alt milk: Where to Shop for Different Articles of Clothing

I'm not super rich-- I shop on a budget. That said... there are a few things I spend money on when it comes to clothes. These are my thoughts on which articles of clothing to spend money on, and where to find things on the cheap. I'll go head to toe:

JEWELRY:
Mostly, I cheap it on jewelry. If you like rings and chains, Walmart is the best place to go. Chains are around $3, and rings go from around $1 in packs to $9 individually. Earrings are more tricky-- wearing cheap earrings all the time can hurt your ears. I like to have a couple pairs of nice earrings to keep my ears healthy, but I cheap it on the fun ones.

Walmart chains and earrings from Chemistry.

Nice earrings aren't too expensive at Chemistry (in downtown Hood River, OR), where a decent pair of hoops is about $30. You can buy piercing earrings, which are gold-plated and safe to wear, at Sally's Beauty (The Dalles, OR is the branch I go to) for around $9, even if you aren't going to pierce your ears with them. Cheap fun earrings can be found at many places-- but one of my favorites locally is Top to Bottom (Hood River, OR, by Safeway).

SCARFS:
Thrift them. Always. You can find those cute silky ones at any Goodwill and also my favorite, Eagle One.

SUNGLASSES:
Alright, so I inherited my best pair of shades along with my car. They were just chillin in the backseat, being the best pair of sunglasses ever. So my advice is to stumble upon you soulmate pair of sunnies.

However, if that doesn't happen, definitely go for cheap thrift store sunglasses. I personally loooooooove colored lenses. I have a growing collection, and they're a blast.

Also try the sale section of online stores!

My inherited, amazing sunglasses.

Yellow sunglasses make you happy! These were $3 from the ASOS sale section.

Red shades! From some thrift store somewhere.

Matrix shades are fun.

SHIRTS:
No need to spend big money here. My favorite place to get fun shirts is thrift stores-- I like to spend at most, $10 on a shirt, but I prefer around $3. I'm also really into white shirts. They're easy to find, cheap, and go with everything. Plus, a white shirt and jeans is a great outfit and a total classic. The best place to buy white t shirts is Walmart-- look for when they stock the George brand shirts. They're around $3.50 each, and super soft. I love to buy ones a few sizes too big and wear as dresses or decorate them.

Me in a Walmart t shirt!

JACKETS/COATS:

Thrift ALL THE WAY. The only coats you should even consider buying new are technical coats like ski jackets, but even those can be found at the right thrift store.

I'm a wee bit addicted to thrifted coats. Or a lot addicted. I fall in love with coats too easy. My tip for finding thrift store coats is to go into the most random thrift stores you can-- and follow your intuition to the perfect coat.

I've found... a lot of coats.

My huge red Mistral ski coat-- AH!! Love.

BELTS:

Always buy at thrift stores. Goodwill always has great belts, even though you'll have to sort through a lot. Finding ones that are genuine leather is always a good idea.

JEANS:

If you want loose fitting jeans, mom jeans, etc, ALWAYS go to Goodwill or another thrift store. Old jeans will hit at the waist and be super flattering. I also find that older jeans have a higher cotton content, bigger pockets, and more durable stitching. You will also find a lot of jeans that are straight fit-- a super classy fit. I'm such a fan of straight fit jeans, and they're the best when they're vintage.

Thrifted jeans!

If you want skinny jeans, you can try thrift stores, but honestly, you might be better off getting jeans at a regular store. I would recommend Gap jeans, specifically from a Gap Outlet-- they are much cheaper.

Gap skinny jeans! Think I got them for about $20.

An exception is Levi jeans... they're actually just amazing. I've been buying thrift store jeans at about $4 for years, but this winter I was really dreaming of a pair of straight fit, stone wash, super high rise jeans. Levi's had just come out with the Ribcage fit jeans, which were perfect for my long torso. So I spent TOO MUCH on a pair of them that was exactly what I'd been dreaming of, and they're worth every penny. They have big pockets (not the tiny fake ones found in so many women's pants), a button fly, silver metal detailing, and are 98% cotton. PERFECT. After this experience, I would recommend a splurge on Levi's if you can afford them-- I plan on keeping these jeans until they're fraying off my body, and maybe even after that.

Me, absolutely loving my Levi's.

Me, still in love with my Levi's. They fit PERFECT.

SHORTS:

Shorts are SO HARD. At least for me-- I am 5' 8", which means I'm a little too tall for most shorts to look modest on me unless I wear Bermudas. Also, NOTHING IS HIGH RISE ENOUGH. However, I have found some solutions to these conundrums.

A huuuuuge shorts hack is making your own cutoffs. You can use your old jeans, but oftentimes those are too good to sacrifice. My solution is to go to Goodwill and find a pair of jeans that fits you in the waist and hips, then go home and cut them short.

Cutoffs made from Goodwill pants!

Another place to look is just the Goodwill shorts isle-- but this endeavor requires a great deal more luck.

PANTS:

THRIFT STOOOORES!!! All the way. My favorite thrift store, Eagle One (see earlier post), always has great dress pants and slacks. Many other thrift stores also have loads of old slacks, somewhat reminiscent of secretaries or the 80s. They may not look cute on the rack, or like what Urban Outfitters is selling, but try them on! These types of pants often hit at the natural waist and have an elegant straight fit that's super flattering and fashionable. They're really great for when you want to look a little classier. You can also pair them with a crop top or something see-through to make your look more modern.

SKIRTS: Also, thrift em. So many surprising finds at your local thrift stores!!

My favorite thrifted skirt!

DRESSES:

Thrift themmmmm. Goodwill has great dresses. Also, be sure to check the lingerie section of thrift stores-- often, you'll find the more modest vintage lingerie, which resemble the shift dresses of today. Sometimes you'll find really cute dresses there! Or see-through layering pieces!

Here's a cute see through dress I love to layer!

Another great place to find dresses is at Walmart-- but not in the dress section. XXXL t shirts and camisoles are perfect loose summer dresses!

SOCKS:

You don't need to spend much, but I'd recommend Amazon. Find cute bulk socks for cheap!

SHOES:

I. Love. Shoes. SO MUCH! Shoes are the only article of clothing I will recommend spending money on. My theory is cheap it everywhere EXCEPT the shoes. Nice shoes pull together an outfit like nothing else.

By nice shoes, I really mean nice sneakers. Boots are definitely a thrift store item, as are heels.

But SNEAKERS. Buy nice sneakers! Brand names, if you want! They'll last longer and if you buy the right colors, go with every outfit. I personally love grey and white sneakers. I'm a huge fan of Converse-- specifically Chuck 70s, their higher quality version of the classic All Star. They are totally worth the extra $30-- they're made of better canvas, have better, glossier rubber, and waaaaaay comfier soles. Adidas are also fun, although in my opinion some of their shoes are a little basic.