The first of the two best seasons has made its way back around again, and it’s time to break out the spring-wear in celebration. Since styles change from year-to-year, this could represent the perfect opportunity for you to add some choice selections to your closet. First, go through your boxed-up apparel for any out-of-style elements that can go to the Salvation Army or Goodwill; then, it’s time to find the best deals you can get on your new spring clothing wardrobe.
1. Start Shopping A Month In Advance
Obviously, this isn’t always practical; but when it is – it can reap dividends. The reasoning behind spring shopping in this way is that retail stores have to remove items from the window and shelves every 6-8 weeks to make room for more stuff. The older items are then marked down, which allows you to grab top-end stuff at half-price or less. This only applies if the stuff doesn’t sell out while it’s up, of course.
2. Opt for Quality Over Price
There’s an old saying that will never die: you get what you pay for. Go ahead and spend for a name brand if you can judge it worthy. After all, there are reasons why it has developed such a following, and these reasons usually encompass the fact that it’s made very well, and made to last. Thrift store apparel cannot hope to outlast most things from one of the hallowed Italian brand stores. Similarly, if you’ve got an eye for stitching, then you can tell when something is made better than the price reflects – go ahead and pick it up this spring and start building your new high-quality-but-moderate-expense wardrobe.
3. Look Online
Online shopping is in the double digits, after having languished in the singles for the previous decade. This means that more people than ever are shopping online, which bodes well for sales from your favorite department stores – you can count on huge markdowns from giants such as JC Penney, Kohl’s, Anne Taylor and others. As spring approaches, prices on select items drop to invite in the shoppers.
4. What’s So Magical About Thursday’s?
Shop on Thursday after work if you can; the reason is that, with the weekend approaching, stores will mark down prices on last week’s items to get rid of them before the new stuff has to go on the shelves. This is one of your best bets for deals on spring shopping; in fact, it can work at almost any time of the year!
5. The Outlet Store
There’s a reason why these kinds of shops continue to pop up in and around most major metropolitan areas – and that’s because they’re successful. Outlet Stores are able to gather all the name brand apparel that the first-option stores no longer have any space for, and present them to the consumer at discount prices. Of course, some of the items there, although brand new, were released to the outlet because they are unpopular. It can be a bit like panning for gold, but there’s always a chance you get something really great at a fire-sale price.
While you’re there, you can always ask the customer service for information on what their other locations carry. Say, for example, you cannot find your size in an otherwise excellently-priced piece of apparel; instead of giving up or going with the sub-optimal size, they might find one that suits you at a similar mark-down elsewhere.
6. Ask Around
One of the most little-used methods for getting the best deals on spring clothing – ask the workers at your nearest department stores! More often than not, they know where the outlet stores that carry the trendiest clothing are located, as well as incoming items that are expected to hit the shelves later in the season. If you find discounted clothing while you’re inside, be sure to ask about the return policy on sale items.
7. Always Shop at Season’s End
Granted, this advice isn’t for this year’s spring clothing deals – but for next year’s. If you’re at all familiar with fashion, then you’re aware of the trendy items vs. the ones that have shown years of staying power. With thousands of brands from which to choose, you can whittle down the selections using the always-available internet; then, head to the offline spots and get the best clothing deals for next spring.
Ultimately, staying in style doesn’t need to break the bank or be that difficult. Spring & summer shouldn’t catch you unaware since, after all, it comes around every year. Prepare ahead by watching the store sales, which will provide you with an opportunity to spend much less than most for the same trending styles.
