Still in the box~looked like new....For $1.00 at a thrift store.
They are so comfy and so fabulous! My favorite shoes.


My motto~Never spend more than you have too.

Oh and it never hurts to buy something you may hate later or never end up wearing at all if you only gave pennies for it!!!


GOOD LUCK

I am extremely cheap. I shop at Goodwill, Sallies and Platos Closet. I splurged at Platos the other day and got a pair of 7 for all mankind jeans, they are so comfortable, they were like $20 but worth it.

I generally will not pay more than $20 for a single piece of clothing. I basically shop sales/clearances/etc. Macys is one of my favorite places to shop because when they have a sale, it is good. Dillards (although we don't have any here) is also another great place for sales.

Oh and although it is harder to find really good sales, I've had some success with Nordstrom, J. Jill, Eddie Bauer, Coldwater Creek and some other various places online.

I was recently at a department store that had an 80% sale plus I had a 20% coupon. I went through hundreds of pieces to find a few pieces of clothes that I liked enough to try on and then from that there were only a few items I wanted to buy.

Sales and outlet stores all the way. I definitely shop for quality items now that I am at goal and in the same size I expect to be for the next 20 years

The great thing about being this size is that so many small things are left on the sale racks until the prices are almost ridiculous!
Recent purchases:
Pendelton Outlet - lined linen/poly skirt and tweed jacket: $15.00 (for the whole suit)
Petite Sophisticate Outlet: pullover shells/tops - $2.25 each
VanHeusen Outlet: Dress pants - $17.00 each
Liz Claiborne Outlet: Dress pants - $15.00 each
Kohls: Vera Wang skirt and silk blouse - $5.00 each
Kohls: Elle dresses - $9.00 each

You CAN shop for quality and still get GREAT bargains. I live in a small town, so when I travel, I note what size I wear in each brand. I know what I can buy online, and what I need to try on before purchasing. Then I keep an eye on the sales, online coupon codes and even ebay

im pretty cheap with clothes. i buy a lot on the victorias secret catalogue, at old navy or target. when it comes to *certain* items like a basic black blazer, or a classic LBD, ill spend more because those are staples and will never go out of style. if i felt like wearing the trendy purple dress everyone seems to love this season, i wouldnt spend more than $30 b/c i might never wear it after this year.

I am a complete tightwad and do the majority of my shopping at TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I bought an adorable Nine West dress at TJ Maxx the other day with department store tags that said $145 and I bought it on clearance for $30. NOTE: I have seen MANY items in TJ Maxx and Marshalls and then saw the EXACT SAME ITEM in major department stores a month later - so it's definitely not all styles from last year. I also used to live close to an outlet mall that had an Ann Taylor Factory Store - It's the same quality items as the regular store, just different styles. I love Ann Taylor clothes because they look sophisticated, classic (won't go out of style anytime soon), are very well made and fit me really well. I bought almost every pair of pants I own there - and even at the factory store, I have paid as much as $50 for a pair of nice black pants, but I usually buy on clearance for $20-$30 - tops at the factory store for $25 or less (as low as $10). And our regular Ann Taylor store had some REALLY GOOD clearance sales - I have 2 dresses from there that I constantly get comments on - and one was $20 the other was only $7, believe it or not - the cashier couldn't even believe that deal! You just have to be patient and look at the clearance racks in the nicer (read: quality merchandise) stores. Some days you may find nothing, other days you may find your whole new wardrobe.

I actually think TJ Maxx is a bit expensive although I've looked through them a few times. One time, I had gone to Lord & Taylor, found an item on sale there, went to TJ Maxx, exact same item was actually more at TJ Maxx. That is why I say shop sales at the department stores. Although TJ Maxx does have clearance items as well.

I'm not a fan of shopping for long periods of time and this takes major dedication. My Mom used to shop thrifty like this, sorting through bins and bins and racks and racks of clothing. She tried to pass on the same mentality to me but it never worked. She now regrets that stage of her life and has thrown out everything that was bought from it. I love seeing her go to boutiques and buy specialty clothing and saying to herself "I have the money, and I deserve this" rather than seeing her in some makeshift getup made out of jersey.