Reasonably priced professional work clothes

happybunny86

I am in a professional office based role and am struggling to find lower cost good quality clothes.

Before I started my money saving and debt free mission I bought most of my work dresses from Hobbs. They were pretty expensive but lasted a long time and were made of good quality material.!i hate the really cheap itchy scratchy stuff.

I've really struggled to find good quality work clothes for a more affordable price so wondered if there were any other professionals out there and what you did?

MoneyMission

I hear you! I feel the same.

Small successes come from Ph@se 8, Pr1nciples and sometimes even M%S. Doesn't match up to H0bbs though and are still fairly expensive. I usually get a decent pair of trousers and then cheaper tops to make a work outfit.

Can't offer anymore advice than that really. Sorry. Hope someone else wades in with a suggestion or two as I'm in the same boat!

northerner999

I work in an office and my shirt/trousers usually come from Tesco when they double up on points - I'm a fully grown adult but their school areas usually do the job. always good quality and last, and looks perfectly smart (as my mam always told me, it's not what you wear it's how you wear it).

curlywurly82

Next, always found then fairly reasonably priced and better quality thanvthe supermarkets etx

theoretica

How do you feel about second hand? You could buy Hobbs off ebay, and even if you get the occasional duff still save considerably over buying new.

Hermia

I find ebay great for work clothes as they don't seem to get a lot of bids. I have two Wallis suits that still had their tags on for a tenner each. I find shopping outlet villages good too. I have bought some lovely work clothes from Bicester Village and Clark's Shopping Village.

gingerdad

Most of mine clothes come from an excllent local charity shop. Always have suits and shirts ties etc

Most like new and usually £15 for a suit and £3/4 for shirts.

Fen1

The outlet villages, as suggested above, are good. Always sign up for the free emails before you go; they sometimes have 'VIP' deals.

It sounds bonkers, specially on MSE, but Harrods, Selfridge's et al can have fab sales. Always sign up for the email/free loyalty card to get the special deals. I have found things on their online sales cheaper than the normal high Street.

Oxfam online. More expensive than the oxfam shops, but saves trudging around. A lot of top end stuff can be found on it.

triple_choc_chip

Look at the 'sale' section on websites.
Phase 8 reduce up to 70% and there's always a good selection because they continually churn their stock.
Austin Reed also drop prices like a stone and I think their quality is on a par with Hobbs.
The Jaeger shop at Clarks Village is always a good option if you are down South, I picked up great pieces at just 10% original price.
The village also sell Planet who do great suits at less than half price.
House of Frazer also reduce well, I've got some lovely 'Damsel in a Dress' for a fraction of original price which are great for work

YORKSHIRELASS

I agree that clever buying of secondhand quality brands or sales bargains makes a lot of sense. I am currently trying to scale down my work wardrobe though. I have a lot of impulse purchases that dont really suit me or aren't comfortable. If you are on a limited budget its really important that you buy classic key pieces that fit nicely and go together.

I agree that Next are good for some stuff, especially their knitwear which washes well.

My current problem is that our office is freezing and I feel the cold so I am looking for ways to look smart but keep warm. Big woolly jumpers dont quite look the part and I am not keen on wearing jackets when I am working at my desk.

alibean121

H&M can have some acceptable stuff that's really cheap and looks quite professional. You need to pick carefully though as a lot of the nice looking dresses are super short. It's worth it if you can find some good stuff though.