<p>I'm now an official interest for a sorority, and because of that I need to upgrade my wardrobe. The sisters all always look so nice, and while I have some nice(r) clothes, I also bum it a lot, so I need some help. I'm going to go shopping tonight and try to get some things. I was thinking of going to Deb, Forever 21 and H&M. Any other stores I should check out? (I need things that are affordable). Any suggestions of what I should be looking for?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m the last person to give you fashion advice 
but my one suggestion would be to shop with a color scheme in mind so that you can mix and match your purchases to make your potential outfit selection larger.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to start out by buying neutral colors such as black, brown, grey, white etc. I’ll look for some color too though.</p>
<p>Don’t just buy drab neutral colors. It’s autumn so you should incorporate some red, orange or yellow tops (because black pants go with anything).
I’m also not a big fan of Forever 21 (or Deb, really) because a lot of their stuff (especially their shoes and hand bags) look cheap.
Not that I’m a big baller, but I like JC Penny, Kohl’s and Macy’s a lot better. Macy’s tend to be a bit on the higher end price wise, but JC Penny always has stuff on sale and promotions. </p>
<p>Don’t rush out and buy whatever because it’s there and you think you need new clothes. Space it out and buy pieces that can go with things you already own. Bargain hunt online. And I’m speaking from personal experience. I got a job about a month ago in an office setting with business-casual clothes when my wardrobe was leaning heavily towards jeans and t-shirts. I bought shirts that went with pants I already owned until my first pay day.</p>
<p>I have a lot of tank tops that are very colorful, so I want to get neutral basics.</p>
<p>I love Forever 21. I think most of their stuff looks nice, and it’s very affordable. Deb is somewhere I go mainly for basics like camis, tees and socks.</p>
<p>I love Kohl’s, but am not a fan of JC Penny (they almost never have anything that’s my style), and Macy’s is much too expensive!!</p>
<p>I’m mainly looking for things like cardigans and nicer tops that I can wear with shirts and jeans I already have.</p>
<p>I don’t shop online because I always have to try things on before I buy.</p>
<p>The classic advice would be to build a long-term wardrobe slowly by buying a few nice pieces that will remain stylish in the long term. If you can do that while buying other things (“disposible clothes” and accessories) at more trendy shops, you’ll have a good strategy for after graduation. Get the pants/skirt etc in a neutral color with classic styling at a good store and accessorize with whatever color is trendy for the season at a less expensive place.</p>
<p>When you’re looking for nice things that can become wardrobe staples, you don’t always have to drop huge cash on them. I tend to buy nice pieces, but I get them almost exclusively from sales. I’m particularly on a couple discount sites–you can find the type and I’m not going to shill for my particular ones–where good brands will offer their wares for cheaper. Sometimes the deals aren’t very good. $50 for this $65 tshirt! No. (And I’ve never been able to shop for pants online because the fit there can vary so much and returning a lot of things is a hassle.) But sometimes the deals are fantastic: I got a $300 list price blazer/coat that I wear every other day about a year and a half ago for $40. Dirt cheap it wasn’t, but my Forever 21 blazer that I bought for a list price about the same as the deal site one’s reduced price fell apart after about three weeks. The nice one is my favorite piece of clothing! </p>
<p>I left high school with a crummy wardrobe and spent a lot of time getting nice clothes on sale between then and my sophomore spring. I’ve been able to pretty much stop buying clothes since June! That’s not to trash Forever 21 and H&M as good options–I write this in a Forever 21 blouse people keep mistaking for vintage, and I got one of my favorite, and still-wearable, dresses there for $4 five years ago–but you have to be careful because the quality varies so much. You can find classic, nice, long-term pieces at typical suspects for nicer clothing, but you can also find them for less money if you look carefully at cheaper stores and if you take advantage of sales at nicer stores.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean do online shopping. I meant keep an eye out for sales and coupons through company websites. Shopping for clothes online can be such a pain with sizes and hoping the color in the picture match what you get…</p>
<p>Normally, I recommend ebay for getting awesome designer clothes on the cheap, but since that’s not an option…</p>
<p>have you tried any second-hand stores? They might be good for cheap, fun clothes. Other good stores are places like TJMaxx, OffSaks/Nordstrom Rack (I don’t know if you have these where you live, but they’re pretty great).</p>
<p>I went shopping tonight and had some success. I got a plain, black skirt from H&M along with a couple tunics, one in black, and the other in one of the sorority’s colors, and a navy blue cardigan from Papaya. In total I only spent about $25. There was a dress that I thought about buying but didn’t end up getting, but I’ll probably go back for it. I think I did well.</p>
<p>That’s a nice score for 25 bucks.
Is there a Burlington Coat Factory where you are? I love that store.</p>
<p>Yeah. I’m happy with what I got.</p>
<p>There isn’t a Burlington right now, but there’s one opening sometime this year. I’m not sure when though. It is a great store, I agree.</p>