Hi queens! It’s Liv! If you follow me on Instagram than you would know that I absolutely LOVE a good outfit with some great accessories. You’d also know that I primarily only shop at generic affordable places. I love to shop and I love fashion trends, but what I don’t love is breaking my bank in order to achieve these trendy outfits. There’s nothing I hate more than picking up a wicked dress, or pair of pants and looking at the price tag and seeing an outrageous price. Now being a plus size figure can make shopping for anything hard to do affordably, and that’s pretty much because fashion designers and store brands believe that the more material they need to use for the article of clothing, the more expensive it should be. I call bull shit…This is just another issue in the fashion and social industry, but we’ll save that for another blog post… I know what it’s like to budget or be financially stuck and while you have to save your money for life emergencies, we also need to live a little and dress for the occasion. I decided to dedicate a blog post all about my favourite places to shop for affordable and trendy fashion so that way the non celebrities, and non CEO’s of the world could have a place to love too!
Ardene:
It’s so funny to talk about Ardene as a fashion store considering it was my absolute favourite place to shop as a teenie bopper who wanted makeup but her parents wouldn’t let her buy “real adult” makeup. Ardene has been around for years, since the 2000s and it primarily hosted all of the amazing fun gelly bracelets of my generation. However, recently in the last 5 years, I’ve noticed their clothing line. At first glance I assumed it was just like the other typical trendy stores. You know the ones with the styles that are based around social media and their influencers with sizes small to large and their large pretty much fit my thigh…if that… It makes shopping a little bit uncomfortable because you look at these adorable outfits and think “well I need to find this in a size that will go over my butt”…But not anymore! I have to thank Ardene for finally creating clothing that fits more than just the curveless figure! Now to be honest, do all of their outfits and articles of clothing fit me?…no, they still have some tops and bottoms that are not truly a size 14 or xL, but they’re trying! They now carry sizes xL and xxL in their active and regular line of clothing. I’ve had such success with their clothing. People compliment my outfits and when I tell them where the pieces are from, they can’t believe it!
Ardene also has an amazing assortment of shoes, purses and jewellery accessories.
Old Navy:
You guys don’t even need an actual explanation for Old Navy because if you follow me on Instagram, you know I pretty much own all of their stuff, but I feel as though people have this construed misconception about Old Navy and their prices and quality. I have had so many people tell me they buy things from Old Navy and it rips or has holes and the quality is cheap and overpriced and I truly have to say I’ve NEVER had that issue. The only issue I’ve come across has been shrinking on shirts that I have stupidly put in the dryer when I shouldn’t have. They have everything I need for every occasion, season, event you name it! I check Old Navy first if I need something to wear. It’s not often that I don’t find what I’m looking for!
The one thing I do get frustrated with is their sizing. I have so many things from Old Navy that range in such a variety of sizes. I fit into a Medium in some sweaters, to an xxl in some tops. It’s a strange range in sizing but it’s also something I easily get over once I’ve fallen in love with an article of clothing. Their accessories are a little on the overpriced side for what you’re getting. In my personal opinion, I can find more affordable jewelry and accessories at stores like Ardene’s that I can justify the price on…however…Old Navy is KNOWN for sales, and you can’t argue with a BOGO free or a BOGO 50% off for an item of jewellery that can break or tarnish and it wouldn’t hurt your heart to part with it!
Zehrs/Joe Fresh:
I know what you Canadian’s and some American’s are thinking….Zehrs….you buy your clothes from a grocery store?….WHY YES I DO! and cComing from the girl who spent 8 years as a cashier and her local “Zehrs Markets” grocery store, I was able to watch Joe Fresh pretty much come to life! We had Wall-Mart that had your everyday items that were at a great price, and then we had Zehrs/Loblaws which had your everyday items at a frilly price, but this also started to include clothing and fashion! From dresses, shoes, jewelry and even some intimate selected items like bras and panties. Joe Fresh was affordable and stylish and they’ve pretty much just exploded from there. They’re very trendy now that they have so many celebrity supporters wearing their clothing, especially like Karlie Kloss and Miranda Kerr. They’ve always carried your usual sizez 0-“16” and xs-“xl” and i put quotations around those sizes because, again, lets face it….in SOME articles of their clothing, an xl wouldn’t go over my chest area…and i KNOW that’s a lot of chest to cover, but you would think it would still shimmy down. They’ve recently just introduced the Plus Size sections to all of their stores and I for one need to shout a big FINALLY to them. The great thing about Joe Fresh is that there are ALWAYS clearance item sales. I think I’ve only paid full price on a few items over the last like 10 years. I will not lie, the price tags used to be a lot more reasonable to justify but since the company had a change in presidency, I’ve noticed a more “Cotoure” price on some things. With that being said though, they still have some of the most affordable outfits and I mean like, I’ve spent $10 on a gorgeous summer dress that was originally $39.99…I think everyone needs to find a Joe Fresh near them and at LEAST take a look because I guarantee you’ll find something you love!
Forever 21:
Forever 21 has been a hit or miss with me for such a long time, however, it’s on this list because my hits have always been amazing and on sale. I don’t think I’ve ever purchased anything full price from them! They have an abundance of sizing from straight sizes to plus sizes. Even though their plus sizes are not exactly correct and true, I’ve never not found SOMETHING to buy and love! They are definitely the most adventurous when it comes to trends, but there’s always the basics that work for any style!
Wall-Mart:
Guys…..Wall-Mart is way too underrated. People trash talk Wall-Mart and what there about but honestly this is probably my most favourite place to shop. I have had so many people compliment my outfits and when I say “I got it at Wall-Mart” they’re genuinely shocked and can’t believe me. I get it. It’s a cheap place to buy clothing but people need to give them a chance! I have found so many amazing deals and pieces of clothing there and not only that but stuff for the house, for work, cosmetics, hair you name it. I recently purchased all of my travel stuff there too! Anything travel sized I bought there because they’re priced at such a reasonable price. Not to mention they have the cutest wallets and accessories. And again a $15 wallet that I buy for a trip, if it happens to get ruined or break, I’m not crying about it because I only spent $15 on it. I’ll re purchase it.
Nothing is worth breaking your bank over, seriously, it isn’t. Life is literally about budgeting and I believe that, even with a budget, you can still have a great wardrobe and style.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post and like always, leave a comment and spread the love!
xo
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