Hand-me-down Clothes

We have reached a milestone in our house. My two teenage sons, who are 3 years apart in age, now wear the same size in everything: pants, shirts, shoes, etc. So much for the time-honored tradition of hand-me-downs. Now, we are lucky if my younger son gets a few "hand-me-across" items.

Shopping for a Business Suit

My soon-to-be-seventeen-year-old son told me the other day that he wanted nicer dress clothes for his birthday. I think the "Mormon Prom" coming up on Saturday was part of his motivation. My hubby is not a big suit-wearer; he has a pair of slacks and a few dress shirts and ties that he rotates through for Sundays, but normally wears shorts and polos the rest of the week (even in the winter). So, I was a bit clueless as to where to start looking. I asked my Facebook friends and was amazed that the large range of suggestions I received.

• Burlington Coat Factory.
• Goodwill: take it to the dry cleaner or use the dry cleaner product for your dryer. Many Goodwill stores have Designer Sales where they offer their best selections of items.
  Hand-me-downs from family members or friends.
• JC Penney: Google for coupons - they are easy to find and easy to use. Suit quality is good. A friend’s son wore JC Penney suits on his 2-year LDS Church mission, and they are still in good shape.
• Kohl's.
• Land’s End.
• Macy's clearance rack. Check the weekend ads for "additional discount" on clearance items. As a law student, my cousin picked up several for $100-$150 (originally $500-950). They were nice suits and drew compliments from the judge.
• Nordstrom Rack.
• Ross.
• Sears.
• Thrift stores.

Because it was closest to home, we decided to start off at Sears. That's the only place we looked. He decided against the suit jacket, but got a pair of nice charcoal gray slacks, a beautiful blue shirt, 2 pairs of dress socks, a belt, and a pair of shoes for just over $100. I'm sure we could have done better if we had wanted to spend more time hunting, but it was sufficient and was within our budget.

They Really Do Have Everything on eBay!

The other day I made what had to be one of my oddest purchases on eBay, home of millions of deals on Antiques, Art, Cars, Cell ,Collectibles, Electronics, Toys & Hobbies, Video Games, and Everything Else (yes, it’s really a category). One category that I have mostly overlooked has been clothing. I bought a new Coldwater Creek skirt for about a third of retail a few years ago, but that was about it. Lately, however, I found myself in the market for another item of clothing: a bra. I hate buying bras. Hate it. It's so hard to find one that fits. They are darn expensive. In desperation, I finally broke down and went to Victoria's Secret the last time I needed one, endured all the up-selling by the salesgirl (no, I do NOT want one in chartreuse--or black--or nude) and paid what I thought was an outrageous amount--$45. But I do have to admit it fits. I decided I wanted another one, but was unwilling to go back to VS and unwilling to pay $45. So, I looked at the tag, found out the exact name and size I needed, went to eBay, typed it in the Search, and badda-bing! There it was. New, without tags. Starting bid was $18.99 with $4.50 shipping. I decided on a maximum bid of $20.50, but was able to get it at the last minute for the opening bid amount. After shipping, it was essentially half-price (no sales tax). And, it is exactly what I wanted. No pushy VS salesgirl, no trip to the mall.

I wouldn't have bought just any bra from eBay. As all us gals know, no two bra styles (even in the same band size and cup size) fit the same. But, for a bra that I knew was going to fit properly, it was a great deal.

No-sew Dungaree Buttons

Here's another tip from my Frugalite Dad. Whenever he loses a regular button from the waist of a pair of shorts or pants, he replaces it with a no-sew dungaree button. This is the type of button that is on most pairs of jeans. Put one on either side of the fabric, snap together, and away you go!

LA Police Gear

When my dad was here visiting this weekend, he introduced me to LA Police Gear, which was founded by Los Angeles-area police officers. They now serve the general public, military personnel, security professionals, and (of course) police officers. My dad, who is 6'5" and wears size 16 shoes, buys cargo pants, cargo shorts, and boots from them. He shops only in their Closeout section (must be where I get my frugalite roots) and has found some amazing deals, like a pair of Converse Foot Pursuit Desert Tactical Boots, regularly $100, which he nabbed for $8. Right now, they are selling for $39.99, but he said that their prices can change daily based on how much stock they have on hand, so he checks their site almost every day.

I'm going to keep an eye on this site to try to grab some cargo pants for my youngest, who absolutely refuses to wear jeans. Aside from clothing and shoes, you can also pick up flashlights, backpacks, and much more.

Just Walk on By

Yesterday, I went to the mall for a haircut (the first in about 3 months). The salon was having a special for anyone who could prove their unemployment, offering 1/2 price haircuts. Woo hoo! I made sure to tip my stylist (who is amazing) based on what the full price of the haircut was, though.

