Look Expensive on a College Budget

As a college student, it can be difficult to budget between friends, fashion, and of course food. I love buying clothing and purses. When I moved into my dorm, I worried about how all my clothing would fit into the dressers and closet. Somehow, I’ve managed to pack it all away. As I’ve gotten older, I am more reluctant to ask my parents for money, especially since I have two paying jobs. Though, my parents still support me financially, I try to be clothing and other leisure goods with my own money. Both of my jobs don’t pay extraordinarily well, but they get the job done when I want to add a few new things to my wardrobe.

In this blog post, I will be listing my favorite stores to shop in when on a college budget. This list will have a variance of low to mid-range stores that cater to college students as well as a variety of age groups who are looking to save. I wouldn’t say that I’m stylist, but I hope you find these stores resourceful!

Dillard’s (mid to high end fashion)

I know, I know, everyone forgets this store exists until prom or homecoming season and they need a professional makeup artist to blend out the contour they can’t do at home. Or it’s the store you visit when you’re forced to go with your mom because she’s looking for something to wear on Easter Sunday. But I can assure you Dillard’s offers stylish, quality clothing for any age. I would also recommend this store for anyone who is beginning a corporate job or internship and is looking for clothing that is comfortable but still has a personal flair that can allow your personality to shine through. They also sell muted colored clothing for those who shy away from loud colors and patterns. Typically, I shop in the teen department where they sell brands such as Jessica Simpson, Copper Key, and Billabong. You can easily find casual and formal wear in the department without looking aged or too flashy.

Though some of the clothing may be considered preppy or expensive, the quality of shoes, accessories, and clothing lasts for years which makes their products worth the investment. In addition, Dillard’s also retails makeup, fragrances, skin care, shoes, and accessories such as scarves, jewelry, wallets, and hand bags. When on sale, many of these products can be relatively affordable if you save up your money!

Many people are unaware, but Dillard’s also has a website and social media accounts that include: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. On these accounts, there are typically photos featuring models or outfit ideas for the particular seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall. On social media accounts, their target audience appears to be women, specifically younger women. Occasionally, there’s a rare appearance of men’s or children’s fashion, that’s mainly only featured on their Pinterest page.

I would recommend visiting their website to get the most variety of styles, because on their social media pages it’s obvious that they’re appealing to a certain style demographic which tends to be trendy and relative to the current season.

DSW (mid to high end fashion)

The first thing I do when I walk into DSW is head straight to their clearance rack. In the clearance rack alone, there are typically a variety of shoes, such as boots, sneakers, flip flops, heels, and sandals. On the box of each shoe there’s always a retail price that’s color coded to be additionally reduced. They also typically explain the reason why the shoe is on clearance, which is normally due to them being out of season.

I would describe DSW as a shoe store that offers casual and formal footwear that is normally at a reasonable price regardless of it’s on sale or not. Of course, for certain shoe brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hunter, and other various brands the prices usually remain expensive regardless of the sale price.

On DSW’s social media pages, they mainly target women and feature tennis shoes and heels. They also promote sales or shoe give away on their twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

American Eagle Outfitters (low to mid range fashion)

As I’ve mentioned before, American Eagle is a beloved store of mine. Everything I own from them has lasted for years with minimal wear and tear to show. American Eagle sells a variety of fragrances, clothing, shoes, jewelry, and even home goods such as blankets and lighting.

I know I haven’t discussed much of this, but American Eagle has a great email marketing strategy. They routinely feature advertisements for in store and online sales as well as new products. These newsletters typically feature apparel for men and women and show a variety of price points, from high end to low end. In addition, they often send emails based on previous purchases. For example, if I decided to purchase a pair of khaki hi-rise skinny jeans, the company will typically send an email soon after suggesting the same style of pants in another color.

Of course, they still use social media platforms such as twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I can attest that what they post on their platforms tends to be a true reflection of what you’ll find on their website or in store and doesn’t pigeon hole a specific style. For the most part, American Eagle tends to have a signature style which is simple, comfortable, and youthful.

TJ Maxx (low to high end fashion)

Just like Target, TJ Maxx is everyone’s guilty pleasure. Why wouldn’t it be when you can easily find name brand products for far less than the original asking price? In addition, they consistently rotate new clothing in most of their stores that are out of season or overstocked in the original store they were sold in.

Like Dillard’s many people are unaware of the fact that TJ Maxx has a website that features relatively cheap and miscellaneous items, to high end fashion such as Balenciaga (high end fashion is only featured online). However, I will assume that like myself you’re on a budget and can’t afford Balenciaga, so instead you may settle for Tommy Hilfiger or Kate Spade. Regardless, the store offers clothing for all ages and sexes. I would also recommend this store for professional attire if you’re entering the workforce and looking for affordable yet stylish clothing.

Like Dillard’s, TJ Maxx showcases a very specific season-based trend that caters to a young female demographic on Facebook, twitter, and Instagram. I wouldn’t say that what’s featured on their social media sites is representative of what I typically see in their stores, however, I live in Florida, and TJ Maxx’s nationwide will have variances in terms of what’s sold.

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Hopefully, these stores, though established and well known, will offer you insight on places to shop when looking for specific items and styles. Of course, one blog post can never do a store justice, so visit them on your own time. And remember, style is subjective, so shop wherever you want, for whatever you want!