<p>For any of you who are coming from the South or the West Coast, or places where it typically does not snow, Columbia Sportswear Company has this past season’s winter gear on a crazy sale. I was in there today and got a bunch of hats in gloves with omnitech for about 4 bucks a piece. They have a bunch of discounted winter coats, if you don’t mind that there are last seasons. And most Columbias also cary Sorel Boots, which are some of the warmest and most comfy winter weather boots on the market. They often have $150-$200 boots good until -10, -20, plenty warm for NE boarding schools. Try going to Eddie Bauer and buying a down blanket for your room. Most should be discounted now, and you can get a duvet cover to go with it.</p>
<p>Nordstroms has an AMAZING anniversary sale in August…it’s the best-kept secret they have. I STRONGLY urge you all to check it out…they have clothes for dress codes, no dress codes, etc…and they’re well-made! I’ve gotten Northface coats for the past 2 years for $100, and once I won a Northface backpack! You should really look at it for some staple pieces.</p>
<p>Closely observe what students are wearing when you revisit; some schools which do not mention jeans in “dress code” are full of kids wearing jeans and that’s fine, for example.</p>
<p>One student earlier on this thread suggested waiting until you get there to figure out what to add. This is good advice. Girls borrow a lot from each other, and you can easily make it a few weeks with clean, non-ripped stuff from home, to give you a chance to decide what you need.</p>
<p>We bought a lot of clothes before going to school last year that ended up back home not worn :(</p>
<p>There is a good, fairly inexpensive laundry service (M&K) that washes, irons, and dry cleans as an optional plan with most boarding schools. It saves a lot of time and fewer clothes sit in piles waiting to get washed.</p>
<p>Take lots of socks and underwear. For winter, a warm utility coat (warm, waterproof like North Face down parka) and boots (LL Bean’s duck boots are popular) are good for trudging through snow and mud. </p>
<p>Local thrift and vintage stores, like Plato’s closet, are worth visiting. We also like factory outlet stores.</p>
<p>Yes, but if you go for revisits you should be able to get a pretty clear idea of what the students are wearing. You can ask your guide what they wear in the coming months, and any stores/staple items s/he suggests. </p>
<p>Don’t go to boarding school completely naked! Bring some clothes…polos, twill pants, corduroys, blouses, etc., and when you go home for a break gather some other pieces to make it a bit more unique. Unfortunately, for some international students, they won’t be able to go home to get these pieces until Thanksgiving…so buy a lot according to dress code and punch it up if need-be.</p>
<p>Also, online shopping is your friend. Many schools aren’t near decent malls or it takes too much time to get to the mall from a student’s day.</p>
<p>Perhaps unpopular, but a great resource for upper end clothes is ebay. Whether new or gently used. Barbour, Patagonia, LLBean, etc.
There’s also…Goodwill and the Salvation Army. I have a really nice Patagonia jacket that I wear for business casual at my clients that I bought at the Salvation Army for…8 dollars.</p>
<p>Agreed - Thrift stores - if you look around, some have donors and stores that send them designer clothes with the tags still on them. I stopped by one in our area with a friend who shops for items to give away to kids in her classroom. It is frequented by high school kids from the local private schools for that reason. I was really pleasantly surprised (and walked out with a Liz Claiborne sweater - brand new with a tag - for 25 cents on sale) Worth finding the ones in your area that do the same thing.</p>
<p>Also, see if any of your friends (who are the same size, or bigger) have clothes that they are going to donate. Then look through them to see if there’s anything appropriate for school. I get a lot of clothes from my friends, and I know that they are good quality and well cared for.</p>
<p>And DSW is AMAZING for shoes. I get them all there…super cute!</p>
<p>DSW - go to the clearance rack FIRST. You might find the same shoes that are on the floor at full price. That is because if a style of shoe is sold in more than one season (or year) they will have different sku’s (stock keeping numbers) on them. so on the floor they might be $99.99. On the clearance rack the previous season’s version might be marked down to $19.99. (old retail trick).</p>
<p>Bumping this up for new students. J. Crew has good quality clothes. Get on their mailing list. They’ll send you emails everyday on sales and things like that. There’ll be like Spend $150 and get 40% off or something like that.</p>
bumping this thread up since it has great advice
go online to alibaba. my college freshman got some very cute trendy blazers that go over everything. cute skirts, too. very inexpensive as it serves as wholesaler for those pricey boutiques you see in Concord, Nantucket, Ann Arbor, etc. usually has free shipping. Also check out consignment stores. 350 can go far if you are a smart shopper. as far as wearing the “right stuff” I have found only insecure people need to do that.