North Face, Miss Me and Uggs, oh my! There is nothing, absolutely nothing, in the world that would make me go into a store for a pair of jeans and spend $99 on them to only wear them once or twice and never wear them again. It’s practical to spend money on clothes to wear often and to get the money’s worth, but spending money, lots of money, on clothes to just to show the brand doesn’t make sense.A brand is a widely known name, but that’s all it really is. A pair of jeans from Buckle is no different than a pair of jeans from Forever 21, they’re both made out of denim. The brand name jeans don’t have special powers and don’t make the people better for wearing them. In the case of Miss Me jeans, they may have adornments on them, but it looks like it hurts to sit down with all the jewels and buttons and all sorts of useless decoration. Boots from Bearpaw or even Target are just as good as Uggs and just as warm, yet I’ve seen people throw a fit for not getting actual Ugg boots for a $180. We should just consider ourselves lucky to have good, usable clothing while somewhere in the world, people can barely even daydream to buy $200 boots.I suppose a factor of it must be pride. People are probably proud to have enough money to buy the same brands as celebrities do; a sign of importance, maybe. Even when people don’t have the money to pay for these brands, they still flock to the stores, sending them spiraling into debt. There is no shame in wanting to look nice or look respectable, but shopping at secondhand stores or reasonably priced stores won’t demean anyone. People’s feelings won’t be affected just because they own a Coach purse or have a Vera Bradley phone cover. People are going to like each other for being who they are, not what is currently on their body.Breaking the brand addiction can be hard. A Coach wristlet or a new pair of yoga pants can be tempting – and it’s okay to relapse – but saving the money is much more worth it. Like any addiction, it isn’t easy to just stop cold turkey and go on with your day. There are easy ways to break the obsession, so don’t worry about being married to the brand for much longer. Divorce is close.
Figure Out Your Style:
Shopping at brand name stores and brand names alone don’t mean anything when it comes to style. Owning a brand and being fashionable are two different things. Try finding out what kind of style pertains to each personality, instead of just spending money on some article of clothing that seems completely out of place on you. Learn what clothes look good on you. With that information, it’s easy to find affordable, stylish clothes that compliment your style and make you glow. Everyone is different and not everything works for everyone, so ask yourself: what makes me seem like the real me?
Shop With a Single Look in Mind
Shopping with a single look in mind goes along with figuring out your style. When you don’t know what to look for, it’s easy to get distracted by the allure of the labels. In order to see clothes for what they are and to be able to ignore the label, is to have a set image in your mind about what you’re looking for. An adorable brand won’t make you budge when you find what you’re looking for.
Shop Vintage or Secondhand:
While vintage may not always have the best reputation, being called ‘grungy’ or ‘ugly’, there are plenty of shops around that provide clothing that is affordable and cute, as nice as the brand clothing. When shopping vintage, it’s easy to not even notice the labels or the brands and only choose what is good-looking. Instead of labels, look for fabric, quality, fit, color and the ability to even spice it up with accessories.
Realize How Much Money You’re Spending and Set a Budget
Shopping brands is not cheap, trust me. Brands can start as low as fifty dollars and go as high as the sky. Try to calculate how much money you have spent on all your brand based products and don’t let your jaw drop when you have the total. The most practical thing to do is give yourself a budget. When you’re browsing the mall and see a brand named object that costs more than a week’s worth of groceries, remember your set limit of money and turn away. You’ll have money for low-priced clothes and you’ll feel proud of yourself the next day. Plus, your parents won’t kill you when they see the bill.
