12 Ways to Save Money on Clothes While Looking Good

Clothing, accessories, and wearable gears take a very significant portion of our budget. Average American spends 10% to 20% of income on buying clothing and accessories. While saving money is an option, we shouldn’t compromise on the quality and looks of our clothes either. After all, it’s about looking good and smart, isn’t it?

We need to strike a balance between saving money and spending money on quality dresses. I wrote about low-cost fashion ideas in the past. To extend it further, in this post I am going to talk about the tricks and tips of buying clothing at the best value for money.

11 Ways to Save Money on Clothes

1. Take stock of your wardrobe

Sometimes we forget about a certain dress simply because they lie hidden behind other clothes in our wardrobe. When we moved to a new home, I found pants that I didn’t wear in last few years. One of them was a khaki slim fit, which I was about to buy this year. Once you make a shopping list do check up your wardrobe once before shopping, you may not need to buy everything that were on your list.

2. Make a buying list and set a budget

Do not go to the store without having a list in hand. Make sure you list down the color, style, material and price range on the list. you use smartphone notepad app to list items if looking at a paper while at the store is not that attractive to you.

A sample item in your apparel buying list would be, Light blue jeans,32 W, 30 L, straight cut, regular fit. Range $15 – $30. Once you have a budget and an exhaustive list, buying things is lot easier and chances of splurging reduce too.

3. Before going to store, check online

You can buy your dresses online as well, millions of people do buy them online. if you are skeptical about not trying clothes before buying, you can try it out at the store before buying online. If you liked a particular jeans pant, visit the store and try out a similar pant and see if it’d be a good buy. Perhaps you’d realize that regular fit goes better than slim fit in your case.

4. Don’t get attracted to sales

All of those “sale” signs and coupons offer on mails can result in impulse buying and overspending, so treat them same as the grocery store coupons and don’t buy clothing just because it’s on sale.

If you have subscribed to store email promotion, you may think of unsubscribing from them. The sole purpose of those newsletters is to bring you in store.

5. Don’t compromise quality over price

In the long run, a poor quality will drain your money. When colors fade or the dress shrinks you need to buy a replacement. A good dress can last for years.

6. Always check return policy and keep the receipt intact, 

Even after trying out before buying, you may find some defects or notice discomfort wearing the dress later on. I always make sure I wear the new dresses before return by date. When there’s a need to exchange, I always go back with the receipt. Most stores require the receipt for return. So, check the return policy and the return-by date, as if you don’t, you may need to shell out money for a replacement clothing.

7. Use credit cards to maximum advantage

My credit cards always return at least 1% of the spend in the form of reward. Often they have revolving high cash return. For example, my Chase card had a 5% cash back on all departmental purchases this year for three months. You can take advantage of the cash back offer and pay with credit card for your clothing purchases. but do pay in full before the due date.

8. Don’t go for the brand alone

If you’re so much into branded stuff then you may be paying for the name and not the quality and looks. A Ralph Lauren may not be always better than a US Polo Association. Whereas US Polo association costs as much as half the Ralph Lauren price. Try to go for how good it’ll look on you. There’s no harm in having a few branded items in your wardrobe but for everyday casual use, you may get a better deal elsewhere.

9. Always try the dress before buying

Every store has their own standard for sizes. A medium at JC Penny fits differently than a medium at Sears or Kohl’s. Sometimes we forget to exchange that misfit dress. Also, the cloth may not look good on you the way you thought seeing it in the shelves. Do not take your chances try out each and every piece you buy.

10. Use coupons and discounts

When you list the dresses to buy, look for special offers or coupons. JC penny Always gives us a 15% off coupon on next purchase. You can use that to our advantage, you can break up your purchase to avail maximum discount. Do make sure you use the coupons only when you need to buy a new dress. Buying just to use a coupon is actually spending money foolishly.

There are sites that offer special discounts on clothing. A site called Swagbucks offers gift cards for name brand clothing stores like Gap, Old Navy, etc. By performing day to day browsing and searching you can earn as much as $50 a month with Swagbucks. You can redeem your accumulated dollar to buy clothing store coupons. It’s similar to earning a pair of cloth for month long browsing which you’d do anyway.

11. Make as less trip to the store as possible

On each visit, you’re going to see items that were not on your shopping list. You’ll cross restaurants and fast food chains you were not planning to dine in. Each time you give up to the impulse, you will spend money on things that were not necessary. 

So, buy as much as possible, probably your entire shopping list, with a single outing. This technique worked for me as earlier I used to buy shoes while checking on a pair of jeans, just for example.

12. Other cheaper ways

There are other ways to try as well. Buying used clothes at a consignment shop, garage sale or from Goodwill stores works for many. Hand me downs are good when you’re on a tight budget. This may not work for everyone. I didn’t mention this point separately as I don’t buy used clothes myself.

But I would advice buying used clothes from stores and not from garage sells. As consignment stores accept clothes that are in good condition, they wash it to kill all dirt and germs. Dresses sold on garage sells may not be cleaned that thoroughly.

Also, sometimes you may find a treasure at such stores. Always fashion returns back, that old styled skirt may become fashion tomorrow.  A Bellbottom pant you may find at a thrift store that can become a fashion in 2020’s, who knows!

Readers, how do you save money on your clothing? What actually works better than other methods?