Well, it depends on how much you think inexpensive is. Top quality clothes cost proportionately SO much less than they did when I was young. Everything is discount/sale/bargain, therefore the poor fabrics that Grainlady mentioned. There are still decent to very fine quality clothes being made in ready to wear, but you have to pay up for them.

For basics like T's and jeans, the Gap is generally of a decent standard, but when you're ordering you can't feel the goods. They may use the same cut in several different weights for different seasons. Also, different colors may be made on different fabrics from different mills and sewn in different factories. I don't know this about Gap, per se, but the clothes biz in general. If you want a similar kind item, but think you'll only get a few wears out of it, Old Navy, their sister store, has some dirt cheap clothes that really aren't made to be laundered a lot.

Meantime, try shopping in your closet. Don't look at the clothes they way you used to wear them, but how they look on you now. An old pair of tight jeans, might be cute now as baggies with the ankles turned up. A too big dress might be a chic chemise with a belt. A suit shirt might be an overshirt worn jacket style over a T. Some of the better clothes, especially if you have any dress up occasions on the calendar, might be worth taking in (or having done). At the same time, they can be updated and retrimmed. A skirt might be fine with the addition of some elastic in the waist.

Shopping online is great for clothes bargains if you're sure of your measurements and fit, which considering the changes you have going is a real question. Still, the outlet links on the major stores' sites is where the action is.

Congrats on your downward trend!

"I look for really thick turtlenecks (with cuffs) and T-shirts, and when I find a really good-quality, thick, 100% cotton sweatshirt, I get all giddy. And they didn't all come from fro-fro stores/outlets. I have better quality rags in the rag bag than today's new fabrics...."

It's the thread that is woven into fabrics that is so thin these days. Whatever spinning techniques are in use produce such flimsy threads.

i spent this weekend online looking for turtlenecks with cuffs....no more from Lands End. They had been the go to place for years. The only place that I found that still has cuffs is LL Bean. And I will be loading up on them this year.

I also buy thrift stores for clothes. Pre washed, pre shrunk, and the price is right. Some of my nicer clothes are from there... and all of my every day clothes are from there. Even there, you have to pay attention, to much of the CRAP is getting donated now a days.

Congrats on the losing. :)

Moni

"Cheap" is a relative term--Gap is out of my price range. Like Grainlady, I shop thrift stores, and most of my clothes are secondhand. They're all from manufacturers I couldn't otherwise afford. Nothing fancy like my cousin in CT (Chanel, etc.); I love Eddie Bauer, LL Bean, Orvis, Bass, Lands' End, and Liz Claiborne. Sometimes Chico, Talbot's, or Eileen Fisher. I usually pay $2.50-$3 an item, although last week I sprung for 5 bucks for an Orvis linen jacket.

Jmc101, as I write this I'm wearing a grey turtleneck with cuffs. I didn't know cuffs were desirable . . . maybe for warmth?

"Meantime, try shopping in your closet"

I like this idea, at least until I reach my goal weight. (Except for the t-shirts which I already ordered).

I can buy a wide belt to gather in some of the larger shirts that I don't want to be swimming around in.

Congrats on the weight loss! As one who is attempting to do the same, I'm wondering how you did it??

Pipsmom,

No magic formula, calories in are fewer than calories out. I am eating low carb, because although there are the same number of calories, the stuff I eat in low carb makes me feel fuller, longer. I am very fortunate that I love veggies and salads and really love ranch and blue cheese dressing, lol.

And I have all sorts of inventive ways to fix stuff so my daily dinner of veggies and a piece of fish,chicken or beef/pork doesn't get boring. AND, I like sugar free jello so sometimes I have dessert.

And I exercise daily, including lifting weights every other day. Not big weights by any means, but I am slowly building a little bit of muscle (and helping to head off the muscle loss that occurs in seniors like me) and getting fit.

I feel great with more energy than I've had in the past months.

But I still have a long way to go.

Congratulations on the weight loss! I went through that process 5 years ago and I get what you mean about replacing/rebuilding your wardrobe. T-shirts are just shoddily made these days. I can afford to shop at higher end stores but the quality vs the cost isn't worth it for me.

I shop at Winners (oh, maybe that's what I'll do today - I'm in a bad mood so perhaps retail therapy is the answer) and sales at Marks Work Wearhouse. Surprisingly when I was ready to buy new jeans, Sears was my best option.

For a nice pair of dress pants, Talbots sales were a good bet as well.

Probably 65% of my clothes are from the GAP and many are old. I buy thrift shop too now and buy Eddie Bauer, Gap , Talbots, R.Lauren. some old Navy, LLBean, Lands End...Wealthy community donates most of these clothes and I also take bags over ever week or so.

