The Top 3 Stores for Fashion on a Budget

By Amanda Cohen on March 26, 2019

Not everyone has a passion for fashion, but if you’re anything like me, you love the feeling of confidently strutting out in that new outfit you just purchased and have been dying to show off to your friends. However, for those of you who don’t make a fuss over your clothing, I envy you because your bank account probably looks a lot better than mine. I soon realized that a high fashion-forward lifestyle was not sustainable on a post-graduate budget, so I did some investigating on how to indulge my love of the newest and trendiest clothing without breaking that bank.

All fashion junkies know about promo codes, sales, and discounts, but many people forget that there are stores where you can buy trendy, stylish, and high-fashion items with pricing much more catered to a person in their twenties’ needs. If you love to shop, but don’t love what you see on your credit/debit card bill each month, continue reading!

Infographic by Amanda Cohen

Revolve Clothing

Revolve Clothing isn’t a designer; it’s a website that houses hundreds of different brands and designers ranging from lower end items to items that you could see on a runway during New York Fashion Week. The beauty of Revolve is that is posts new items every single day and the prices are fair for regular retail items and are just downright incredible when they are having a  sale.

Unlike most stores’ sales, Revolve has almost all sizes available in their sales and the price markdown ranges from anywhere between 15% and 75%. If you want to make the most of your Revolve Clothing experience, download an account, add items to your “favorites” list, and have them notify you when a particular item goes on sale. Most of the items I’ve saved have gone on sale within two months (sometimes more, but if you don’t need the item right away, waiting a couple of months isn’t the end of the world).

Revolve Clothing does not have a physical store; it is purely online, which means that you can shop from your bed. Another great perk about Revolve is how easy they make returns. When they send you your package, they send you the return receipt and label and you can make a completely free return for a total refund as long as you send everything back within 30 days. If the items are sent in a box, you can use that same box and use their label and drop it off at your nearest UPS location. The only item(s) you may have to spend money on while making your return is a box (if you can’t use the box/packaging that Revolve used) and/or packing tape.

However, the only time you’ll be making returns is if you need a different size because I promise you, if you order from Revolve Clothing, you will not be disappointed. In addition, Revolve sells just about everything; from workout gear to festival gear to nice dresses to undergarments to jeans. You will never have the need to shop at multiple places if you are on this website. Here are some of my favorite items on their website right now!

Image via. https://pixabay.com/photos/people-girl-standing-talking-phone-2581913/

Terez

Whether you love to work out or just live your life in athleisure wear, you know that Lululemon, Nike, Bandier, etc. are too pricey to purchase all the time. However, going to class in jeans is so cringe-worthy; so, what do you do? You want cute leggings, but you also understand that many brands upcharge their clothing because of durability. What if I were to tell you that you can get cute, durable, comfortable, and fairly-priced athleisure wear? I promise it exists and the company that we have to thank for this existence is Terez.

Terez is a female-founded clothing company based in New York City and their mission is for women to embrace their individuality and identify through clothing expression. If you’re like me, you love female-founded companies that help promote positive identity to women of all shapes, sizes, identities, sexual orientations, ethnicity, religion, and more. They have everything from leggings to sweat pants to biker shorts to tops to sports bras; it’s literally a one-stop shop for all of your workout and loungewear needs. They even have products for girls in the midst of childhood and/or adolescence so if you wanted to match with your younger siblings, cousins, or your own child, you can!

Obviously, it’s practical to have the same three pairs of black leggings from your favorite athleisure store folded in your drawer, but why not add a little more color and spunk into your wardrobe? Terez leggings will allow you to do just that. Yes, Terez does have some subtler pieces on their website, but I really hope many of you take advantage of the fun patterns and styles they have to offer.

My favorite cut are the leggings with the tall band, but I do have a pair of leggings with a short band around the hips and I wear those a bunch also. I also have a pair of joggers from them and wear them all the time. I would suggest buying a size down for leggings because I personally think their products run on the bigger size, but for sweatpants, buy true to size if you’re like me and like your sweatpants baggier and free. If you are buying tops, I would stick true to size or bigger if you like baggier tops. Sports bras run pretty true to size. If you don’t, buy one size down. Here are some of my favorite products currently listed on the Terez website:

Image via. https://pixabay.com/photos/apparel-boutique-colors-design-1850804/

Pretty Little Thing

If you follow the Kardashians, Iggy Azalea, Cardi B, Jordyn Woods, or just about any celebrity, you have definitely seen them strut out in their Pretty Little Thing attire. I have not bought anything off of this website yet, but just scrolling through it I already appreciate the brand immensely. First off, the website celebrates women who have curves and not just women with pencil thin bodies. Second, the website sells a variety of clothing, ranging from accessories to swimsuits to full-blown night out outfits; you name it, I would probably bet you $50 that Pretty Little Thing has it.

