This is Inspired by the high-mid-low end thread, the perusal of which revealed to me that there might be a need for a few words about just what the "low end" really is.
You may not need this information yet, but as transitions in the larger economy empower an increasing number of us to develop our own new strategies to address new challenges and changes, even the highest of enders might want to file it away for the day when paying $695 for a sweater presents a conflict with the interests of one's mortgage lender.
If, like me, you're already poor, don't take one look at the websites mentioned here and howl.
I certainly do not consider $30 or $40 a garment to be either affordable or acceptable. Just as we have to do anywhere offline, there is going to be some work involved if you want to find the bargains. When I visit these websites, I immediately click "Clearance," and even there, you have to work.
Blair, for example, is famous for its immense and astounding selection of bad polyester grandma clothes, but here and there, you will find some perfectly acceptable basic pieces that are both inexpensive and serviceable. And you are quite likely to find them sent to Clearance fairly quickly, since they are not what the store does best, not what most seekers of bad polyester grandmawear go to Blair to get.
And there is the occasional Treasure. Although the silk noile pants, for instance, got mixed reviews from the customers, mine have held up so well that I wonder if a less than consistent fabric lot might be involved. There could also be a question of expectations, people not understanding, for instance, while it may sometimes resemble raw silk, silk noile is not really silk, but essentially trash that accumulates during the making of silk.
I got them intending to use them as lounge pants, figuring, and correctly so, that they would be a very light weight of silk noile, and thus would be comfortable year round. And they are indeed light as a feather. They instantly became my favorite lounging pants, so to me, that counts as a Treasure.
Chadwicks is similar to Blair in many respects, including the emphasis on bad polyester grandmawear, but I think of it as the Internet Home of Cheap Twinsets, which is something of a misnomer, because even in clearance, Chadwicks' twinsets can set you back as much as $20-$25. But that's still cheaper than anywhere else, and the twinset is a favorite of poor people everywhere because of its mix n' match abilities. Buy two, and you have bought 6 possible top halves of looks. Do the math.
LaRedoute (a child of the same parent company as Chadwick's and several other stores) is virtually grandmawear-free, and it is in France, so that may give it some small amount of je ne se quois for people who are new to both bottom-feeding and clicking through pages of grandmawear just to find a basic knit top.
My main beefs with LaRedoute is that things take longer to get to clearance there, and while you don't have to wade through grandmawear, there is considerably less merchandise made of cotton, and in its place a lot more rayon, and nylon as well. I have no idea why this is, but I have to pass on a lot of LaRedoute stuff that I like the look of because I live in a warm climate, and rayon is just not as cool as cotton.
My other complaint is size. LaRedoute sizing runs small, and stops at what they call "XL" or "18-20," and more often than not, "L" or "14-16." and I can assure you that especially after a visit to the dryer, it is the smallest 18-20 that you will ever see in this life. So lady lump owners beware. No matter how slender you are, order the XL, and be prepared to step over it laid flat on a towel to dry. My best LaRedoute treasure is a big pearl gray fluffchunker of a wool and angora sweater with giant buttons, that in milder climates will serve happily as outerwear, and in a surprising departure from the LaRedoute sizing philosophy, even the "L" is L enough to accomodate a couple of t-shirts and a pullover underneath. And $12.99 is not a bad price for winter outerwear.
The high-mid-low thread did contain a couple of mentions of Forever21, but since we are on the subject of stingy sizing, this is the perfect place to mention it. Unless you are very small, especially in the bosom area, don't even bother with their clothing, which, while not grandmawear, is almost exclusively polyester. Forever21's idea of XL, which almost nothing comes in anyway, is something like a 34 bust. Or maybe it's 36 or something, but you get the idea.
But while the clothes may be for the smallest of the small with a high polyester tolerance, the bling is a different story. I have gotten some very respectable faux bling from Forever21 for next to nothing, including some basic rhinestone pieces with stones actually made of glass, as opposed to the sad little blobs of acrylic I have seen in the big box stores for several times Forever21 clearance prices.
Goodys is a useful little store. Actually, some of the brick and mortar versions are big and semi-fancy, but the website is simple, easy to navigate, and there are always plenty of markdowns, including a brand called Mountain Lake, very nice tops, at least the ones I got, and if LaRedoute and Forever21 run small, Mountain Lake runs so large that in some things, I actually take a small - and it is still not tight in the bust!
Some of their brick and mortar stores are large and semi-fancy, and do not have the kind of bargains the website does, though the ones I have seen do have a large selection of what I guess you would call mid-range conservative career wear. Polyester with pretentions, not unlike the store itself.
But who cares when they have unannounced sales like buy 3 items and get free shipping - and there are plenty of $5 items - or 25% off anything in the store.
Kohls and Boscovs are a couple more of what I guess you could call low end with delusions of being considered as close to mid-end as JC Penney's. Still, their sales and clearance prices have netted me some pretty impressive basics, including twinsets as low or lower than Chadwicks, some pretty tone-on-tone embroidered knit tops, and now and then, some real surprises, the most recent one a sleeveless black cotton jersey shell from Kohl's that fits me perfectly and I can tell just by the hand of the fabric, and examining the inside seams, it will outlast me. I just happened to visit the website on the day they were having a one-day sale, and had just about all the knit tops priced between $4 and $7.
Bealls might not be as well-known as some others, but they maintain a well-stocked clearance rack, and on which the intrepid poor person can find simple basics at affordable prices. The brand of cotton top I like best from there is called Bay Studio, and if you catch them on the right day, you can get your favorite color in 3 different necklines, including "sweetheart," which is my personal favorite. Flattering and a nice frame for a wide range of bling.
