Unchained in America

Dan and I just got back from our after Christmas sales shopping sprees. We went to our two favorite clothing stores in town. For me, it’s Orange Blossom, a wonderful women’s boutique with stylish clothes, great service, and great sales. For Dan, it’s The Town Squire, a traditional men’s clothing store conveniently located two doors down from Orange Blossom with high quality clothes and incredible customer service.  (They wrapped all of my Christmas presents for Dan when I shopped there before the holidays, which was such a time saver, and the presents looked so much better than anything I can do).

We are now past our one year mark for our unchained living experiment, but we have both vowed – to different degrees – to keep shopping unchained. So we decided to check out the after-Christmas sales at each of these clothing stores. We went our seperate ways to see what we could find.

Of course, one of the things we get asked the most is, “Don’t you spend more by not buying in places like T.J. Maxx, Target, or Marshall’s for your  clothes?  What I’ve found is that the answer is “yes” — and “no.” Usually, I wait until stores like Orange Blossom and The Town Squire have their sales, and then I’m paying the same as I would at a place like Target.The “yes, I pay more” is the times I’ve gone and splurged for a dress for our annual Gala — but it’s worth it to me because I know that I have a one-of-a-kind dress that no one else in the community will be wearing that night.

But to me there’s more than just the price of the clothes that have changed the way I do my shopping for clothing. I shop locally, usually during the sales, because:

• I’m getting much higher quality clothes that will last much longer.
• I’m not pawing through crowded racks in dirty, uncomfortable stores like T.J. Maxx or Marshall’s hoping to find something (usually trying on 20 items in a dingy fitting room just to find one that might fit, is still in good shape, or is still in style).
• My shopping experience is extremely pleasant in a lovely store.
• I have attentive and highly knowledgeable staff who are there helping me every step of the way to make sure I look good when I walk out the door, that the clothes fit, and that I have a great experience,
• And –best of all — I’m keeping my dollars local.

So how did I do today? I found three things at Orange Blossom.

• A pair  of $44 shorts that were marked down 75% to $11
• A gorgeous rust colored pullover that went for $97 that was marked down 75% to $24.25
• A fun (and warm) green sweater that went for $76 that was marked down 50% to $38

Total purchase before tax was $73.25. Pre-sale these three items would have cost me $217, so I saved a whopping $144! I feel I got a great deal on three high-quality items, had a great chat with the wonderful ladies at Orange Blossom, and now have some new clothes to show off.

So, how did Dan do? We have just begun shopping at Town Squire for Dan. During Christmas I purchased a pair of pajamas, a sweater on sale for $25 (marked down from $185), and two high-quality summer jerseys on sale also for $25 (marked down from $85). Dan really liked his purchases, but needed to return the pajamas which were too big. True to form, the customer service was great. Turns out that large bottoms had been inadvertently been put in with a medium top so they exchanged it and got him fixed up right away.

Today, Dan was looking for dressier pants to wear when we are going out and some new belts. The belts he bought weren’t on sale, but he found two nice ones. The pants he found were selling originally for $75 each, but get both both pair for $95. Dan’s savings included a $10 off coupon we had, so he saved $75. The pants are being hemmed now and one needs to be taken in a bit. The folks at The Town Squire do the alterations them selves, which costs less than the local seamstress we usually go to.

While I was waiting for Dan to try the pants on, I spoke with the owner, Larry McDaniel. Larry has owned the shop for 35 years — ever since he was 24! Now that’s amazing in this day and age. He’s technically been in the clothing business even longer, having worked in clothing stores since he was 14. Obviously this man knows men’s clothing, which is no doubt how he continues to stay in business when so many men are shopping in chains. I do know he does a booming business in tux rentals for proms, weddings, and formal occasions.

You probably have a few locally owned clothing stores in your town — either one’s like The Town Squire, which have been around forever, or like the Orange Blossom, which might be a few years old or new. Please be sure to consider shopping there. If you’re looking for deals, watch for when your independently owned stores have sales. You will be pleasantly surprised that your local stores can match the prices of the discount stores –  but beat the discount stores every day on quality, costumer service, and ease of shopping.

And you will keep your money in your town helping local people instead sending it somewhere far away to be banked by the faceless corporate executives who run the local big box stores in your town.

Tags: buy local, clothing, independent stores, locally owned, shop local, shopping

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.