Ask the Readers: How Do You Save on Winter Clothes?
Winter is upon us and the cold weather has set in. It’s time to break out the coats and other warm clothes. For many people, that means pulling winter clothes out of storage. For others, it means heading to the mall to update their winter wardrobe.
How do you save on winter clothes? Do you shop in the off-season? Instead of hitting the mall, do you shop at thrift stores?
Tell us how you save on winter clothes and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
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I bought a really nice wool pea coat from a thrift shop and saved a bundle.
I use a 3 fold strategy. 1. I buy things like gloves, snow pants, hats and scarves at yard sales, especially gloves. Because gloves are so easy to lose, I always have a box of replacement ones, usually purchased for $1 or less. 2. I buy things like winter coats at yard sales or the thrift store, especially for outdoor activities like walking, hiking and shoveling snow or making snow men. I don't care so much if they get beat up and I wear them out. 3. I purchase quality outerwear for work and social situations when it goes on sale in the mid to late winter. Last year I bought a coat originally marked $240 for around $50. It is a very nice coat to wear for work and is a style that should work for me for a number of years. I also follow these same tips for my children.
That sounds like a great strategy! :)
layering
I shop when end of season clothes are on Clearance.
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I am new to cold I came from very hot weather all the time of the year (india). So deal with cold I wear thermal wear and thin layers after that . So I look kind a little bit fat but okay I am not getting cold so that is important. And at the end of winter I buy stuff discounted prices so no need to spend lot of money.
Thrift stores, suplus stores and yard sales for kid's coats and boots. They outgrow them so fast, that there's usually less than a season's worth of wear. Hand-me-downs from siblings, cousins, co-worker's kids help, too.
When shopping for kid's outerwear early in winter, buy the next size up (see above re outgrowing before the season ends). When shopping off season, buy two sizes up.
If you have a knitter in the family, ask for caps, mittens, scarves for gifts. Your knitter gets pleasure from the making and you get warm winter woolies. Natural fibers are best.
Two pairs of socks in your boots - thin, soft inner pair, outer wooly, tough pair. Wool insulates even when wet.
I usually save on winter clothes by buying them in the summer. I won't usually buy that many jackets and pants but if I find something that I know I can use in a few months later then I'll definitely buy them.
Definitely shop in the off season. "Spring" in Michigan doesn't really start until the end of April, but that doesn't stop department stores from putting outerwear on deep discount long before that. My husband and I both got great deals on Columbia jackets w/ zip-out fleeces at Kohl's. They are great for winter but since they are 2-pieces, you use it almost all year.
My key to saving on winter clothes is treating the winter clothes with care to keep them lasting. One winter jacket I have is around 15 years old. Not bad considering it represents half my life.
I don't buy anything that can't be washed easily, and I don't have any heavy winter coat.
Instead I layer different items to keep warm.
I live in South Dakota so warm coats are a must. I try to save money by buying quality coats on sale and then keeping them in good condition (clean, buttons reattached, etc.) for several years.
I have a pretty basic wardrobe of fitted Gap t-shirts, casual pants, and skirts. Over the winter I add cardigans, jackets, tights, and scarves.
I live in the cold midwest, and find that thermal undershirts under shirts and lightweight sweaters work well. I also love ruanas (shawls) to put on over my clothes at work and at home.
I live in the Pacific NW AND I run cold all the time so "winter" clothing is often "year-round" clothing for me. Anymore, I buy almost all of my clothes at second hand stores. It can be pretty time-consuming and I have to pick through a lot of junk but I usually end up with some killer deals on quality clothes. It's practically ruined me for retail!
A great way to save money on clothing is to shop at high-end stores in off seasons like shop for summer in the winter and shop for winter clothing in the summer I save all the time this way and save big.
I buy mine hubbys and the kids clothes off season. You should see the closet full of name brand stuff they have for summer for like 75-85% off. Plus SIL always gives me hand me downs since our kids are a year off from each other (her son 5 mine 4, etc).
My coats have a life span of 3-5 years. I wash them separate and dry on hanger. a few coats i have added new buttons or arm patches to up date a look get my scarfs at yard sales during the summer for a quarter i initially buy a good quality boot with thick soles-usually ugly looking but dry and warm and i don't skimp on socks-cause if my feet are warm so am i!!
Clearance racks and sales. Thrift stores sometimes, but the pickings seem to have gotten slim and the prices have gone way up.
i go shopping the day after xmas- EARLY and print out coupons for each store . you save a ton of money! and i go with a list, a friend, and make sure i eat a good breakfast that day. i try not to stray from the list and just get the necessities for the winter. i try and get out before the mall gets too crowded!
I do most of the suggestions of prior posters, including mainly buying used winter wear, making it last, repairing zippers, patching kids snow pants and so on. But some of these strategies don't work well in all cases. Outdoor clothing for older boys and men is difficult, if not near near impossible, to find used. Sometimes older kids who play winter sports need specialized winter wear. For these cases we use a different strategy.
We have a Cabela's Visa credit card, which has no annual fee. We always pay off the card every month. Through normal credit-card use we accumulate a couple hundred dollars worth of points each year that can be redeemed for the Cabela's goods, including high-quality outdoor wear. For example, a daughter who works outdoors wanted a set of thermal underwear that usually cost about $60 for the set. If we buy enough stuff with these points, the shipping is also free. Every year we usually satisfy some of our Christmas gifts using Cabela points.
I shop at thrift stores and most of my Christmas wish list is clothes.
I buy off-season and get this on clearance during the year before winter starts for winter clothing.
although i am a very feminine female...i buy a very large sweatshirt jacket in the men's department at wally world for under $15 ...these wash well and hold up just fine...after several years of getting 1 per year, i now have a colorful collection to coordinate with my outfits. Why men's?...better construction, longer and cheaper than those flimsy ones in the women's dept.
