Looking your best is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to moving up the ladder professionally or making your mark on the social scene. When you look good, it helps you to feel good, and that feeling will attract others to you. While looking your best is important, that doesn’t mean it has to consume all of your free time and money. Following are a few tips to look good quickly on a budget that won’t break the bank.
Stitch Fix
Stitch Fix is a comprehensive online clothing store. It can literally serve as your one-stop shop when it comes to finding a fashion-forward wardrobe. Everything is right at your fingertips. The Stitch Fix Style Shuffle app puts together a nearly limitless set of clothing combinations, and when you’ve found what you like, ordering is a breeze. Because of the diminished overhead required compared to traditional physical retailers, you will find you can save money on the latest fashion choices by shopping online. Stitch Fix also employs stylists who can guide you in finding the outfits that help you stand out.
Shopping online can save you time and money, but online shopping is not without its pitfalls. Because sizes vary, and because an online photo doesn’t always reveal the details when it comes to garments, returns are an expected part of the online shopping process. Returns cost you time and money, and some retailers aren’t as generous as others when it comes to what they will and won’t take back. When you work through Stitch Fix with a stylist, however, returning clothes is a snap. Once they’ve got your size and style dialed in, you can expect smooth sailing.
Shopping Second Hand
While secondhand shopping requires a bit more legwork than shopping online, it affords you with the opportunity to score some tremendous deals. On top of that, you can reduce your carbon footprint by shopping locally and reusing perfectly good clothing.
Vintage and Specialty Clothing Shops
There are several tiers of second hand clothing shops. Vintage and specialty clothing shops, dedicated entirely to procuring stylish and interesting clothing, are a great way to find quality garments. The curators at these types of shops have already done the heavy lifting by sifting and sorting the clothes they sell. After all, their reputation relies on the desirability of what they offer. But keep in mind you pay for that service and the proprietor’s experience. Still, you can generally find very good quality garments at well below the cost of new retail clothing.
Thrift Stores
Thrift stores, where people can donate a whole host of different items including used clothing, are a great place to find bargains. These types of stores are an interesting adventure in and of themselves, often crammed to the rafters with shelves and racks full of secondhand items. Finding those high-quality garments in this type of setting presents more of a time commitment — expect to spend a good couple of hours searching through racks of clothing — but you can come out with top-notch clothes and save a ton of dough.
While shopping online and at secondhand stores can both save you money, shopping online also saves time while providing great selection and service.
