Disclaimer: These are my own personal experiences. I have only shopped at the mall ONE time in 18 months. No reason really except that I got tired of waiting for dressing rooms and rude people. Not to mention the lack of enough sale associates. It was annoying. I do go to certain stores near my house but that's about it. The rest is done online.
Before I can really discuss how I online shop, I
have to mention how I view my wardrobe. Please
keep in mind that I am plus size so my shopping experience is different. That’s just the way it is. There are some stores that I am unable to
shop because they don’t cater to my size.
That’s fine and I’m okay with that.
This is from many years of hit or miss. My fashion transformation happened 10 years
ago from an episode of “What Not to Wear”.
The impact of that show on me is life changing. I literally started over. I spent a lot and I mean a lot of time over
the period of three years building my wardrobe from ground zero. I did follow most of “the rules” Stacy and
Clinton gave to women of my build and size.
As time went on, I developed my own set of rules. These rules are fluid and can change.
When shopping online, you need to have a tape
measure. It’s is your best friend. It’s been a life saver especially when the
lingerie shop that I have used for years to purchase my bras closed last
year. I’ve been unable to find another
store that can come close to their knowledge base or customer service. Therefore, I started buying my bras online
and because of precise measurements, I’ve done well with having the right
bra. I need support because I got some
nice sized tatas.
I view my wardrobe in three ways.
1. Foundational/Investment Pieces – “The Basics”
are pieces of clothing in my wardrobe that are in it for the long haul. They build the foundation of my wardrobe. These
can be high priced items relative to my budget.
An example would be a jacket. I
have jackets that retailed for $100 but I was able to score for maybe $60. For me, that is a lot of money on one piece
for me. I am open to paying more than
that for a piece but that is mentioned in #3. These pieces usually come from my
higher end stores. This is relative to
the person.
2. Disposable
Pieces – These are pieces of clothing that come and go. Pieces that maybe you may not pay much for
and can even be cheap. These are what I
call “fillers”. This determines what
type of stores I may shop in for these pieces.
Many times, these pieces come from lower end stores. Stores that you are not always going to find
the highest of quality of clothing. Now,
you may find quality stuff but that is not always the case.
3. Special
Pieces – These are pieces of clothing that have that something “special”. They are pieces that will be around for
years. The pieces may even be
“classics”. They are more than
foundational. This is where I may pay
outside of my normal price point. For
example, I have three pairs of Enzio Angiolini shoes that I paid around $100 a
pair when I was building my wardrobe.
They are around 10 years old and were early purchases but I wear them a
lot. They will never go out of style. These pieces can come from anywhere. They can be anything from accessories to a
shirt. These finds can even come from
Wal-Mart and have on a few occasions.
Viewing things this way allows me to pretty much
shop as I want unless it is something extremely expensive. I keep pins on Pinterest to guide me and I
bookmark things. Each paycheck, I allow
myself a certain amount of money. I can
go a while and not shop. I’ve had to do
that in some lean times. My husband has been laid off or had his teaching position
cut twice in the past three years. He teaches in detox centers and stuff. Not the traditional teaching positions. Therefore, adjustments have to be made. We are both teachers. I went the traditional route so I’ve had the
same position for years. This is
important to how I shop because it has forced me to learn to get more bang for
my buck. That is my whole focus with
online shopping. I find that I am much
more successful than in store shopping.
Go figure. This has just happened
within the last two years. I’ve learned
how to manipulate online coupons and stuff. It just happened.
I’m plus size so when I use a site, I may have to
return things a few times until I get the right size. www.onestopplus.com
usually lets you return stuff for free if you get the right coupon code with
free returns. A tape measure is your
best friend. I’ve been really lucky on
this because I usually get it right on the first try. Once you learn a websites sizing, it’s easy
to get it right. (I can’t say this
enough: tape measure!). Not true with
Target. I refuse to buy clothes from
Target because they do not post size charts in the USA. I think that is crappy. I do purchase shoes but not that often.
The answer for me has been blogs. I shop blogs. Not just trolling fashion
blogs. I use the codes posted for things that I want
or need. Not just fashion blogs but
coupon bloggers. It’s amazing some of
the stuff I have bought for practically nothing by going to certain websites. I think of www.freejewelry.com. I’ve purchased some fabulous jewelry there
for practically nothing especially if I do referrals and get a credit. I found out about that place from an online
coupon blogger site, http://coupondivas.com/. Many of these sites do more than grocery
coupons. They list daily places you can
go to get random stuff on the cheap that is posted on my Facebook newsfeed. I’ve purchased a sterling silver peacock
necklace from Kohl’s that retails for $18 for around $7 based upon a “tip” from
one of these type of sites. They had a
coupon code and there was a huge sale on accessories that week so I was able to
get a huge discount. This is the necklace: http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-806151/mudd-silver-tone-simulated-crystal-peacock-long-pendant.jsp.
I have specific sites that I shop for specific
things. This has developed over the past
few years.
For #1:
Investment/Foundational pieces, I will shop at the following stores and
it is easy to get coupon codes for these sites. I’ve NEVER paid full
price!!!! These are the sites that I
frequent: Lane Bryant, Simply Be, Land’s
End, Macy’s. My go to place is www.onestopplus.com. They carry stuff from higher end plus size
retailers to lower end stuff. This has
been my go to place. I’ve purchased some
awesome stuff from there for great discounts.