In addition, the website is almost always having some sort of promotion or sale or deal, so check it daily to see if your favorite top is being sold at a discounted price later in the week. Not only do the celebrities listed above wear Pretty Little Thing, but they also regularly do collaborations with the company because of its growing popularity. This website is good for people of all ages (well, teenagers and above) because of the ever-growing variety presented on the website.

Like I said above, the clothing on this website really encourages women to embrace their body types, whatever it may be, but it definitely caters to curvier women, which is great! If you aren’t super curvy, you can definitely still find items by this brand for sure! The website features a lot of clothing, but there are ways to narrow down your search. For example, they have different “Edits,” like the Spring Break Edit, that features the company’s favorite looks for spring break. If you’ll be poolside, they have options. If you’ll be partying, they have options. If you’ll be relaxing, they have options; you can’t go wrong!

In addition, they offer a 40% off student discount if you sign up with Student Beanswhich is MAJOR if you are on a college or post-graduate budget. Take a lazy Sunday to really sit down with some coffee and some Netflix and sift through the website; I can guarantee that you won’t regret it! If you order something and it doesn’t work, you can return it as long as it’s within 28 days of purchase and it is in unworn condition. After searching through the site, here are some of my favorite items that I will also be sure to add to my shopping cart:

Image via. https://pixabay.com/photos/money-card-business-pocket-visa-256281/

We all wish that we didn’t even have to think about shopping on a budget. But, since we can’t all be young billionaires, like Kylie Jenner, or get paid for the beautiful talent that is Lady Gaga, we have to shop smart and really question whether an item is worth its price tag. It probably used to seem impossible to have a killer closet on a budget, but I’m hoping that this article helped to show you can find amazing clothing for fair prices, you just have to know where to look! Since it’s impossible to talk about every fantastic store that you can shop at on a budget, here are some additional tips to get your through your next shopping spree and to ensure that you aren’t spending more money that you need to:

  • Don’t buy on the spot: if you’re in person at a store, just because something seems perfect and fits great, doesn’t mean you should get it. Ask the sale’s person if they can hold the item(s) for you for a couple of hours so that you can go to other stores to see if they have the same item for a better price, or something much better.
  • Search for deals and promo codes before you get into it: all this takes is a simple Google search. Just type in, “[store name] promo codes [date].” Sometimes, there are deals that you don’t even know about and ones that aren’t published on a store’s website. This method also works for coupons and bar codes that can be scanned in person. Remember, even five dollars off can make a major difference.
  • Only bring cash with you when you shop: if you have a history of overspending, only bring a certain amount of cash with you and no debit nor credit cards. This will ensure that you make wise choices and only buy what you really want/need and you literally will have a 0% chance of spending more than you had originally planned.
  • Shop with a responsible friend: you need to bring a friend along who is honest and will tell you if something is really worth the price tag. Tell your friend what you are looking to buy ahead of time and tell him/her that you do not want to veer off course with your shopping plans. This person will hold you accountable and will be a good voice of reason when you come across that handbag that you love, but really don’t need.
  • Make a list: people make grocery lists all the time, so why not make a list when it comes for clothing/accessory shopping? If you make a list, the minute items are checked off is the minute that you stop searching in a particularly clothing section, which will, in turn, reduce temptation to buy items that you don’t need. For example, if you already found a pair of black boots, you won’t be tempted to go into the shoe department during that particular shopping trip (Not going to lie, this is easier said than done if you’re online shopping).

Some other fantastic stores that are great for fashion on a budget are listed below as well:

  • Missguided
  • Xenia Boutique
  • White Fox Boutique
  • Hello Molly Fashion
  • Tobi
  • Nasty Gal

I can confidently say that you are all now perfectly equipped to shop on a budget. Don’t buy just to buy and make smart choices! I promise you, it’s far from impossible. Happy shopping my friends!

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