The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: ibleedirish on May 02, 2014, 12:17:06 PM
-
I have to dress relatively professionally at work. Anybody aware of affordable sources for professional attire? Used or otherwise.
-
Are you male or female? I think that could make a difference in the answers you get.
As a male, I get professional dress shirts and pants at places like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, or Ross for something like $12-$15 for shirts and $20-$25 for pants. And I look good!
-
Outlet store typically have sales on major holidays. Some times its, 50% off the lowest price even on clearance items. Also, if you know how to measure yourself and make minor alterations, you can try to buy clothes on-line, for example ebay.
-
Male. Sometimes the outlet stores are tough because I need long shirts.
-
I am the king of shopping off of the clearance racks. If it isn't 80%+ off I usually don't buy. My favorite stores are Kohl's, Burlington Coat Factory and TJ Maxx. I have purchased a number of dress shirts at Macy's on clearance as well.
My typical max is $5 for t-shirt, $12-14 for golf shirt and $10-16 for a dress shirt. Most are nice name brands. For example, I found a 2 very nice $60 Greg Norman golf shirts at Burlington last year on clearance for $8 each.
If you are interested in used I would probably recommend trying Goodwill but I don't think their selection is that great.
-
The dress shirts at Costco (Kirkland brand) are super well made and classic style for around $18 as I recall. Been awhile since my husband has needed any since they really last well, and have the nice wrinkle-free treatment, so less (um, no) ironing.
-
I use Twice for online consignment- I have bought/sold there several times, and have been satisfied. They have a great selection of lightly used women's business wear.
Here is my referral link: liketwice.com/dVfXF
If you use it, you can get a $10 credit for selling, & a $10 credit for your first purchase ($20 total). I also get a $10 credit if you use the link.
EDIT: Oops, missed your second post where you clarified your gender. Sorry about that! I don't have good recommendations for menswear sites.
-
I feel your pain with needing long shirts--my husband is 6'3" so this is a constant issue for us. We've had great success at thrift and consignment stores. While most don't have a huge selection of men's wear, we're able to find good items by checking in frequently.
For new retail, I'll echo the prior posts on Costco and Kohl's--great sources. We've also found that Gap Outlet has amazing sales for menfolk. Pants and button-down dress shirts for under $10!!! If you have a Gap or Gap Outlet near you, check out their sales rack. Their shirts are fairly long, wish they were longer, but they're better than most places---they have a slim cut, which is nice and cuts down on bagginess.
The best long shirt my husband has is J Crew--we found it on the sidewalk in a box of free stuff (major score), it's the longest dress shirt we've ever seen! Perhaps you could find J Crew used at a thrift store? I'm definitely keeping my eyes out at Goodwill...
-
My dh buys most of his clothes on ebay
-
Most of my clothes have come from Kohls or outlets. Tall stuff is harder, a lot of time the cut varies by brand more than how the size is labeled.
For pants, hands down the best standard brand from a durability standpoint has been Haggar. For shirts, nothing has stood out.
-
My dh buys most of his clothes on ebay
Was also going to suggest Ebay if you know the brands/sizes you need. Probably easier for men since the sizes are more standardized.
Thrift and consignment is worth checking out, too, if you don't mind spending a little time treasure hunting.
-
My husband gets a lot of stuff from Uniqlo. It's generally very well made, and not very expensive. I've gotten a few things there too and they've held up pretty well for the price.