I work from home some of the time, in the office some of the time. We are officially "business casual", but I decided I had gotten a little too casual (and I missed pretty clothes and playing "dress up" at least once in a while!), so it was time to reinvent myself and invest in a decent work wardrobe.
I refuse to invest a fortune in work clothing. Handbags and shoes-I will spend a lot on. Simply: they fit whether you go up or down 20 pounds. They always look good. You don't have to take them to the drycleaners once a week. Clothes are a different story.
And I dread shopping for clothes.
I love
LOOKING at clothes-no problem. But trying them on and matching outfits just takes absolutely forever.
So I avoid it as much as possible. I have fitting-room-phobia. Or if I try something on and it fits-I buy the exact same thing.....in 4 colors and get out of the store as quickly as possible.
I am not sure if this is just a symptom of the overall economy and brutal state of retail, or a testament to just how much they mark-up clothing to begin with. But....
My first scores were at Nordstrom Rack. An Ann Klein suit, an Ann Klein jacket and a pair of Michael Kors pants. Had I paid full retail: $750! My score:....$145 plus tax. And I thought I was off to a good start. Note carefully just those 3 items took about...2 hours of trying on dozens of items, getting pushed and shoved in the line to the fitting rooms, having my cart stolen once while I was looking around....and general angst getting run over by crazy folks with shopping carts lol!
(Note to self: avoid that place on Saturday morning it is a zoo...) But I pressed on.
Then I went to the regular "mall". I went into JCPenney. Talk about a sale! Stuff was dirt cheap. We are talking dress pants for $7 cheap! This I could
definitely justify for a work wardrobe.
And to go with a work wardrobe of course, you need work shoes. Not flip flops or funky sandals or fashion statements for the feet (which I have lots of)-real regular basic boring shoes (which I had none of). My sum total in the shoe department. Before tax for 3 pairs of nice leather shoes.....$23.91. You saved: $159.09!
I did even better in clothing. Before tax for way too numerous shirts, jackets, sweaters and pants: $170.19. You saved.....$1,018.13!!!!!!
I have entire brand new wardrobe including shoes that can be mixed and matched. For
less than half the regular retail price of that Ann Klein suit.
And now I won't have to go shopping again for at least...another year! lol!!!
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