My Shopping Secret

I will admit I have quite the wardrobe. It is stylish, extensive, and full of quality  brand clothing from BCBG to Gap and Banana Republic. BUT it did NOT cost me what you think it did. My shopping secret goes even further back than my marriage. I graduated from college, got an okay paying first job and then moved out to a small apartment. My first home ate money in the form of rent. Suddenly I was paying $570 a month. This may not seem like much but I used to pay ZERO at home so it was a huge increase. Now my extra money went  to rent and food.
(Psst...this is not my closet but I wish it were!)

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How could I shop at The Gap, Dillards or even Target paying $15 for a Tee or $30-60 for a nice top. And jeans could cost anywhere from $30-80. With my little paycheck and new grown-up expenses, the answer was I couldn't. Enter my then Boyfriend (now Husband) and his great idea. His mother always used to shop Goodwill for hidden home treasures and furniture to DIY. I had already long since jumped on that train furnishing my apartment with some DIY Goodwill/Thrift Store finds.

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But second-hand clothes? To a fashion snob (as I was then)-it was unthinkable. I barely stomached The Gap and Target when I wanted to shop Nordstroms, Boutiques and Bloomingdales. Desperate times called for desperate measures. I LOVED fashion and I also needed new clothes as I was inching up my weight with a sit-down job. Let's just say my skinny college self was disappearing. So I went to a favorite home thrift store called Savers. They always had many many aisles of clothes-I just never looked at them. Let me tell you that I could not believe what I found!!!

To re-do my entire wardrobe the clothes budget would be $30 every month or two. Let's just think about that. A sale at Target might get you one pair of pants or two T's or one sweater. To some that is fantastic pricing but to me it was disaster. I needed all new clothes. I had to start from scratch entirely because my size 4 little self and small tees were tighter than a hooker's clothes! At Savers though I found Tee's for $3 and $4, pants for $7 and $10, scarves for $1 and $2, sweaters for $5 and $6. The prices were different depending on the brand and condition of the item. Many of the items were even brand new! At these prices, I could have a killer wardrobe in a few months of saving. I was thrilled beyond belief. I was also happy to see brands that  I never could afford before from BCBG, Michael Kors, Banana Republic, Bebe, J. Crew and many more!

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One trip to Savers and I lost my snobbery and loved my new secret place. The best part turned out to be all the complements I received on my new clothes and new looks--laughing inside because I knew I paid $7 for the entire ensemble! I ended up being able to follow more trends, update more often, buy more options and doubles of items I liked with these new rock bottom prices. My wardrobe went from pretty nice to SUPER nice all on a dime!

So now you know my secret. To this day, I shop at Savers. I rarely buy anything from any other store and I would not change a thing about it (ironically yesterday's outfit is pretty much the second time in years that I bought something first hand!!).

In the coming weeks I will do more posts on my Savers strategy, how to take cheap to practically pennies, and how I prep for a major Savers trip (I am planner!). Please email or comment with any questions you might have! I love to show fellow fashion lovers-you CAN look on the super cheap.