After the cut, I was wandering the mall and looked in the window of Dress Barn, one of my favorite stores. There were so many cute tops in the window, I literally had to stop and tell myself not to go into the store, that I had more than enough summer tops in my closet, especially for just kicking around the house and the pool, like I will be doing this summer.

When I was working, even though I prided myself on always shopping the clearance rack or the sales, I never really hesitated if I saw something cute on sale. I would get it, and rationalize it by telling myself what a great deal I got and how well it would go with everything else in my wardrobe. But, the reality is, most of what I bought is now hanging in my closet, unworn.

The frugal moral of this story is to just walk on by when you are attracted by a store window display, unless you really have a legitimate need.

Assessing Your Wardrobe

As I got out my warmer-weather clothes recently, I was struck by how many of them are more suited to working in an office than what I am doing now. I kept asking myself, "will I even wear this shirt/skirt/whatever" this summer? So, I decided to implement a little trick that I learned from the book "It's All Too Much" by Peter Walsh. I organized everything in my closet by color, then I turned all the hangars around so they are hanging backward on the bar (the opening on the hangar hook facing forward instead of facing to the back). Every time I wear something new, I can then hang it on a hanger that faces the normal way. At the end of the season, I will be able to determine what I wore and what I didn't, and can decide if I really want to keep all the things I didn't wear. While I probably will keep most of the things, in case I ever go back to work and need a business-casual wardrobe again, if you are suffering through having too many clothes in your closet/dresser drawers, this is a really great way to determine what you are really wearing and what, as Peter says, is just too much.

Speaking of different types of wardrobes, I remember reading articles or books about how it is actually cheaper to stay at home (as a woman) than have a job, and one of the things that was always cited was saving on your wardrobe expenses. I always rolled my eyes at this one; I never wore $1,000 power suits, or $450 stiletto heels, so how could that possibly apply to me? Well, it does. I can get by on 3 pairs of jeans and a handful of season-appropriate shirts or sweaters and a couple of pairs of shoes. In fact, right after I got laid off, I received 4 pairs of work-appropriate slacks that I had ordered online. I debated keeping them; after all, I had gotten them on a GREAT sale (about $9.00/pair) and they could come in handy in the future, right? I decided not to keep them. In fact, when they arrived, I didn't even open the package, I just went straight to the local retail location and returned them, sight unseen.

My Savvy Teen Shopper

One thing I haven't figured out how to do yet is to stop my boys from growing and needing new clothes. Believe me, I've tried, but they just keep growing. My oldest, who is almost 16, recently told me he had outgrown all his shorts as well as his dress shirt that he wears to youth dances at our church.

So, we went shopping. I suggested we try Ross (no luck) and Plato's Closet, which specializes in buying and selling gently-used name-brand clothing, mostly for teens. We hit the jackpot at Plato's, finding 2 pairs of shorts and a shirt for $30.

These shorts look to be brand new (still had tags), and were only $10.

These shorts are from Foot Locker (so the tag says) and were only $8.

This dress shirt was only $12.00. I figure we would have spent at least twice what we did, if not three times, if we had tried to buy the same brands and/or quality at a regular retail store. He was thrilled with his finds and declared that Plato's Closet is now his third favorite store. That's high praise from someone whose #1 store is GameStop (where he buys and sells used games--I've obviously taught him right) and Games Workshop.

Consignment Clothing Stores

I have a friend in the area who swears by Tree House Children's Store in Redmond (15742 Redmond Way, to be exact) for all her little ones' clothes. She has a preschool daughter and an infant son, and gets many of their clothes there. She says that she can get name-brand, barely-worn clothes for a dollar or two, and very often finds designer clothes with their price tags still attached. Ah, the joys of consignment store shopping in the land of Microsoft! And, quite honestly, with consignment deals like that, she'd be crazy to pay retail for kids' clothes, especially considering how fast they grow out of them in the toddler/infant stage.

I've been intending to try out Plato's Closet in Bellevue, which is a consignment store for teens, but my boys need so little in the way of clothes, that we did very little back-to-school shopping.

In general, if you have access to a good one, I think consignment stores are the way to go for kids' clothing. It's better to reuse something that is still in great shape than to pay overinflated prices for new. Ditto for hand-me-downs. If you can hook up with friends who have kids of differing ages, this is a great way to get some wardrobe items. My oldest son has a friend who has passed down some of his things to my youngest son. Because they came from outside the family, my youngest son doesn't even look at them as hand-me-downs (he sometimes balks at having to wear some of his older brothers' castoffs).

I'd love to hear from any of you who shop consignment stores: what store is it, where is it, what kind of deals do you find, when is the best time to shop them (i.e., mornings, weekends, Mondays, etc.).