Almost all my clothes are second hand. I care nothing about clothes...so all my money goes for horse feed.

I still have a few shirts that say, "Made in Canada", "Made in U.S.A., etc.

Also shop thrift stores ... on occasion, when there's need.

Also need to get some remnant fabric bundles to patch work shirts, pants, etc.

(Did anyone say "briefs - with outstretched waistbands".)?

o j

I was going to start a post on the subject of the thin cloth that is used in seemingly all clothes these days, but decided lately I have been sounding like a whiner, so I refrained. But now I can just add to this post. :) I have a very few tops that are quite old, and they seem to be twice or three times the thickness of tops I have now. I'm also lamenting the fact that it is so tough to find cotton clothes now; polyester is a favorite of manufacturers because it's cheap, cheap, cheap. I hope the tide will turn soon.

You can get decent quality clothing for discounts if you just watch the sales. I am a petite so it is a bit harder to "just go out and buy" something. Petite sections are small in the stores. Loft and Ann Taylor are my favorites. And although I have never paid what those of you would at thrift stores, I think pretty blouses and t shirts for under $20.00 is not bad.

I put things in the shopping cart and then wait for the email sales.

There are always sales at the Gap. And they have a clearance section.

If consumers didn't shop by price (the subject of this thread), manufacturers wouldn't have turned to offshore production and ever cheaper materials decades and decades ago. It's nothing new.

There's a slogan that i think is from the HVAC (heating and A/C) industry

Good price - Good quality - Immediate service. Pick any two.

For clothing and many other things, it's probably -

Good price - Good quality. Pick one.

Recently, I've found that my money goes further at Macy's than it does at TJMaxx. I've bought tops from TJMaxx this summer that I literally wore a couple times before they crapped out.

I also get good bargains at Costco.

And congrats to you for getting healthier!

I like the broomstick skirts that are made of light cotton over a cotton underskirt, but they're made to come apart!

narrow seams split, fragile fabric rips, hanging threads ravel...

guess it's thrift store jeans for me.

I disagree that the shift to offshore manufacture was consumer driven;

it was driven by corporate greed, & now, unfortunately, we don't have the ability to choose quality products.

They simply aren't there.

I'm big on using $10 off coupons JCP sends me. I purchased the latest pinkish-orange shirt(Liz Claiborne), navy cable knit hat and burgundy Izod fleece pullover and spent .99cents!!!

Congrats on the weight loss~!

Nicole you are an awesome shopper!

This is very timely for me. I have spent a lot of time the last couple days online, trying to find sweat pants/shirts like we used to buy. They almost don't exist. Right now I am wearing Hanes HerWay sweatshirt and pants. I bought these, and several other shirts in different colors, in 1994. I remember the date because that is the year I had my first knee replaced. Sweat shirts were ideal for creating handwork designs on while recuperating. I did one for myself and one for my daughter while I was recovering. Last week WalMart advertised Hanes (note: not Hanes HerWays) sweats and I hurried to get some. The fabric is hard and stiff; the sizes are ridiculous; no elastic in the waist or cuffs. Not worth buying.
What I have found and will order is from Blair. They are the closest to what we used to get. Hope I won't be disappointed.

Congrats on that weight loss! About 30 years ago, I lost 80#s (now need to do it again) and I knew I did not want to keep buying different sizes, so I was able to shop at consignment stores or even garage sales or Goodwills... Good luck amd share your secret!

Sue_va, I second Blair. Their crested mock neck tee seems to be heavier than what's out there. I'm awaiting shipment on a Totes Storm Jacket from them. Live in their long shaker knit sweaters all winter.

Now, if I could just get rid of 25 lbs.!!!

Men's t shirts are always made of a better fabric...I always buy mens

You are doing great, Lucille! You must feel like $1,000,000!! I'm very happy for you.

I lost 30 lbs., a few years ago, down 2-3 sizes, depending on the brand. I never thought of Gap as cheap, as a matter of fact I never shopped there because I though the store was expensive! Around here, "cheap" (meaning inexpensive) would be Walmart (of course), Target or Kohls. Sometimes LL Bean or Lands end can be very affordable if you shop their sales. Their quality is pretty good.

Replacing clothes after weight loss is a process that takes about a year as one cycles through the seasons. And it will even include underwear, swimsuits, and some pajamas. I've kept a stash of larger items in the top of my closet for a couple of years in fear that I'll gain the weight back, but somehow it has stayed off. Yay for me! And yay for you as well, Lucille.