Help, I have no clothes.

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Okay, so I am a high school senior and I will be going to college in the fall. I currently live in Washington but will hopefully be going to school in the Midwest, so I will need to buy some winter clothes. I know most people basically wear what they wore in high school, but I am running pretty low on clothing right now.</p>

<p>I currently have about eight or ten t-shirts, and two pairs of jeans. I have about four sweaters and two or three sweatshirts. I have a pair of converse shoes and two pairs of flats, all of which I have owned since my freshman year, so they are pretty worn out. That is about it....I don't have any coats or anything like that. Since I only have a couple pairs of jeans, I end up doing my laundry every few days, but I know that this won't be feasible in college. So I am trying to estimate what I need to buy and how much I need to save.</p>

<p>So, my question for you is if my estimates for what I need to buy are accurate. It seems like a lot of stuff to me, but I just don't know what most people have.</p>

<p>shirts. 12 short sleeve. 7 long sleeve. $250.
pants. 5 blue jeans. $180.
sweaters. 3 cardigans. 3 heavier sweaters. $230.
lighter jackets. 2 windbreakers. 2 cloth jackets. $300.
coats. 1 northface. 1 peacoat. $200.
shoes. 1 pair of boots, 1 converse, 1 athletic shoe, 4 pairs of flats. $350.
underwear. 40 pairs. $125.
socks. 40 pairs cotton socks. 5 pairs wool socks. $100.
dorm pants. 2 pairs. $50.
athletic pants. 1 pair. $30.
athletic shirts. 1 pair. $30.</p>

<p>I would appreciate any advice I can get, thanks!</p>

2

<p>I haven't really been to the midwest, but if my experience with the northeast has taught me anything, it's that you can't get anything truly fashionable outside of a major coastal city. My school's in a small city but there's a good size mall with a ton of stores. You go to these stores, any and all of em, and there's just nothing there that you would want to wear. You've got your Abercrombie/Aeropostale that makes you look like an obnoxious high school dolt, and you've got your Banana/Jones NY/whatever that have nothing that anybody would want to wear. You can tell if anyone here is from NYC because their clothes are actually nice. Since you're in the midwest, I'd imagine the bar will be quite, quite low fashion wise. So I wouldn't spend too much. Just make sure you get a nice coat as you'll be wearing it every day for 6 months.</p>

3

<p>I'm not a college student, so take this with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>I chuckled over the 40 pairs of sock and 40 pairs of underwear. Sounds like a trip on an ark, :). Realistically, I think doing laundry more often won't be a problem, and finding that much space in your dorm room will be. Figure out how often you want to do laundry and add a few extra pairs of socks and underwear to get through mid-terms, finals, etc. when that laundry schedule might get pushed aside. Hopefully some students will weigh in on how often they do theirs. Weekly seems reasonable. It also seems like you could cut down on the number of sweaters and coats. Some of the Northface or similar brands of coats have fleece jackets as liners which can be zipped out and worn separately. Once you find out for sure where you are going, perhaps you could find out here if students prefer peacoats, parkas, or do have both. If two pairs of flats work well for you now, you might just want to get two new pairs and hold off on more until you see if you want them. Do add flipflops for the shower to your list.</p>

4

<p>When I headed to college, I packed pretty minimally, basically b/c I didn't own much outside of my HS uniform, sports clothes, and pajamas. Not bringing much to school meant, for one thing, that I had the freedom to buy what I wanted when I needed it. I've never been a big shopper, and I didn't have a car in college, but somehow a good deal of time got spent at the mall. Everything accumulated in a workable fashion :)</p>

<p>If you have enough clothes to get you through 1-2 weeks at a time, or however often you feel like doing laundry, plus a little extra in the way of socks and underwear, (cross-posted with 2blue), you're fine for now. I did laundry every week my freshman and sophomore years, every two weeks or so by my junior and senior years. Bring enough warm clothing (long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts) that you'll be okay heading into a midwestern autumn, and personally, I'd play to buy the rest at school. You'll get a better sense of what you need in the climate, a better sense of what people actually wear, and you'll likely be able to choose from a wider selection + get better prices than you would in WA.</p>

<p>My (fairly extensive) experience in the midwest is that, clothing/fashion-wise, you'll be able to find pretty much anything you'd find at any other comparably sized/developed city in the country (although you may not find as many people who care about the fact). In other words, if you're somewhere rural, you won't have many options (but you also won't likely be in an environment where people care); if you're somewhere suburban, you'll have virtually the same options as you would at any other suburban mall in the country (suburban SoCal and suburban NY included); if you're in an urban area--Chicago, the Twin Cities, wherever--you'll have regular malls + access to whatever Luminaire likes to wear ;)</p>

