Well! I pulled of a frugal coup this morning, without even hardly trying.
The wardrobe has been running short on plain, easy-to-care-for, unobtrusive knit tops that I can wear on the junkets around the park (now three miles long, in 90-degree heat at 5:30 in the morning), loaf around the house in, and not look too unpresentable in at the grocery store. The ones I’ve had have just worn out. After the last closet-cleaning frenzy only three such priceless garments were left.
The early mornings are now pushing humid and hot enough that I’m soaked by the time I get back to the house. Running the laundry every three days is not how I want to amuse myself.
A year or more ago, I found plain, unadorned, well-made Calvin Klein T-shirts at Costco. Went back to acquire some more. Naturally Costco isn’t carrying them anymore.
So on the way home from this morning’s Scottsdale meeting, I stopped at the mildly upscale Biltmore Fashion Square and popped into Chico’s, which I recall as usually having such shirts on sale during the summer.
Nope.
They had a few V-neck shirts. I hate V-neck T-shirts. I want crew necks.
Over to Black & White.
Nope.
Ann Taylor.
Not a chance.
Brooks Brothers.
Like, I’m sure. 🙄
Finally dragged into Macy’s. I really don’t like shopping in Macy’s. It’s such a jumble of stuff that if whatever you want is in there somewhere, you have about a snowball’s chance of finding it. But what the heck. The alternative to was to buy something from Amazon, sight unseen.
Trudged through the second-floor women’s clothing department. Found two, count’em, two that pretty much filled the bill: $25 and a 25% discount. Traipsed through the swimsuit department looking for a cover-up that might work. Actually found one: $78.
😯
Moving on, I picked up a third knit T-shirt, cutely screen-printed, on the way to the checkout — $30, the same 25% discount. None of them thrilled me, but they would do. Not exactly what I wanted, but close enough. One, I saw at check-out, had some sort of frou-frou smocking in the back.
{sigh}
Shuffling off the escalator and through the main floor toward the exit, I had a thought:
Maybe I should look in the boy’s department? Or…what about in the men’s department? Men wear T-shirts!
Hence a detour into Men’s Wear.
Actually, I found two really cool T-shirts, one of them a Tommy Hilfiger in deep-ocean blue with this wild octopus on it. Continued shoofing around…and lo! What should appear, tucked away in a back corner, but a big display of ABSOLUTELY PERFECT 100% cotton T-shirts in every color of the rainbow!
And! To gild those lilies, the things were marked $7.98 — regular price!
The men’s “small” fits like it was made for me. The “medium” is a little large — not unsightly, but extremely comfortable.
I grabbed one in bright teal blue, one in little-old-lady violet (yes! can you believe…in the men’s?), and one in tan. If there’s any cash left at the end of the month, I may go back and get the bright pink and the deep purple and maybe a green.
So I take these three finds to the Men’s Wear checkout guy and explain that I searched all through the women’s department looking for something like these and now I want to buy them from his stock and I want to return the overpriced stuff I bought upstairs.
w00t! After the returns were tallied and the guy’s T-shirts were purchased, the AMEX card still had a net credit of $32!
I had a similarly pleasing adventure at Coldwater Creek the other day: comfortable tanks with a bit of lace — okay to wear alone or under a sweater or blazer, and well-fitted — marked down to under $10 each. I got 6 different colors.
http://pinterest.com/pin/67342956900814859/
Oh, I saw those the last time I was out on the westside, which is where the nearest CC is located! They’re very cute!
I’m going to have to venture out to the stores, too, since I need some new jeans (the ones that fit me now are getting holes in them) and one or two cropped pants for summer. I really, really hate to shop because it’s hard to find something I like that fits me well and is not uber-expensive. Kudos to you for figuring something better out!
I have a question for you. I know you mentioned having plantar fasciitis flaring up not that long ago. How are you finding your feet holding up to the running? I first got PF after trying to take up running (three years ago now!) and am scared to try it again. Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated!
Ah…the alleged plantar fasciitis turned out not to be that but a manifestation of the pinched nerve in the lower back. That created pain not only in the back but into the hips and down the right leg, past the injured knee, and into the foot.
The back was much improved (though not healed) by 6 weeks of intensive physical therapy. It still hurts. Every step hurts. I just ignore it. Some things you learn to live with.
In fact I’ve been jogging, which is probably even harder on your body than running. Also it’s rather stupid, because I walk faster than I jog and walking doesn’t jar my back teeth. So yesterday I added another mile to the morning excursion but did the whole thing at a fast walk. This is much easier on the sore feet.
As a matter of fact, exercise — especially walking and swimming — seems to keep most of the pain at bay.
Have you ever tried Teva sandals? Go to a sporting goods store — Sportsman’s Warehouse has a good selection, and I imagine REI would, too — and try on a few pairs. The things are INSANELY comfortable. They have a thick rubbery sole that does not pack down. They pad the sore foot and ease the stress on the hips and back by absorbing a lot of the shock of pounding your feet on pavement.
Tommy Hilfiger does make excellent products. I have two T-shirts that I bought at the outlets over 3 years ago and they are still perfect. I don’t know if it’s thread count or what but they just see…”sturdier”. As for Macy’s, I have had excellent luck there. I tend to do Xmas shopping there for DW and the staff there has always been helpful….as I am pretty clueless….I always get a “gift slip” so she can return the item if need be.
Tommy Hilfiger does make excellent products. I have two T-shirts that I bought at the outlets over 3 years ago and they are still perfect. I don’t know if it’s thread count or what but they just seem…”sturdier”. As for Macy’s, I have had excellent luck there. I tend to do Xmas shopping there for DW and the staff there has always been helpful….as I am pretty clueless….I always get a “gift slip” so she can return the item if need be.
I find that quite often, men’s t-shirts are a better fit for me too. The small size is also spot on for me. Often I go to the men’s department first.
Oh, btw, I “nominated” you for a Liebster Award. 🙂 Share some random facts? http://mlisunderstanding.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-liebster-award.html