Luckily, I have a few places that are my go-to's for online shopping (which I consider myself an expert in).
1. ASOS
I cannot stress this enough, ASOS is one of the greatest places to find anything from your next formal dress, bathing suits for spring break in Delray Beach, to the perfect pair of jeans. The amount of affordable options for all of these categories and beyond is beyond extensive, and around holidays (and a lot of times just when they feel like it), ASOS will have crazy sales, whether it's on new arrivals or 70% already-marked-down clearance items. The world is the shopping-obsessor's oyster with ASOS, and there's even an online marketplace where you can shop for vintage items if you're into that.
2. Zara
I shop at Zara in-store or online depending on my mood (I love doing both, Zara's website is a creative masterpiece and being inside a real Zara that typically means I'm in New York City, which is just a bonus). What I love about Zara the most, however, is how unique their pieces are. Combine that with lower price tags, there's nothing better. Some of my favorite sweaters and cool graphic tees that have been in my closet for years are from Zara, and they always continue to amaze me with their mixture of elevated basics, fun prints and hues, and ability to appear high-end but with affordable costs.
3. Bershka
My friend recently showed me this brand which I believe is under the same ownership of Zara, and this is Bershka. Similar to Zara, this brand (which has a few pop-up locations in major cities) has a variety of affordable (I'm talking twenty-dollar going-out tops) options that you simply cannot pass up. From neon bodysuits to the ugly-yet-acceptable chunky sneakers everyone's been obsessing over this past year (take this from someone who owns them, they're my favorite pair of shoes besides my Air Force Ones, and I have a lot of shoes so that truly is saying something). I promise it will take only one scroll through the "Tees" or "Jackets" section of their site to know that they have everything you've been looking for and then some. To further prove my advocacy for Bershka, I would like to mention that my first order just came in two days ago and the snakeskin booties and leopard-print pinafore dress I ordered are perfect.
4. Nasty Gal
The name makes me cringe, but I get over it once I see the never-ending sixty-percent off sales that Nasty Gal has to offer me. I'm serious, Nasty Gal never stops its sales. All of its new arrivals: sale. Sale stuff? Additional sales on that. I don't know how it even makes money at this point because I have never, ever bought anything full price there. If you do, you're weird, honestly, or you're on the wrong website. Anyways, Nasty Gal has literally everything you could ever want, and the quality is good despite the super-low prices that would make one think otherwise. My favorite polka-dot bodysuit, chunky sneakers, black combat boots, and Metallica (no I can't name one song, shut up) graphic tee are all from Nasty Gal, so I give it my overall stamp of approval.
5. Shopbop
This is where the lines between my kind of "affordable" and someone else's might become slightly blurred. Shopbop is affordable designer rather than the typical affordable crop top from the aforementioned places, but its sales are awesome. Between Alice+Olivia, Free People, Zimmerman, Solid and Striped, and every high-end brand in between, Shopbop's sales are the place to scroll through when you're in the market for a summer dress or bikini that you didn't get for $17.50 at Forever21. Sometimes, it's best to move on from fast-fashion and turn to better-quality brands that will last you forever and alas - are still discounted!
