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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Priorities

Madlovemom

I'd love to engage in another discussion about fitting fashion into budget priorities. I am back to work after 15 years at home and have enormous chasms in my wardrobe. But as a family of four with lots of financial commitments, it's hard to
justify spending on filling these huge holes. And hard to find the time now to shop for bargains. Anyone have experience with this?

Shopping

30 replies

Latest reply was from anne

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

If it's a true hole, it's hard to justify not spending on filling it. It's not like you can walk around naked without getting arrested. What kind of wardrobe holes do you have, exactly?

Aquamarine

Veteran

Without knowing your budget or work dress code, I'd say versatility should guide you. There are quite a few women here who have discussed the goal of a small, cohesive wardrobe. I'd guess those threads are a good starting point for someone going back to work and struggling with time and budget constraints.

Madlovemom

The hole is work attire really. I've had a yoga pants and Target wardrobe for many years so now I just need to invest in 5-day-a-week professional wear.

Neel

Veteran

I would suggest a 3 bottom, 3 tops and 2 jackets capsule for the five day routine for the start. Add 2 pairs of dressy shoes. If you choose wisely, you can mix and match to create more than 10 outfits to take you through a few weeks. You could then keep adding as and when you have the resource.

Target clothes doesn't necessarily mean bad! I work on a budget too and shop from high street shops. If you already have a few dressy bottoms or tops all the better. There are loads of affordable wear which are surprisingly well made! H&m comes to mind. Good luck with establishing that work capsule.

Anonymous

First off, I know how it can be hard to spend on yourself, but you need to! It's just as valid a need as providing for your family. Angie has many posts on creating a workwear capsule that can be extended as you have the time and resources.

http://youlookfab.com/2011/03/.....-for-less/

http://youlookfab.com/2012/03/.....y-outfits/

http://youlookfab.com/2012/03/.....t-capsule/

Hestonian

Can you incorporate any of your current clothes into your workwear? I'm thinking that if you invest in some basics, such as neutral skirts, pants, and blazers, you could add the Target or thrift brands into the mix. It might help to go through your closet and pull out everything that could be worn to work. Determine what your specific holes are from there. Time and money are going to have to be spent, but if you have a specific plan for purchasing in place beforehand, you have a better chance of wasting less of both!

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Professional wear is a pretty broad category. There's a big difference between what you'd wear at a conservative law firm and a laid-back locally-owned small enterprise.

I'd say in order to spend your money wisely, your best bet is to be very specific. About the job/required attire, and also about which specific pieces you need. If you need dress pants but currently have zero pairs of such, that would be a real hole = priority. If you have a couple of tops that could work, even if they're not ideal, then tops are not a priority until real holes are filled. Does that make sense?

carter

Veteran

My daughter interned in a congressional office this past summer. She had nothing that was appropriately conservative or nice enough (college student). We did a whirlwind shopping trip in one day. We got one dress (Ann Taylor), 2 skirt suits that she could wear as separates (WHBM and Express), 4 tops (AT and WHBM), one skirt (BR), one cardigan (AT), one jacket (Chicos), 2 necklaces (Chicos) and 2 pair of pumps (DSW). With some lucky sales, the whole wardrobe was about $700. All the tops, bottoms and skirts went together, and one jacket and the cardigan worked with the dress. She had plenty.

kkards

Veteran

One of the 1st things I would do is sign up for email from stores you think will work for you. This way you will be notified about promotions, sales, or special discounts. It can overwhelm your in box, but it's amazing how many discounts are out there.
Second, I would not over look target for work wear. I have gotten a couple of great pieces there. They have a great pant selection, and I have gotten good sweaters and a nice blazer.
I would also check out Marshall's tjmaxx and dsw. Especially for work appropriate shoes. I think all 3 also sell online.

Windchime

Veteran

You're getting lots of helpful suggestions here, and I second Neel's idea to assemble a basic capsule. You might check higher-end consignment shops, if you have some near you. Last Saturday I scored a black Ann Taylor lined pencil skirt for $12. I couldn't be happier with it, even if I'd paid ten times as much.

Also, there will be loads of good sales from now through the end of the year.

Good luck, and have fun!

Adelfa

Veteran

Yes, do tell us how your office dresses! My office is "business casual" and you could get by without a single blazer--a couple of pairs of dress pants, some tops and sweaters and you'd be done.

DD is an attorney and she only wears suits for court, depositions, and mediations. The rest of the time it's a sort of polished business casual. This may be because it's Los Angeles. Oh, also, she wears Target pencil skirts to work!

Target does have tons of classic pieces that are appropriate for a lot of business environments.

Madlovemom

Neel, great idea on the "capsule." That term is new for me and I love the idea. Black Friday is a good day to shop for a capsule.

Ceit, thank you for the links! I'm new and still catching up on all the archived
posts. I'll read them all.

Hestonian, I actually have incorporated two dressy pants I had in my wardrobe every week. A gray pair and a black pair. They have been my workhorses these past three months. But I enjoy dresses and skirts more, so I guess getting a few mix and match skirts/tops would be my priority. I have time this weekend to hit all the Black Friday sales. I'll report in next week!!

Carter, would you believe I have never been in H&M! I read Angie's endorsement of it for budget-friendly fashion forward work wear so I will hit that on Black Friday too!

Kkards, you're right! TJ Maxx and Marshall's are no brainers if you can spend the time to pick through the racks and have the patience to file through so many options. Another Black Friday activity.

Windchime, I do have a great trading store near me. I got this Calvin Klein dress for $30 and paired it with my daughter's Target shrug. I'll check back there periodically. It's just hit or miss.

