How to Find Designer Clothing on a Budget

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Designer clothing is desirable for so many people but not so many people can afford it. Here are some ways to help you find designer gear at a more affordable price.

Steps

1. Shop at used clothing stores. There are several possibilities here:
   • Try designer clothing consignment stores. These stores carry designer fashions that the owner no longer wants to wear but would like to get a little bit of money for. The owner of the store takes some of the sales price and the seller gets the rest. You, the buyer, often get a real bargain. Many times the clothing in these stores has been barely worn. Be prepared for last season's fashion sometimes but if the clothing is designer, it should withstand radical fashion changes and will be well tailored, well fitting and of good quality fabric.
   • Shop at thrift stores in wealthy areas. You will have to rummage a fair amount, so be prepared for some hard work but amazing bargains can be uncovered.
   • Try market stalls. Some market sellers specialize in selling used designer wear. You can search in local phone directories or on the Internet.
2. Wait for factory outlet sales. For lower level designers, these stores are around in most major cities. For more high-end, expensive designer wear, the outlet stores are fewer except in fashion mecca cities, such as Montreal. If you are near them, you will score some amazing bargains that didn't get sold for one reason or another to the stores and designers that were meant to take them. These are usually advertised in newspapers and by way of flyers or wall posters.
3. Visit rag trade districts. Again, this works only in cities that specialize in making the clothing but they will often have some streets lined with boutiques that are so competitive, their designer label prices are kept much lower than in other parts of the world.
4. Shop online. Try eBay and other online auction sites. Sellers do the walking, rummaging and stocking for you. All you need to do is sit there with your mouse hovering over the clothes that interest you. Ask questions if the photos are unclear or there isn't enough information supplied.
5. Have a fashion swap party. Get your friends together and ask them to bring at least one piece each of designer gear they no longer want and start swapping. Don't forget to include jewelry, scarves and hats as part of the swap party.

Tips

• Mix and match - buy one good skirt, one good pair of pants and one good jacket that match and then mix with a variety of tops, necklaces and good shoes to make it seem that your outfit is constantly changing.
• Larger sizes can always be altered to fit a smaller size but not the other way round. Keep this in mind when buying your bargain.
  1. Are there any older people than yourself in your neighborhood? For example, if you are 12 years old, ask that 16 year old for any old clothing she can't wear anymore.
  2. Share and borrow clothing with close friends. You can put a little difference in your outfit for free.
• TJ Maxx and Marshall's are great for designer stuff. But be warned, they also have some stuff that no one bought for a REASON.

Warnings

• Watch out for fake designer wear, especially when traveling; for example, don't trust a sign saying that something is a Pashmina in Hong Kong unless you really know your Pashminas. If it is too cheap, you are probably being sold a bunny.
• Be careful if you buy seconds (as opposed to "used" items); there may be pulled threads, missing buttons, stuck zips etc. Be sure the fault can be repaired before buying.

Related wikiHows

• How to Shop Well for Clothes in a Thrift Store
• How to Afford Clothes and Accessories by Top Designers

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Eva Mendes in a dress from the Dior Spring 2008 RTW Runway

John Galliano used this technique in his design for Dior and added to the sense of luxury with embellishment radiating on folds of fabric from a gathered “bud” of fabric building upon the floral design in the fabric. This also multiplies the dimensions of texture and adds another level of asymmetry. Continue the article below to see a gallery pictures of Eva Mendes in this Dior dress and pictures of this look from the Christian Dior Spring 2008 ready-to-wear fashion show.

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A key trend for the Spring/Summer 2008 fashion season is texture. A technique to create texture in fabric is called burnout (burn-out) or devoré.

Devoré is from the French devorer which means to devour. An acid is used to etch a pattern on cellulose/synthetic  or cellulose/protein blends.

If a pure cellulose fabric is used for this technique, part of the fabric is burned away to achieve a cut-work pattern. 

The cellulose component is burned out leaving the rest of the fabric. Cellulose is any plant material such as cotton, hemp (rayon is in this category since it is derived from wood)

With added design, fabric painting or mono-color fabric, a beautiful textured effect can be achieved. Immediately below are examples with silk (protein component of the fabric) and rayon (cellulose component) fabric. The rayon threads in the weave of the cloth are burned away in the desired pattern by the devoré acid leaving a fine mesh of silk and where the acid was not applied, the  rayon/silk threads are left intact.

Above: Silk/Rayon satin devoré fabric (Click on thumbs for bigger pictures to see detail)

More examples in velvet (silk/rayon) after the jump…

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Maria along with fellow fashionista Serena Williams who walked onto the court in a short trench coat, seems to be spurred by the challenge of being creative while sticking to the Wimbledon rule of white tennis attire. "I thought, why not do shorts this year? I've never done it at a grand slam. You know, if there's one place to do it, it's here.  "… it was fun doing it because, you know, it's hard to do things different with white."

The tux jacket, shirt and shorts is a menswear look in women's fahion that actually can accentuate the femininity of the wearer. The straight lines and abrupt change of direction in lines - the angularity of the clothes can be a frame that highlights the curviness of a woman on some figures. The wide-legged look of the pants add the sweep and grace that says 'her'  and the sheer fabric of the blouse adds delicacy.

(Click on thumbs for larger photos)

I am not sure how this would fair on a very curvy woman but could be done with modification to the clothing combination worn by the tall and lithe Sharapova.

