Free Clark's Big Book of Bargains by Clark Howard Page A

wasn’t there. I had left it on the bed back home. The speech was that evening and I knew people were going to be decked out in their best clothes. Going in my tennis shorts and dress shoes wasn’t an option. So I pulled out the local phone book and started driving around to used-clothing stores. I had to go to three, and in the third one I found a really nice suit for $6. So I mentioned it in my speech. About five minutes into my speech, I asked the person who introduced me to stand next to me, and I asked him how he liked my suit. He liked it a lot, and was surprised when I told him how little it cost. After the speech, people were coming up to me, one after another, to look at my suit.
    Buying used clothing can be a great way to save money. One of my producers, Kimberly Drobes, wears very nice clothing—she favors vintage, 1950s-style clothes—and she buys about 70 percent of her outfits used. Kimberly goes “thrifting” regularly at her favorite used-clothing stores. On one trip, she bought a cotton dress for $3.99, a button-down shirt for $1.99, a handbag for $2, and a pair of jeans for $4.99. Her friend bought dresses for $3.99 and $4.99, and a pair of jeans for $5.99. Kimberly says thrifting is hit or miss. Some days she comes back with an armful of clothes, sometimes nothing, so it’s not a good way to shop for a specific item. Some used clothes are so worn they’re nearly mutilated, Kimberly says, while others still have the price tag on them. So you have to look for something that suits you.
    When you buy new clothes, you don’t know how well they’re made or whether they will hold up over time. Used clothes have already passed that test. When I buy a used sportcoat or suit, I turn it inside out and check to see if any of the seams have ripped, to make sure it’s in good shape. It’s funny, but most of the time I have trouble with something like a broken zipper if it’s on a new item, not a used item. I bought a past-season leather jacket for $49 and the zipper broke. So it wasn’t that well made. A used jacket would have stood the test of time.
    You can find local used-clothing stores in the Yellow Pages under “Thrift Stores.” Some cities have local chains. Chicago, for example, has City Discount Thrift. Salvation Army and Goodwill stores also are places where you can find good used clothing.
    Buying used clothes is an especially good idea for young, growing children, because their sizes change so quickly. Buying new clothes for a child is very expensive. Some parents think it’s beneath them to put used clothes on their child. So what I recommend is, go look for a nearly new item for yourself, something you would be proud to wear. Buy it and wear it, and if you get past your reluctance for yourself, maybe you’ll be able to get past your reluctance to buy used clothes for your child.
    One fun place to pick up some great used stuff is from the unclaimed baggage center in Boaz, Alabama. I bought a beautiful Lord & Taylor men’s overcoat for $65 that looked like it had never been worn. Someone had left it in an overhead bin on an airplane, and it ended up in Boaz. People generally travel with their nicest clothes, and when baggage gets lost or things are left behind on an airplane, the airlines wait thirty days to try to reunite them with their owners. Then they go to the unclaimed baggage center to be sold.
    Outlet Stores
    Outlet stores have been touted as a great way to save, but a lot of that reputation comes from long ago, when factory outlet stores really were attached to the factory, and the bargains they sold either were irregulars or were goods that had been returned because the retailer had gone out of business. I used to buy dress shirts at an Arrow factory outlet for $2 to $6. The $6 shirts were great. They might have had an irregularity in the shirttail that wasn’t visible when I wore it. The $2 shirt might have had a tear in the sleeve. That kind of clothing is more appropriate to