Continued in Reply 1
You may not need this information yet, but as transitions in the larger economy empower an increasing number of us to develop our own new strategies to address new challenges and changes, even the highest of enders might want to file it away for the day when paying $695 for a sweater presents a conflict with the interests of one's mortgage lender.
If, like me, you're already poor, don't take one look at the websites mentioned here and howl.
I certainly do not consider $30 or $40 a garment to be either affordable or acceptable. Just as we have to do anywhere offline, there is going to be some work involved if you want to find the bargains. When I visit these websites, I immediately click "Clearance," and even there, you have to work.
Blair, for example, is famous for its immense and astounding selection of bad polyester grandma clothes, but here and there, you will find some perfectly acceptable basic pieces that are both inexpensive and serviceable. And you are quite likely to find them sent to Clearance fairly quickly, since they are not what the store does best, not what most seekers of bad polyester grandmawear go to Blair to get.
And there is the occasional Treasure. Although the silk noile pants, for instance, got mixed reviews from the customers, mine have held up so well that I wonder if a less than consistent fabric lot might be involved. There could also be a question of expectations, people not understanding, for instance, while it may sometimes resemble raw silk, silk noile is not really silk, but essentially trash that accumulates during the making of silk.
I got them intending to use them as lounge pants, figuring, and correctly so, that they would be a very light weight of silk noile, and thus would be comfortable year round. And they are indeed light as a feather. They instantly became my favorite lounging pants, so to me, that counts as a Treasure.
Chadwicks is similar to Blair in many respects, including the emphasis on bad polyester grandmawear, but I think of it as the Internet Home of Cheap Twinsets, which is something of a misnomer, because even in clearance, Chadwicks' twinsets can set you back as much as $20-$25. But that's still cheaper than anywhere else, and the twinset is a favorite of poor people everywhere because of its mix n' match abilities. Buy two, and you have bought 6 possible top halves of looks. Do the math.
LaRedoute (a child of the same parent company as Chadwick's and several other stores) is virtually grandmawear-free, and it is in France, so that may give it some small amount of je ne se quois for people who are new to both bottom-feeding and clicking through pages of grandmawear just to find a basic knit top.
My main beefs with LaRedoute is that things take longer to get to clearance there, and while you don't have to wade through grandmawear, there is considerably less merchandise made of cotton, and in its place a lot more rayon, and nylon as well. I have no idea why this is, but I have to pass on a lot of LaRedoute stuff that I like the look of because I live in a warm climate, and rayon is just not as cool as cotton.
My other complaint is size. LaRedoute sizing runs small, and stops at what they call "XL" or "18-20," and more often than not, "L" or "14-16." and I can assure you that especially after a visit to the dryer, it is the smallest 18-20 that you will ever see in this life. So lady lump owners beware. No matter how slender you are, order the XL, and be prepared to step over it laid flat on a towel to dry. My best LaRedoute treasure is a big pearl gray fluffchunker of a wool and angora sweater with giant buttons, that in milder climates will serve happily as outerwear, and in a surprising departure from the LaRedoute sizing philosophy, even the "L" is L enough to accomodate a couple of t-shirts and a pullover underneath. And $12.99 is not a bad price for winter outerwear.
The high-mid-low thread did contain a couple of mentions of Forever21, but since we are on the subject of stingy sizing, this is the perfect place to mention it. Unless you are very small, especially in the bosom area, don't even bother with their clothing, which, while not grandmawear, is almost exclusively polyester. Forever21's idea of XL, which almost nothing comes in anyway, is something like a 34 bust. Or maybe it's 36 or something, but you get the idea.
But while the clothes may be for the smallest of the small with a high polyester tolerance, the bling is a different story. I have gotten some very respectable faux bling from Forever21 for next to nothing, including some basic rhinestone pieces with stones actually made of glass, as opposed to the sad little blobs of acrylic I have seen in the big box stores for several times Forever21 clearance prices.
Goodys is a useful little store. Actually, some of the brick and mortar versions are big and semi-fancy, but the website is simple, easy to navigate, and there are always plenty of markdowns, including a brand called Mountain Lake, very nice tops, at least the ones I got, and if LaRedoute and Forever21 run small, Mountain Lake runs so large that in some things, I actually take a small - and it is still not tight in the bust!
Some of their brick and mortar stores are large and semi-fancy, and do not have the kind of bargains the website does, though the ones I have seen do have a large selection of what I guess you would call mid-range conservative career wear. Polyester with pretentions, not unlike the store itself.
But who cares when they have unannounced sales like buy 3 items and get free shipping - and there are plenty of $5 items - or 25% off anything in the store.
Kohls and Boscovs are a couple more of what I guess you could call low end with delusions of being considered as close to mid-end as JC Penney's. Still, their sales and clearance prices have netted me some pretty impressive basics, including twinsets as low or lower than Chadwicks, some pretty tone-on-tone embroidered knit tops, and now and then, some real surprises, the most recent one a sleeveless black cotton jersey shell from Kohl's that fits me perfectly and I can tell just by the hand of the fabric, and examining the inside seams, it will outlast me. I just happened to visit the website on the day they were having a one-day sale, and had just about all the knit tops priced between $4 and $7.
Bealls might not be as well-known as some others, but they maintain a well-stocked clearance rack, and on which the intrepid poor person can find simple basics at affordable prices. The brand of cotton top I like best from there is called Bay Studio, and if you catch them on the right day, you can get your favorite color in 3 different necklines, including "sweetheart," which is my personal favorite. Flattering and a nice frame for a wide range of bling.
Continued in Reply 1
