<p>So my second year of college starts in a week and I kind of want to reinvent myself. I know I'm older, but I feel the same way I did in high school - that a new school year is the perfect time for new clothes, a new look, and a new me. </p>
<p>But since we ARE older, do you find yourself shopping in different stores than you did in high school? I mean I want to look more sophisticated than my mall rat high school days. The problem is, I'm also a lot poorer now that my parents aren't paying for everything. </p>
<p>So what are your favorite stores to shop in now that you're in college? Are they different or the same? I've been spending a lot of time in Urban Outfitters...but it's so expensive, so I'm seeing if there's other options out there.</p>
<p>J Crew is perfect for college. Also, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, etc have great cute clothes and end of summer sales!
Vineyard Vines is nice too for a few pricier things.
Good luck with the reinvention</p>
<p>Why are you guys suggesting J Crew? I love it myself but the OP asked for cheap. Express has some nice sophisticated stuff for cheap. I definitely second Forever 21.</p>
<p>My S is moving far away this fall (yes, NYU Abu Dhabi) and needed clothes. Right now is a great time to shop in the back to school time and especially of your state has sales tax free days. If you can, lay out the clothes you already have and then concentrate on what you need to add. And if you can, go to an outlet mall. We went to the one 40 minutes from us - and it was worth it.
We bought 3 pairs of pants (1 jeans, two cotton dress pants), 1 light 100% wool/cashmere sweater, 1 formal dress shirt, 2 linen button-up shirts, 1 light (black) sports jacket and a fleece lined jeans jacket (for when he comes home this winter) and some new underwear- all for $ 250 at Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Eddie Bauer, the Gap and Levi’s. I brought a book and some patience - we were done under three hours.</p>
<p>Before I forget, we also shop a lot at Goodwill stores (great for cotton white or colored button up shirts) and thrift stores. And great accessories.</p>
Beat me to it! Goodwill and the like are great places for cheap, highish quality clothes. Although you may have to sort through a bit of junk, it’s really not that hard and when you find things they are generally about 50% the price of the trendier thrift stores (which is like way less than retail in either case). </p>
<p>For me I mainly get tops there, because there’s like a 1/4 chance some random thing is my size. For pants it’s tough to have to look at all the tags, especially since sizing is always different for different brands, so next time I’m bringing a tape measurer. Length is always easier for me to size up by eye. Not to mention you gotta try pants on, which is kinda gross.</p>
<p>To reinvent your look in such a short time you’ll need a lot of clothes. probably at least two pairs of pants and many shirts of different types. If you only buy a couple things every month it will take at least the school year. That’s what I did last year and now I’m almost ready for a new look, all I gotta do now is commit to it, which isn’t easy in college when you roll out of bed, fifteen minutes before class starts, and have like a minute to dress for class.</p>
<p>I second going to an outlet mall. I have found so much cheap clothes that way.</p>
<p>Go to Macy’s. They always have a few clearance racks that have decent things in them (my problem is finding something that isn’t XL though). My sisters like going to Ross or TJMaxx, they usually manage to find something. And Old Navy and the Gap are great for simple things. I like Banana Republic also, I can usually manage to get something nice for a good price there.</p>
<p>Yes, I do find myself shopping at different places than when I was in high school. I didn’t become interested in clothes until I was in junior year (about the same time I was getting my braces off and finally finishing up my “awkward phase”). In the remaining two years of high school, I found myself shopping at Express, Marshalls, and the Gap quite frequently. Then I discovered Anthropologie (owned by the Urban Outfitters company) at the end of senior year, and now that’s where I get my dresses and skirts (I can’t really afford the items at full price, so I’m constantly stalking the sales section). If you’re a girl, Anthro is a great place to find unique and feminine pieces.</p>
<p>For tops, I still rely on Express for basics. Express often has 2-for-1 deals and mails out a lot of coupons. The basic tees are great: lots of different colors and good quality. Also, Target sells a lot of trendy clothing that’s pretty inexpensive. </p>
<p>Marshalls and TJ Maxx are fun to sift through, but you need a lot of patience. I really like Marshalls for its shoe selection (especially the clearance section!). I third the Goodwill suggestion, especially for pants and jeans. The one I go has a lot of Banana Republic and Ann Taylor bottoms, which are great if you need work pants or whatever. </p>
<p>And I think my favorite department store at the moment is Lord & Taylor. Back in high school, I honestly thought it was the most boring department store, and the one in my mall always looked really empty. But it has really good sales, and I often see racks of clearance clothes that have been further reduced.</p>
<p>ditto Anthropologie sales rack, goodwill, and thrift/vintage stores (sorry, i’m biased… i love anthropologie but agree that it’s pricey). you can get lots of interesting, unique pieces for little $$… great way to reinvent yourself on little money. urban outfitters, forever 21, h&m, etc are very nice and relatively inexpensive, but they’re very “trendy” and mainstream - not as interesting or individual in my opinion. i sometimes like Gap or Target for basics and agree that there’s stuff to be had at Marshall’s (especially shoes) if you have patience. but there’s no one store that’ll answer your question. i suggest looking everywhere! you never know what you’ll find and where you’ll find it. there’s great fun to be had in clearance sections :)</p>
<p>good luck with the reinvention! it’s never too early or late to adopt a fresh look, so kudos to you!</p>
Or at least I like to think so.</p>