<p>In my experience, you're far better under-packing (as long as you're covering all obvious bases) than over-packing when you head to school. When you get to campus, your tastes will start to change to fit the climate, the styles of the area, "college life," and your own schedule. Trying to predict too much will probably lead to unnecessarily spent time and money.</p>

<p>ETA: I should clarify one thing. I mentioned that if you're going to school somewhere rural, you probably won't have too many shopping options around you, and that's true. In that case, you'll want to bring more from the beginning than in a place where you'll have easier access to shopping. If you have very particular taste and only buy clothes from a few local boutiques, then by all means, load up. But if you usually shop at the local mall, you'll be fine shopping anywhere. If you spend some time on google, you should be able to see whether there's a mall near your campus, and even what stores are available there.</p>

5

<p>shirts. 12 short sleeve. 7 long sleeve. $250.
pants. 5 blue jeans. $180.
sweaters. 3 cardigans. 3 heavier sweaters. $230.
lighter jackets. 2 windbreakers. 2 cloth jackets. $300.
coats. 1 northface. 1 peacoat. $200.
shoes. 1 pair of boots, 1 converse, 1 athletic shoe, 4 pairs of flats. $350.
underwear. 40 pairs. $125.
socks. 40 pairs cotton socks. 5 pairs wool socks. $100.
dorm pants. 2 pairs. $50.
athletic pants. 1 pair. $30.
athletic shirts. 1 pair. $30.</p>

<p>I would appreciate any advice I can get, thanks!</p>

<p>that's a lot of money right there. all that can easily cost you $1000+. if you weren't much of a fashion queen in high school, college is a really bad time to start. just shop at places like target and outlet stores (which can sell pretty cheap athletic clothes), and shop during sales. and only buy things you'll truly need. you'll want to have extra money when you're in college.</p>

6

<p>The limiting factors for guys are always boxers and socks...you run through those like mad. Looks like you'll be far more than covered with 40, though =P</p>

<p>Variety is key, as well.</p>

7

<p>If your worried about costs, you could look into a place like Plato's closet (you sell "gently used" things to them and they are pretty cheap). There are other places that you could save money (look for sales, especially on your underwear b/c you can sometimes find cute ones for really cheap!) You also don't really NEED that many pairs of shoes (if you don't wear socks w/ your flats, then get less of them)</p>

8

<p>Honestly, I have about 4 pairs of jeans that I actually wear/that fit right. Do I wash clothes every 4 days? No, I rewear them a few times each. Trust me when I say lots of people do this. With shirts it gets a little trickier, and I wouldn't rewear anything that you sweated in (like workout clothes, or just a normal shirt if it's esp. hot that day or something). I would probably do laundry every 2-3 weeks if possible, it gets expensive otherwise! Also, if you are layering when its cold, you could rewear whichever shirt is on top underneath another shirt the next day, that way you get a good wear out of that layer too. I would however get a good sturdy winter coat, gloves and a hat, and about 3 weeks worth of thick socks and basic underwear. Because really, laundry only ever NEEDS to be done if you're out of socks and underwear. </p>

<p>You needn't worry about being a fashionista; if you weren't one in HS, you definitely won't have the time for it in college. And it's not really necessary anyway unless you're in a big city like NYC, LA, or Chicago. Just buy things that look decent and get the job done, no one really cares about labels in normal colleges (I'm sure Ivy league and schools in big cities are different, but in your standard suburban/rural college, it's really not a big deal).</p>

9

<p>I'd focus more on meeting your basic needs right now, and addressing things like a coat later if you don't need it right now. Also, try and find relatives to take you clothes shopping as a graduation gift. You really don't need more than a couple pairs of shoes and a pair of boots, and can get by just fine with one jacket and just layer as needed.</p>

<p>I'd plan for doing laundry every week, and being able to stretch it to two weeks if you get busy. You really really don't want to wash a month's worth of clothes at a time, and by then you'd have used up a few sets of sheets and towels too (you likely will only buy 1-2 sets to save money).</p>

10

<p>If you wait until it's warmer out you can also get winter clothes for REALLY cheap.</p>

11

<p>two words:</p>

<p>URBANNNNN OUFITTERS!</p>

<p>:) x 32894720487</p>

12

<p>um, you can get all of that for under 100$ if you know where to go. besides the northface...lmao $100 for sox</p>