I have a coat that is a few years old, but still in good shape and not completely outdated. For my kids, I try to buy on sale after the season for next year or periodically check a local consignment shop for snowbibs, pants, etc. Heavy coats are used for only a couple of months down here, so it seems silly to pay full price for them.
I look through thrift shops and sales in stores. I also shop for winter clothes at the end of the season to save for the next year.
Since we live in Phoenix and see the snow only if we travel to Flagstaff in the winter months we usually shop at the local thrift shops. Our children grow out of clothes quickly and it doesn't make sense to buy new clothing for one trip to snow country per year. We do purchase new snow boots for them, buying the next larger size to get a couple years use.
I usually shop at goodwill or consignment shops. If I do have to buy something new I usually know way ahead of time, i.e. when I packup my winter clothes in the spring. I then just shop around in the spring when things will be cheaper, and when people will be getting rid of those clothes and donating them.
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My sister has older kids and always passes on their outgrown winter clothes. I also hit up the local thrift stores and yard sales in the summer.
I Liked you on FB (Terri Winsome).
I follow on Twitter as @didyouyarnthat and tweeted:
https://twitter.com/#!/didyouyarnthat/status/142200372939857920
I've been "lucky" enough that my son is outgrowing clothes that are my size, and I love the style/color/feel to them. New clothes for me without an additional price tag! Of course, it usually means he needs some larger clothes, too. Between consignment shops, thrift shops, clothing giveaways, and the occasional mall purchase, we're doing pretty good. :)
We shop at thrift stores! We find very nice items that are brand name, like new. Adding a few pieces like this to our wardrobe, we can make new outfits with what we already have. I just found a new pair of Clark shoes that I can wear to work. They were less than $5 & are beautiful!
Wow, that sounds like a really good deal!
I buy very little winter clothing. Instead I buy clothes that can be worn year round and then chose a basic coat/jacket from my closet that I have owned for years over my outfit.
I buy a good quality, well made coat that will last longer than 5 years in a classic style & neutral colour. I don't play into trends with outerwear because it's a big ticket item & I don't want it to go out of style, but I do have quite a few fun coloured scarves so the coat doesn't look boring & drab. And then I take care of that coat buy bringing it to the dry cleaners before I store it away for the summer.
Also, if I'm not in dire need of a winter coat I'll wait until spring when the coats are on sale.
This year I am going to make do with just wearing what I already. If I would have really needed new items I would wait for sales and a coupon to go with it at the local department store.
Layer! I only have a handful of winter-only clothes. I have about 5 long-sleeves shirts (good for winter and fall) and 5 white longsleeve shirts. Just add a short sleeve tee or polo over the top and then I can also use my hoodie.
My BEST savings technique. Buy a Carhartt coat (thermal lined). Even paying full price wasn't so bad as it has lasted 7 years and will last at least another 7 (if not longer). It's a work coat so it's built to last and the thermal lined is so warm I could wear it with only a short sleeve shirt and be fine.
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My husband and I are the same size we have been for years so we dont have to buy things every year. Our oldest daughter has always been right on track with sizes for her age so we buy things on clearance when the season is over for the next year and once she outgrows them we hand them down to our youngest or to someone who needs them.
The biggest way to save is to take care of what you have!
Partly I live in Texas, so not only do I not need a lot of winter clothes but also the winter clothes that I have don't get a lot of wear, so they last. But when I do buy winter clothes, I try to shop off season. I also find that camping and outdoor stores (especially online...campmor.com, sierratradingpost.com, etc) often have some great deals. It might be last year's "model", but that doesn't really bother me.
Both eBay and Amazon have given me access to brand new seasonal clothing at economical prices. I have access to direct-to-consumer wholesale prices on everything from socks to thermal underwear to gloves to coats. On eBay, I can narrow my search based upon price (low to high), color, brand name, U.S. addresses only etc. I would say 99% of my transaction experiences have been favorable. The other 1% I don't sweat over. ♥
I usually only shop at thrift stores, but land's end and jcpenny along with kohls have been having some killer online sales for the Christmas season.
i buy at the end of the season :)
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https://twitter.com/#!/ReneeAChapman/status/142806705133191168
Nearby Goodwill & thrift stores provided me with coats, sweaters and some awesome Eddie Bauer boots for a fraction of the price of new. And most showed no wear.
End of season clearance for hats, mittens, gloves. I also crochet hats & scarfs from garage sale yarn finds.
Checking known clearance spots (like Target endcaps) for items like socks & thermal underwear after season. For the kids, I buy two sizes up.
I wear a lot of layered clothing at work - turtlenecks and sweaters in various colors. Every couple of years I either buy a couple new sweaters or ask for them as Christmas gifts. Then I take care of them so they last 10 years or more.
I save by taking care of what I already have - I'm a champ at darning and reattaching buttons. You don't have to replace what ain't broke.
I save on winter clothes by doing the following:
1-Maintaining my weight so I don't need different sizes all the time
2-Taking care of what I have, pay extra attention to details in laundering instructions, etc. When I was 12 I put a wool sweater (that was my stepmother's) in the regular washer and dryer. Lesson learned, never again.
3-Buying off-season, got a great brand-new lined navy blue wool blend suit on the clearance rack in June for yard sale prices, I think it was $17, great quality, will last forever.
4-Check thrift stores for sweaters, jackets and coats. Amazing how many you can find new with tags for only a few dollars, so many people get them as gifts and never wear them, especially here in the south.
I shop off season...have been very lucky