I work at a school so it's dressy casual. No jeans or sneakers. I think Target is the perfect price point and maybe a few higher end pieces on sale.

Thank you all for your very thoughtful and actionable suggestions! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

Well, as I mentioned before, you look sensational in that outfit and since you've already identified body type (and are relatively easy to fit) the shopping should go easier for you. I love the idea of a small capsule.

Angie often recommends Express for low cost business wear. Seems unlikely, but it often works.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Welcome! Going from a yoga pant esque wardrobe to a business casual or smart casual look does require some investment, but it's necessary if you want to be taken seriously at work and fit into cultural norms there. If you have the time, thrift, secondhand and consignment can help your budget a lot. I agree that Target's "work" wear is really good quality for the price. I've got skirts from their Merona line that have lasted years of wash and wear. If you are basically starting from scratch, I would establish a limited color palette to start with so that everything can be mix and matched with everything else, and start out with only one silhouette of each garment that suits your shape, again so that you can mix and match and not worry about weird proportion issues.

Madlovemom

Exactly Laura. Now I know my shape and can hone in my best neutrals (navy, browns, grays and black just because it's easy). I love Target! I think looking at all of Angie's amazing outfits makes me pine for a more expensive wardrobe. But this is her career!

kkards

Veteran

MLM.- one of the things I like about Angie's style is her mix of expensive and inexpensive items. As you grow your work wardrobe, it can help to think about pieces that you can swap out later if you want to upgrade/update
And IMO the best sales on clothing come closer to Christmas and in jan, so i would save some of my budget for then.

Madlovemom

Good idea! I would never have thought of that!

qfbrenda

Veteran

Just FYI, anntaylor.com has regular priced stuff 40% off right now. They might have some things that would work.

Madlovemom

I saw that!!! That's when I saw all this Ponte stuff on sale. Do you like Ponte?

qfbrenda

Veteran

I love ponte! It's easy to wear and to wash. It's usually thick enough to not show every bump. I wash it on gentle cycle and hang it to dry. I try to remember to turn the items inside out before washing to cut down on pilling even more. I have several ponte dresses and love them.

Anonymous

You are gorgeous madlovemom, hopefully you won't have any major fit issues. If money is tight, check this link out. I think it's a bit dated, but just look how a carefully chosen, small wardrobe can combine into many mix and match outfits. Carefully chosen being the operative phrase, lol!
http://www.goodwillvalleys.com.....rdrobe.pdf
I think someone else linked to one of Angie's excellent posts on a very small capsule wardrobe for professional wear as well. Happy reading!

Lisa

Veteran

Great advice here already, good luck shopping! I find Express, BR, Ann Taylor and Macy's Inc line work well for business wear and sometimes you can find items on sale in these stores too.

FlorenceFearne

Ooh, ok, I have some "cheater" advice here. Stick to a color palette, and then get a few print tops, and several toppers that match each. As an example of what I mean, see my second ever polyvore set. Target has lots of great prints and toppers to match, super cheaply. I'm kind of a Target-holic!

Each of those cardigans pairs nicely with at least 3 of the tops, and vice-versa. I know it's not the most creative/inspired approach, but it gets you a lot of mileage out of each item. Plus, everything goes with black or grey. Hopefully that is some kind of help.

http://www.polyvore.com/priori.....=105323968

ETA - consider that your career does provide for your family, and you need to be correctly dressed for work.

anne

Veteran

You have so much good advice. Have fun putting it into action! I can relate. I have three kids and went back to work 5 months ago (in my case a corporate setting). Looking forward to seeing what you come up with from your shopping trip!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Just wanted to add that Express is having 50% off their entire site right now. That's where I got my one and only suit.

Madlovemom

Claire, I love Goodwill! All my kids clothes go there when they outgrow them and tons of my own stuff too over the years as my tastes have changed. Carefully chosen is the exact word! I just don't have a lot of patience for careful culling but you can find treasures if you put in the time. I'm really getting this capsule concept now.

Lisa, trusty AT right. I shopped there before kids when I was working so why not go back. Angie likes AT too. I'll check that 40% off online sale now.

Florence, great Polyvore capsule! Cool! How'd you do that? I never thought of toppers before. I'll look at it carefully. My job actually doesn't provide for my family which is why I feel I need to be frugal. But I do need to look sharp anyway!

Anne, did you have to do a big shop?

I can't wait to let you all know what I find on my hunt. Here's one thing below. I bought this Banana Republic skirt at my local trading store and was asking for help on a shoe to match. I found this shoe on sale at DSW and had a $10 coupon. So here's half an outfit at least!

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Madlovemom

Mo, thanks for the tip! I have never shopped Express either! I'll check it out. Thanks!

FlorenceFearne

Oh, I'm glad if it was of help. I tend to use that same method a lot by getting say, a shirt with black, grey, and burgundy print, and then buying a topper in each of those colors. Especially if you include a neutral or two, the cool part is that it expands exponentially. Because then if my next shirt had burgundy, teal, and plum, I'd already have a burgundy topper, a grey one, and a black one, which all matches the new shirt also. Meaning as long as Shirt B shares just 1 color with Shirt A and can be worn with similar neutrals, you're set to keep building on!

Not sure which part of the Polyvore thing you had a question about, but if you clarify, I'd love to help. Although as I said, I'm no expert.

And those shoes and skirt are so versatile. You'll be able to match those with a million things. Good finds!

qfbrenda

Veteran

Ann Taylor is at 50% off right now.

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