Frugal Clothing: Shop Smart and Take Care of Your ClothesFrugal clothing is a combination of buying right and taking care of your wardrobe. You don’t have to spend a lot on clothing to dress well and look nice. Shop second hand stores and consignment shops for frugal clothing. Yes, you may have to hunt through racks and racks of clothes to find nice things. But, they are there. Shop garage sales. It’s possible to find new clothes that still have the tags on them, selling for pennies on the dollar. It’s hard to beat rummage and yard sales for children’s clothes. Shop store clearance sales and end of season markdowns. This spring, I bought new fleece vests for less than $5.00 each. The original price was close to $30.00. The ticket price was reduced some. But, I bought them from a clearance rack that deducted another 75 percent. Surplus stores, such as Army Navy surplus stores, can be another good frugal clothing source. Look for warm boots and outerwear, as well as t-shirts and sweaters. Consider quality verses quantity. The best value can be low cost or high quality. You may only wear trendy, high fashion items a few times. In that case, cheaper outfits can be the best buy. However, if you are looking at classic pieces, the frugal choice may be the more expensive ones. Ask yourself how much you will wear the item. Consider the cost of care. It costs less to care for wash and wear clothing than it does for those things that need dry cleaning. An inexpensive pair of wool pants is no longer a bargain if you need to pay to have them dry cleaned after every wearing. Take care of your clothes so they last. Turn them inside out before tossing them into the laundry. Promptly treat stains. Do small repairs before they turn into major problems. Compare popular name brand clothing to catalog brands and house brands. When you find brands you particularly like, look for them at thrift shops and garage sales. Another way to stock your closet with frugal clothing is to ask for it as gifts.
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