13

<p>1) you shouldn't wash jeans after every wash anyways - I'm a guy and I have about 6 pairs that usually go about 8-10 weeks between washes. Maybe <i> I'll wash them 5 times between September and April</i>. My khakis/cords get washed more frequently, but they still go 5-7 wearings between washes unless they get stained.</p>

<p>2) Socks and underwear are always the limiting factor in any washing cycle. The more the better.</p>

<p>3) This is a lot of stuff to buy. You need to start shopping NOW. It'll be a lot easier if you buy bit by bit. The sales racks are obviously your friends. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can get for really cheap if you are aggressive about sales - every store you walk into, that should be your first and last stop. I was in the Gap about a week ago and managed to find a great sweater and a plain polo shirt (both things that I know I'll where) for $3.97 and $4.98 respectively. </p>

<p>4) Only buy things you know you'll wear...even if they're on sale. I'm very picky about my clothes but I have a really bad habit of picking up things on sale that I wouldn't normally wear, simply because they're on sale. Then I never wear them. I've ended up with a closet full of things that I never wear...so I'm doing laundry and my roommates are like "dude, you've got tons of clothes hanging there!" It's a waste of space and money.</p>

<p>5) Obviously you want to be fashionable, but there's a really broad spectrum on costs when it comes to that. Look at magazines for things you like and then head to cheaper stores that carry similar things. For example...I'm more than just a little obsessed about stuff from J.Crew, but when I needed a casual blazer, I wasn't about to spend $298 on what they were selling. Instead I went to the Gap and got a similar one for $88 bucks. I do the same thing with stuff from Banana Republic. If you find the Gap excessive, then look towards Old Navy or Target.</p>

<p>6) You can't live with ONLY cheap clothes, so it's certainly advisable to have three or four really great things that you splurge on at higher end stores. Whether it's for a date, an important but causal meeting with a professor, an interview for a campus organization, whatever, you need something that'll make you feel confident. I'm not talking about getting super dressed up here, just something casual, versatile, and high quality.</p>

<p>7) You're a girl, so don't forget about accessories (those seem very important to the women in my life).</p>

14

<p>okay, you can shop SMART- for instance 10 pairs of underwear is more reasonable, unless you have 'issues" </p>

<p>you can shop around and get peacoats, etc for muchless if you aren't married to "labels"</p>

<p>you can get cute sweaters for 15bucks each if you look around</p>

<p>if you get stuck in name brands, sure it will cost a lot, but if you are willing to say, buy a pack of hanes t-shirts- 7 for 9dollars, you will be surprised at what else you can get</p>

<p>are you in Jr sizes? if so, look for kids large for coats...saves my Ds lots of money</p>

15

<p>hm.
$40 - pair of skinny jeans
$30 - vans or similar sneakers, red black or blue get bonus points.
$20 - v neck shirt, band, striped, artistic, etc.
$15 - big sunglasses or wayfarers.
$20-40 - accessories, if you a girl, bracelets, pendants, rings, earrings
feeling of looking wayy rad - priceless.</p>

<p>best stores to frequent = H&M, urban outfitters, glamour kills, ephraim, etc.
enough of that preppy a&f, hollister crap.</p>

16

<p>^And as have been argued in countless threads, A&F and Hollister aren't 'true prep'. Just throwing that in there. =)</p>

17

<p>4 pairs of flats?
And a lot of your other numbers were pretty high as well.
I would recommend getting enough clothing to last you about two weeks without needing to do laundry.
So your 40 pairs of underwears/socks is way over abundant.</p>

18

<p>I agree with Perfectedxchaos. You only need two weeks worth of socks and underwear at the most. And I think you're taking too many pairs of shoes. What are you going to do with all of that stuff at the end of the school year?</p>

<p>Also, try to look for sales because $36 is a bit much for one pair of jeans. I found a $28 pair on sale for $5. All it takes is some hunting.</p>

19

<p>Additionally... you could always buy more shoes once a pair become worn out. I think you really only need one pair of sneakers (good ones too), a pair of flats, boots, and if you need, a pair of dress shoes (such as heels, but don't have to be) for fancier occassions.</p>

<p>So four pairs of shoes total.</p>

<p>Not counting flip flops for the summertime.</p>

20

<p>let me lift myself up off the floor...4pairs of shoes total....yeah, SURE....</p>

<p>i forgot to mention, buy some winter stuff in the spring when there are big sales...</p>

<p>four pairs of shoes is enough? too funny ;)</p>