Fashion comes at a price, and it’s a price most college students can’t afford. However, every year many students struggle to afford the business professional and business casual attire required at their new internship or Job. The last thing college students want to worry about on top of student loans, monstrous finals, lack of sleep, and a crumbling social life is trying to afford new dress pants!
Building a wardrobe for the future is not always on a college students agenda, but when it does land on that to do list, here are some tips I have learned along the way to make it easier and most importantly, save money!
1. Figure out your style.
The first thing you should do before you go shopping for any type of clothing is to figure out your style. Know what type of material or styles fit you best, are you a slim fit or a modern fit? Pleated or non-pleated? Or if you are shopping for business casual, what do you like better chinos or khakis? It’s important to know what you look best in and feel most comfortable in it. Remember the golden rule of shopping, if you don’t love it when you first try it on in the store, you won’t wear it once you get home.
Go to stores and take your time in the dressing room to figure out your style, in the end it saves you more time and money!
2. Do some Inventory.
Before you do any shopping, take a looksee in your closet and drawers, you may find some clothes that you forgot you had that can transfer over to your everyday work attire. Why spend money on something you already have?
However, if it has a notorious looking seagull or eagle visible on it, do us all a favor and put it back in the drawer and forget you ever found it…
3. STOP BUYING THE NAME AND START BUYING THE CLOTHES
I honestly don’t know who or what is to blame for this awful phenomenon. Maybe it has been stuck with our generation ever since we got hooked on the idea in middle school that name brands make you cool (even though we looked ridiculous in that oversized salmon colored Hollister hoodie). On the other hand, maybe it’s just America in general, with our love for consumerism. Whoever is to blame for this tragedy, its not too late to fight back, and save money in the process.
I personally have found shirts at Old Navy that look and fit exactly like shirts at J.Crew but are on average $80 cheaper. Don’t fall in love with the names, professional attire doesn’t have the letter vomit of brand names spewed across their clothes like the brands we wore in middle school. Odds are no one will know whether you are wearing a $30 Old Navy button down, or a $120 button down from J.Crew.
4. Don’t be afraid to shop at consignment shops!
As college students, we naturally love to find the best deals. Yet, for some reason there is often a negative stigma attached to consignment shops. WHY?! If your argument is that they are used clothes and aren’t in good shape, I urge you to go to your local consignment shop and look around. I’m not talking about Goodwill or Salvation Army (although I have found some stellar items for dirt cheap at those places), but places that are resale shops. They often have a standard of quality when accepting clothes to buy, which results in the clothes they sell being close or par with retail quality for half the price.
5. Go Workout!
Yes, I said go workout. I’m not saying to go get “swole” at your local Power House Gym, or start chugging protein shakes. But, one of the best ways to maintain your new wardrobe is making sure you can fit into those clothes for a long time. You can do this by simply running a few times a week or do pushups and crunches when you wake up in the morning. Even better, if your college has a rec center, use it while it’s still “free”.
You don’t have to join a gym to stay in shape, if you have room in the budget to do so they are a great resource, but staying in shape doesn’t have to cost money and it will save you money in the long run when it comes to your new wardrobe!
6. Get Boxy with it?
There are loads of rad deals out there in box’s that can be shipped to your doorstep, all with the items to build your professional wardrobe. I personally subscribe to Sprezza box, which includes over $100 of ties, pocket squares, tie clips, socks, and more for only $28 a month! There are more options to suit everyone’s style and needs such as Gentleman’s Box, Thread Beast, Brickell Mens Box, Dollar Shave Club, and BirchBox.
Some even offer free trials, and you can send back whatever you don’t like free of charge!
7. Take care of your clothes!
Seems simple enough? Yet, clothes are often not thought of as an investment, when they truly are. Make sure when you’re done wearing them they don’t end up on your floor, hang them up! Make sure you take your dress clothes to the dry cleaners and not your washer and dryer down stairs. The longer your clothes last, the more money you will save!
There's a reason why your Mom told you when you were younger to separate your lights and darks when doing laundry. If you haven't figured out why she kept telling you that yet, Google it, right now.
8. Get Creative!
Most of us 20 something college students won’t have an extensive professional wardrobe until a few more years down the road, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it seem like you do. Make three shirts, two pants, and four ties look like three times that by mixing and matching those items differently every day! Don’t wear the same outfit in the same week, and no one will be the wiser! It is the simplest, yet effective trick to "grow" that wardrobe.
One might say this is a, “Fake it until you make it”, strategy. One might be right.
9. Make sure you do online shopping the smart way
I love online shopping, it’s on average cheaper and has more deals than your retail store. But it’s easy to waste money if you aren’t prepared. There’s no worse feeling than trying something on, fresh out the box, and not being happy with how it fits and looks. No need to fear, this is easy to overcome.
If you are going to go shop online, do some recon first! When you see something you like online, especially if it is from a retailer, check and see if they have it in a store near you. If they do, take the time to go try it on in store with an outfit you might wear with it. This way you can know what size you’ll need, if you like how it looks, and even what color to get it in. Spend the extra time, to save time and money in the long run!
10. July is sweater weather...
I’m not crazy, well, maybe a tad. But I do know what I’m talking about here.
Go shopping for your summer items in the winter, and your winter items in the summer. Stores will almost always have their clearance racks full of the opposite seasons clothes. Also for online shoppers, look for big markdowns on the items that don’t match the season!
11. It’s a life style
Hey dude, I know it’s hard to accept, but unless your name is John Cena, it may be time to stop buying the jorts and the cut off MURICA' tanks and switch to a new look. If you make the decision to change your style outside of working to a classier, err modern look, you will end up buying clothes that will work for both work and the weekends. Making your weekend wardrobe more parallel to your business wardrobe helps save costs!
BUT WHATEVER YOU DO MAN, DON’T THROW AWAY THOSE JORTS, SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO PUT THEM BACK ON TO REMEMBER WHO YOU REALLY ARE INSIDE!
12. Don’t Get Lost in the Sauce….
STAY WITHIN YOUR MEANS! This is the most important part to saving money while building your new wardrobe. Don’t forget you are still a college student who is soon to be charging head first into the new world. Buying new suits and dress clothes is not where the majority of your money should be going. I know, I love getting new threads too, and I shop way too much than I should at H&M.
Nevertheless, it is crucial that you budget out money to spend for your clothes, and make sure that most of your income, allowance, or 20 dollars you find on the side walk is going towards important things like, ya know, paying off that student loan debt, saving for a car that doesn’t shake when going over 40 mph, or rent so you don’t have to move back in with your parents.
Above all, always remember there is much more important things in life than clothes.
