Fashion Friday: Where to Shop for Clothes on a College Girl's Budget - Part 1

As a college student who loves clothes and fashion, I do sometimes struggle with trying to find cute clothes that I can afford. Luckily, there are quite a few stores/websites that offer trendy yet inexpensive clothes.

I've been shopping at these stores for as long as I can remember. My mom goes there all the time, and my sister and I always go with her on her shopping trips. Over the 10-plus years that I've been shopping there, they've had their ups and downs. There were some times I recall their stores not having a lot of stuff I like, but once I entered high school, it was pretty consistent. Of course, certain locations are better than others, but overall, they're great places to find inexpensive but quality clothes.
You can find a lot of jeans and sweaters for around $20, and they also have a great selection of activewear. They usually don't have a lot of Nike, but they do still have some quality stuff. For example, I find New Balance compression shorts there all the time

Tips:

• Try to go to the locations that are near malls. Those locations are more likely to have clothes from the stores at the mall. I often find American Eagle, Hollister, PacSun, and Abercrombie and Fitch clothes at those locations for over 50-percent off what they were in the original store. The clothes from the mall stores they sell may be a few months old, but most of the time, they're still in style and can be worn for the current season.
• Check the clearance and sale racks for clothes from last season or the season that is almost ending. for example, now would be a good time to find some summer clothes at an even cheaper price. This is great if you go to a school where it's usually warm or if you just want to stock up on some summer clothes.

Some of my favorite pieces from there:

Forever 21 is known for making cheap but fashionable clothing. Although their clothes are cheap, (I don't think I've ever gotten a single item from there that's over $30) I haven't had any problems with the quality of their clothes. 

I will say that I haven't gotten as many things from F21 as I have in the past, but I've also just been trying to not get as many clothes because I know I have more than enough. So I guess I'm just being really picky and careful with what I do get.

I started shopping at F21 in high school, and I still have clothes I wore my junior year of high school that I got from there and can still wear because they're not out of style and are in excellent condition. I probably wear something from Forever at least once a week.

Tips:

• Look for purple tags on clothes near the front of the store. If something has a purple tag, it's marked down from its original price. Those are special deals and are usually no more than $20.
  
• Don't forget to look at their sale section. I know that in stores, it's usually a pigsty, but a lot of times, anything in their sale section is buy one get one free. So as long as you find one thing in there that you like enough to buy it, you get one thing free, which is a good deal to me.
• Usually, they have free shipping on orders of $50 or more, but there are certain times when they have free shipping for orders less than $50, usually $25. So sign up for their emails to find out when, because as college students, we can't always shop in person and need to do it online.

Some of my favorite pieces from there:

This was actually my Christmas outfit from 2014. The headband, top, and skirt are all F21!

I just love the crocheted lace detail on this shirt. And it was less than $15!

A'GACI is one of new favorite stores. It has a similar price range to that of Forever 21, but their clothes are geared more toward someone who's like a glamour girl. For example, they have a lot of blouses and less graphic tees and casual shirts.

It's a great place to find inexpensive professional clothes and clothes for going out. So if you need some clothes for internships, job interviews, class presentations, or just a night out, I would definitely recommend checking them out. For the internship I have every spring, I have to wear a nice top whenever I go cover a gymnastics meet, and their tops are the ones I often wear.

Tips:

• Don't skip their sale section, in stores or online. There are some hidden gems in there. Usually, clothes in the sale section are last season's, but A'GACI often has a mix of last season's clothes and other clothes that don't have a specific season, like their professional looking clothes. My sister found two perfectly good blazers in their sale section for less than $20 each!
• Sign up for their rewards program in stores. At the register, they usually ask you if you have an account, but if they don't ask, bring it up yourself. I have one, and I don't quite remember what the specifics are, but once you reach a certain number of points, (which isn't that high or hard to get from what I remember) you get (I believe) $20 off your purchase!

Some of my favorite pieces from there:

Those are definitely my top three (or four technically) places when it comes to buying inexpensive but fashionable clothing, but I do have more. So be on the lookout in the upcoming weeks for part two of this Fashion Friday series. To go to each store's respective website, click on the logo to check it out and shop online.

What stores do you like to shop at for cute but inexpensive clothing?