McQ - Alexander McQueen Tuxedo Short

Rag & Bone Tropical Tux Shirt

Sophisticated and elegant, strong yet feminine. Definitely a menswear look to add to your style inventory. Get inspired and adapt this look to your personal style and figure.  (Today Sharapova lost in a stunning knockout to  Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-2, 6-4, but she will always be a stunning fashion knockout, though I don't know how much consolation that would be to Sharapova after this surprising upset at Wimbledon.)

More pictures of Maria Sharapova on the tennis court and tuxedo inspired looks below…

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Serena Williams is a tennis player by vocation and a fashionista by design. Though Wimbledon requires all-white attire in the player's outfits, leave it to Serena Williams to add flair within the boundaries of the rules of dress. She walked out in a white trench coat despite the sunny skies. The coat is part of the Nike collection, short and retro, and would go perfectly with a mini-skirt, jeans or trousers or a fitted longer skirt. 

The LaTimes has snippets of the interview in which Serena describes her choice of outerwear. 

"It's a very lightweight fabric," she said with vigor. "It's woven so it has a little give in it as well. On the inside it's stitched with gold. It has a little give on both ways. It's very movable. It's very light. It's just delectable."

Prompting sports reporters to delve into fashion reporting, the coat looked so very classic-movie-spy yet with a hint of Austin Powers, of London chic, very Peggy Lipton, very retro. One of her sponsors hatched the idea, and she briskly endorsed.

"You know, I absolutely love trench coats," Williams said for yet another of her stated quirks. "I live in Florida, where I probably have more coats than anybody. I just love coats. I'm always buying Burberry coats. I mean, I love coats. And I don't know why because I live in Florida. So it doesn't really add up."

Serena Williams prepares for the match in a white trench coat before her 7-5, 6-3 victory over  Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

More pictures after the jump…

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A video from mainstreet.com asks: Are Celebrity Fashion Designers Worth the Money? This video asks the question from an investment or stockholder’s perspective. How do these clothing lines fare for companies that use the famous to boost store sales? Kristin Bentz gives her take on the bottom line for the designs of Paris Hilton, Martha Stewart and LL Cool J.

TommyTV.com  launched about 2 months ago and the site features established recording artists and also bring attention to unsigned musicians and singers. (Read more about this project at mtv.co.uk).

Fashion and music have, for many years, influenced one another. The Fashion Rocks event which precedes New York Fashion Week is the highest profile event that synthesizes this collaborative, symbiotic relationship. Hilfiger and Sony with the Hilfiger Sessions project have further defined and invigorated this relationship.

Listen to Julie Corrigan's rendition of "Angel" (I promise it is well worth a listen!). Share this video and/or upload your own song if you wish. 

YouTube Direktvideo link

Do you dare? Upload your performance to youtube.com/group/hilfigerauditions if you have the talent, the 'X' factor ..whatever it takes!

And of course when you make it big Tommy Hilfiger can give you advice for that clothing line that will be sure to follow!

 (Contest instructions and link further below)

Then check out tommytv.com and enjoy an impressive roster of performers.

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Onstage, Backstage…

Kelly Blanco interviews Richie Rich and Traver Rains of Heatherette clothing line…

To prime the pump, jump start the figurative battery … or get me in the frame of mind to start writing again I am posting this video of the Funkshion fashion show at Fashion Week in Miami Beach. A fun, up-beat video that shows what this music-fashion event is all about. Excerpts from the press release for the March 26-29, 2008 fashion show is below in case you haven't heard.

(March 3rd, 2008, Miami Beach, FL) – It should be no surprise that a leading trend market like Miami Beach has proven a need for a fashion week to call their own. As with every year, FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach, will fuse music, fashion and like no other city in the world could do.

This is Fashion Week - MIAMI STYLE! FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach celebrates its 10th season with one of the most impressive line-ups in recent years. The court yard and main fashion venues will be real grass as FUNKSHION strongly supports Eco movement. FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach will open on March 26th with a presentation of an official Proclamation of FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach by the newly inducted Mayor of Miami Beach Matti Bower.

The Proclamation ceremony will be followed by a spectacular showcase by Jennifer Lopez’s high end line Sweetface at the Setai Hotel. In the days following opening night, FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach will move locations to the Setai Hotel to host the world renowned designer Fisico by Cristina Ferrari from Milan Italy. Other highlights in the tents on Ocean Drive are Justin Timberlake’s clothing line, William Rast, the debut of Russell Simmons new Argyle line, as well as Puma, Caroline D’ Amore, LE JEAN DE by Marithé François Girbaud.

Closing nights shows in the tents will feature Heatherette (they chose this year to do only FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach over NY and LA’s Fashion Weeks) and the Jockstarzz Fashion Show Benefiting the Kevin Everett Foundation, which will bring some of the nation’s biggest National Football League (“NFL”) players together to tackle the runway for a one-night-only charity event and fashion show. During this charity show, super producers Cool and Dre will mix it up on the runway as they debut their clothing line Dirty Royalty.

FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach is a four day long event that provides an intelligent, innovative platform for progressive, established, and emerging designers to showcase their collections to media, celebrities, international buyers, and select style makers. FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach will celebrate the energy and substance of style across classes and cultures.

The shows are geared towards designer diffusion collections and innovative lifestyle brands. Designers will integrate music into their shows, many personally selecting their favorite celebrity DJs to preside over their runway spectacles FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach has harnessed the curiosity and support of established and emerging talent from the international fashion and lifestyle arenas.