One of the more costly things when starting out your career is building a wardrobe. This is the case regardless if you are a man or a woman. Clothes cost a lot. So how do you go about building a work wardrobe while keep cost in mind? In this post I am going to show you some tricks you can use to build your work wardrobe on a budget.

4 Tricks To Build A Work Wardrobe On A Budget

#1. Stick To The Essentials

You don’t need 20 pairs of pants and 30 shirts from the start. Be reasonable and build over time. To start off, buy the basics that go with everything. This means black, navy and khaki pants. Buy a couple of shirts – standard colors here too, white, blue, gray, etc. – as well as a few ties for the men if you have to wear a tie.

Once you have the basics down, you can wait for sales and closeouts to fill out the rest of your wardrobe.

#2. Shop Outlets

I have found that outlet malls offer some great deals. The only catch is to pay attention to the quality of the item. This applies more to the shirts than the pants. Sometimes the shirts are of poor quality. You will know when you feel the shirt. It just will feel off.

Most times outlets offer 50-70% off on clothes. This makes it easy to pick up the essentials while keeping costs in line. While at the outlets, be sure to scan through the clearance sections in stores as well. They will be hit or miss, but when you hit, you hit big time. I scored a pair of $50 pants for $10 one time. Another time I landed a $500 suit for $100.

#3. Avoid Designer Stores

When I was younger, I only bought name brand clothing at a high price. Boy was that a waste of money. The only person that knows you are wearing a designer shirt is you. What is more important than the label is the fit. You can take a dress shirt from any store and make a person look great in it by simply making sure it fits well.

So, after you hit up the outlets, check out department stores. I’ve had good luck with Macy’s in the past. They tend to have good quality and good sales. Make sure you buy the right size for you so that you don’t have to spend extra getting things tailored.

#4. Go The Gift Route

Another way to keep your costs in line is to ask for gift cards for the holidays and birthdays for the retailers you frequent most often. This option is great because not only are you getting free money to buy clothes,but after the holidays are when retailers tend to have good sales. Because of this you can pick up a bunch of items on the cheap.

Final Thoughts

Remember, when building a work wardrobe, stay focused on the prices so you don’t overspend. You don’t need hundreds of items. Just get enough so you can rotate them through the week. As time passes, you can build your wardrobe into more items.

And when buying clothing, make sure you aren’t falling for the name brand trick. As long as the shirt or pants are of high quality, it will last. A higher price tag doesn’t always mean better quality. Many times you are simply paying for the name.