Where to Buy Clothing?
The basics of life are food & shelter, we pretty much need these to keep going. Except for nudists, the next thing on the list of basics are clothing. But what and where to purchase?
Do we go with all cotton? What about American made? Locally made? Sustainably made with foreign labor? It is all a bit confusing.
The old delima was shopping in the city vs suburbs — the box vs the local merchant. Now it is a bit more complicated — does the box sell something better for the planet? At some point price has to be a factor, I don’t need any $100 t-shirts no matter how well built or regardless of who made it.
I have no great insights in this area but I need to purchase more clothes and I want to put my money in the right spot. Thoughts?
Most sustainable? Best prices? Goodwill!
Keeping money local? Spend your money at local businesses and buy American – the job you save could be your own!
The real answer is to not be a slave to the fashionistas – buy quality and wear it until it wears out!
Don’t over look the JC Pennies at Southhampton. They’ve been there a thousand years and have all the basics at reasonable prices and certainly in our town.
And you can’t complain about the parking for cyclists and scooters. It’s bad for everybody.
As Tyler Durden would say, one good set of leather clothes would last you the rest of your life… 😉
Scholar Shop. ‘Nuf said.
I’m a big fan of American Apparel t-shirts. They’re made in downtown Los Angeles, you can get them made with organic cotton and if you snag them off of certain Amazon.com stores, they’re a heck of a lot cheaper than getting them off of the site. Aside from feeling like a pederast when I navigate through their ads to get at what I’m ordering, it’s a great thing.
Try Store Four at City Museum. Vintage. Giant selection. Good prices. About as local as you can get.
Be naked as much as possible.
I would recommend Macy’s downtown and you can get a good lunch at Papa Fabarre’s. Still my favorite lunch downtown.
Second-hand is absolutely the greenest thing to do, from what I understand … Goodwill is great, but I think even better is the Scholar Shop, just off Brentwood. They have both men’s and women’s clothing, and the $ goes to support the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis. I could give a toss about designer labels, which is what a good deal of this stuff is – here’s the thing, though, designer stuff, whether you care about the label or not, tends to have higher-quality fabric, stitching, etc. It will often last a lot longer than clothes from a big box or dept. store, especially if you are buying secondhand. And to be honest, I’ve noticed that Goodwill and other thrift stores really mark up the prices on “designer” clothes or anything that looks like “vintage” or “antique” – the price for a really well-made shirt or pair of pants will often be lower at ScholarShop & places like it, and the item will have seen much less wear and tear….
Look, there are many thrift stores in our area and really, everywhere. With so many articles of clothing being produced, it only stands to reason that “regular” folks must keep purchasing. If one continues to purchase, one must give away what was purchased a few weeks/months ago. So, be like the Gleaners in the famous painting and pick up the goods that are left behind by those who think they must keep up with some kind of Joneses.
The quality of clothing at just about any thrift store these days is close to what you’d buy at a new store…so go explore. There are many styles, sizes, colors and qualities.
I say why spend money for new schtuff when you can get pretty darn cool schtuff at a very reduced price at a thrift store. Think…recycled!
Omigod. ScholarShop, hands-down.
Amazing quality, clean, well-organized, very cheap prices, and incredible sales.
The first time I went in there years ago (new to the area), it took me a bit to realize it was resale.
The ScholarShop across from the Galleria (on Clayton @ Brentwood) has more business-y, designer stuff (still cheap) with good variety for men and women. I think it’s from Swankyville hausfraus cleaning out closets. All very clean, quite a bit is near-new, new-with-tags, or oops-I’m-not-a-size-6-but-I-bought-it-because-I-can-with-Daddy’s-platinum-card stuff.
The ScholarShop in Webster Groves (on Big Bend, just west of Laclede Stn) has wider variety of casual clothing, often cheaper prices.
Best girlie find: $300 retail Ellen Tracy fuschia silk suit that I picked up for $8 at one of Clayton’s 50% off sales. And it still had the tags .
Check the website for sale calendar: http://www.sfstl.org/scholarshop-final.php
HEADS UP Nov 9-12 (closed Sundays): $10 off every $50 purchase. That’s at least two bags of stuff . See ya there Saturday!
Nah, I don’t work there. I just like being thrifty and responsible without looking…well, thrifty!
If your need a pair of boots I would recommend Timberland. Not only quality and style but they are going green. They are using organic and recycled materials in their shoes. Just received their new catalog in the mail.
Value Village off of Watson. I buy almost all my cloths there, coats, pants, shirts, suits, whatever. Its great, used cloths is the best way to go.
Value Village in Kenrick Plaza (Watson) you can have a pretty complete wardrobe (namebrands) for under $50.00 I agree with Jake. Scholar shop is pricier that VV