Best place to shop for basics (for a college student)?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I posted this in the College Life forum as well, but wanted to get some input from the parents of CC as well. Basically, I have a lot of (immature) graphic tees from high school in my wardrobe and want to upgrade to something classier a la J. Crew. Unfortunately, I’m not really willing to shell out $30/shirt.</p>

<p>Do you guys have any suggestions for where I can purchase stylish, affordable, and well-constructed t-shirts (as well as other basics)? At the end of the day, I am looking for a more “mature” style, so I thought the parents could help me out.</p>

2

<p>I’m a college senior, not a parent, but hopefully you find my advice to be helpful. I came on CC for some fashion advice a few months ago, so I figure I should return the favor.</p>

<h1>1 - It’s important to maintain your own sense of style. Don’t succumb to peer pressure. If your style is changing, that’s fine. Mine did, too, but don’t change the way you dress because you feel peer pressure.</h1>

<h1>2 - I think the solution to your problems is Everlane. $15 for the best t-shirt I own (compared to J. Crew, American Apparel, etc.). They have men’s and women’s apparel and accessories. Check them out here: <a href=“https://www.everlane.com/n/3pfbvo”>https://www.everlane.com/n/3pfbvo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;

<p>They have free shipping and returns if you order within 24 hours (or if you order 2 or more items). They’ve got tons of rave reviews on Style Forum, which is a very popular fashion forum. You can check those reviews out here: <a href=“Everlane T-shirts | Styleforum”>Everlane T-shirts | Styleforum;

<p>Good luck. If you don’t like Everlane, you might like Bonobos, which you can check out here: <a href=“http://a.bono.bs/x/riUuJp”>http://a.bono.bs/x/riUuJp&lt;/a&gt; …Unfortunately, Bonobos is considerably more expensive. Everlane really is the best deal for luxury basics I’ve ever come across.</p>

<p>If neither of those interests you, let me know, and I can come back with some more suggestions. Perhaps parents will also have some valuable insight. I know they helped me quite a lot when I asked for their advice.</p>

3

<p>You may wish to find out which U you will be attending and find out how they dress there. Some Us have a lot of the students wear logo wear of the U, while at others it is rather rare. If they have your size, Costco has quite a few nice, reasonably-priced clothing articles that don’t break the bank. It is worthwhile exploring. Ross and tjMaxx also have a wide range of clothing at significant savings, as long as you are prepared to search. </p>

4

<p>Sound advice above by both.</p>

<p>If you like J. Crew, just shop the sale racks only. Things are marked down constantly and you want to then buy when the sale prices are reduced an additional 30 or 40%. Prices get down to 30 cents on the dollar, but that requires patience. Since up for their email alerts if you haven’t already. Sale prices in stores are often much more attractive than sale prices on-line. </p>

<p>I love J. Crew and buy a lot at J. Crew but I am not sure it is the most practical choice for college as they seem to be moving toward more decorated fabrics and blended fabrics that will not hold up well to being tossed in the washing machine. </p>

<p>I have not found a good inexpensive source for tee shirts since The Gap fired Mickey Drexler ten or more years ago. Gap’s loss has been J. Crew’s gain, but the tee shirts are all too long and the fabric too thin for me.</p>

5

<p>You can also try J.Crew Factory online, or one of their brick and mortar outlet stores</p>

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<p>No matter where you buy them, there are NO stylish tees out there that can stand up to dorm dryers. Get used to hanging your shirts to dry. Buy one of those folding wooden racks or figure out where to hang them to dry. Really.</p>

7

<p>H&M has some nice basics. They have some good deals on your basic tees, button downs, cardigans, and the like.</p>

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<p>Also check care labels and beware of anything requiring a delicate and/or cold wash cycle–none of my D’s machines ever had one, and she wasn’t about to hand wash her stuff in a dorm bathroom sink. Also look out for “lay flat to dry”—not a lot of space for that in a dorm room.</p>

9

<p>Costco is great.</p>

<p>My son is on the thin side, and doesn’t like t-s with logos on them. I watch the sales at Banana Republic, and buy colored tees, polos, and sweaters there. I think BR has thicker cloth than the GAP, and is quite soft. They had long sleeve T-s for $12 in early December. </p>

10

<p>We were in the mall today and every single store aimed at teens was having a sale on tee shirts, boys or girls. Many, many plain colors with no logos. Not sure how they compare with J. Crew, but if want logo-free tees, now is the time to buy, apparently.</p>

11

<p>Check the sale racks almost anywhere. For plain T shirts, try LL Bean. Durable and come in a variety of colors. They have sales sometimes also. There are also Bean outlets.</p>