I go to Google and type in “coupon codes” for the website and use www.ebates.com. I buy disposable items from there too. They do exchanges easily. Their customer service has been awesome. The customers give honest reviews. That’s important to me for the online
shopping experience.
For #2:
Disposable Pieces, I shop mostly at Dots. You have to look past the club wear. I’ve
scored wrap dresses that I have had for over five years for under $10 from the
clearance rack. They are of good quality
and will be around awhile. I have a
store within 5 miles of my home. I
physically go in their store at least once a week. I use their website too but their coupons are
the same in store/online. That has been
my experience. If I can’t find something
I want in store, I go online and get it.
Their exchange policy is liberal.
If I buy something online and it does not fit right or I end up not
liking how it fits, they have always given me a refund. Usually, I will just buy something else. Their jewelry is cute. Their plus size belts are great. I’ve never paid over $6 for a stylish
belt.
For #3:
Special Pieces, I shop anywhere for these. You never know when or where these may turn
up. For example, I became obsessed with
a Michael Kors purse about a year ago but the thought of paying $350 + for a
purse scared the living crap out of me. I have never paid over $50 for a
leather purse. However, I’ve watched online reviews over and
over on www.youtube.com. My husband would laugh at me. I wanted that purse so bad. I would drool over it. I found similar ones at TJ Maxx (it’s in the
same shopping center as Dots) but not the exact same one I wanted. I could not handle a cheaper version. I wanted this http://www.overstock.com/Clothing-Shoes/Michael-Kors-North-South-Hamilton-Large-Leather-Tote/7881350/product.html. I watched it for weeks. The price never really changed anywhere
online. I was gifted some money from my
parents and was told to buy something “crazy” and “luxurious”. Well, you know what I did…yes, I bought the
purse. Here’s what I paid but I actually
got it for less:
Description
|
Qty
|
Total Price
|
Status/Tracking
|
|
|
|
1
|
$354.99
|
|
Subtotal:
|
$354.99
|
Discount:
|
-$40.00
|
Shipping:
|
$31.88
|
Total:
|
$346.87
|
I did pay that much upfront but ended up way less. I had it shipped in 2 days because I wanted
it NOW…! Here is how: I joined www.freeshipping.com for a month and got
a check about 3 weeks later for $20 and then I deactivated the account. Next, I got money back from Ebates in the
amount of
04/01/2013
|
|
122655464
|
$314.99
|
$7.87
|
$346.87 – 20.00 = $326.87 – $7.87 = $319.00. Had I not expressed shipped, my total would
have been below $300. Then I was able to
fill out some survey for them and I got a coupon for $5 off my next purchase
and free shipping upgrade. I still have
it. I have a year!
At the time, this was the best deal. Even better than in the store, I had some
friends that would check prices for me, at the mall since I hate the mall. Never went below the online price. I checked Ebay and online designer exchanges
but I was determined to get me a new one.
It was worth every single penny!
I would sleep with it if it would not be weird. =)
Online treasure…EBAY! I’ve been extremely blessed to find all kinds
of stuff on there. It’s like my own online
thrift shop. If you find good sellers,
returns and shipping are cheap or free.
One Ebay store I shop gives 2.5% cash back with each purchase.
I know this is a lot of information but this is
experience. I love to recreate outfits
on a budget for plus size and just happen to be good at it. However, I have no desire to be an online
blogger or anything. I have way too much
going on in my life but I enjoy going to blogs and learning.
List of retailers that I use and coupon codes are
easy to get on Google:
www.onestopplus.com (all items) Low to high end. My shipping is always $2.99 because I pay
$19.99 a year for that. However,
sometimes, you can get it for free if you spend so much. I’m on automatic renewal for this.
A good example of a deal! I used this to recreate an outfit.
I bought these in black and they were $44.99. I used a coupon and got them for this:
Item
|
Size
|
Qty
|
Status
|
Return
Instructions
|
Details
|
Price
|
Total
|
|
|
7 1/2 W
|
1
|
BACKORDER
SHIPPED 06/20/13
|
|
|
$13.49
|
$13.49
|
www.simplybe.com (clothing) High end. These are investment pieces because even with
coupon codes for up to 30%-50% off, there stuff is expensive but extremely high
quality.
www.walmart.com
(clothing and accessories) Low to high end. I bought a gorgeous contemporary
cameo cuff for $30 from them but from the company www.wayfair.com. I consider this an investment piece. I will die with it. I don’t wear it but for special occasions.
www.kohls.com (clothing and accessories) Medium end. You
can get killer deals on stuff especially if there is a sale and coupon codes
are easy to get.
www.jcpenny.com (clothing and accessories) Medium end. I only buy clearance from here because there
coupons are not that great. However,
their plus size stuff is good.
www.debshops.com
(clothing) Low end. Their stuff is reasonable and easy to get coupon codes.
www.6pm.com (shoes only). Their stuff is great. I bought my first pair of Steve Madden pumps
from here and they were only $39.99.
Rare coupons but you don’t need it.
Usually can get good deals.
There's more but I could go on and on. Bottom line: look for coupon codes!
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