One of the best perks of living in Utah, in regard to fashion, is that we can have warm weather through October. The fact of the matter is that most of us will still be in our summer wardrobes until at least the end of September, so hang tight on buying those chunky sweaters and boots! Shopping for back to school looks can be fun and very inexpensive if you know where to look. Most retailers will begin having their “end of summer” sales in July, and for us this means trendy looks for less. My advice is to approach back to school shopping as an opportunity to get those fashionable summer styles that you didn’t want to pay full price for in May. Retailers such as Gap, Banana Republic and Express can have items marked down as much as 70 percent off the original price!
Also, don’t be afraid to do a little online shopping, where you might find an additional promotion on certain items and even find pieces that were never sold in Utah locations. A recent discovery that I have made is website called ASOS. Based out of the United Kingdom, ASOS is one of the world’s largest independent online retailers and offers everything from dresses, shoes, beauty products and menswear. In addition to offering super trendy looks, ASOS also has a sale section where items can be purchased for under $40. Even better, ASOS is currently running a back-to-school promo where new fall styles are available for 20 percent off using the promo code “backtoschool”!
Fashion is all about transition. Make sure that as you shop for back-to-school looks you are picking up pieces that can be utilized in more than one season. The idea of having to pull out your “fall” clothes seems silly to me. Why not have a wardrobe that you can wear year around? As you tackle sale racks, keep in mind that layering is the key to transitioning summer pieces into fall styles. It is important to keep an open mind about utilizing the items that are already in your closet and just adding a few new key pieces for the upcoming semester.