MONEY OBEDIENCE

Thank heavens for Isaac, Vera, and Sarah J.!

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Thank heavens for Isaac, Vera, and Sarah J.! Daisy too. These have given their famous names to “affordable” designs that make it possible to look good in contemporary fashions without breaking the piggy bank, stealing from one’s 401K, or running up high credit card balances. Hubby’s right – magazines suck, because they preach about what you should look like and in small print let you know that you will fail to look like the muses on their pages unless you fork out thousands.

But I am a Marshalls and TJ Maxx shopper who loves Century 21 the best and even makes the occasional foray into Daffy’s. (For those who do not live in the Northeastern US, these are discount stores that sell off clothing that for whatever reason didn’t sell off in major department stores; Daffy’s and Century 21 sell designer fashions in the same way, with the latter selling also household goods like sheets and luggage.) It takes a bit of time to be a shopper like me – time I don’t really have. But I want to look good (and have nice sheets) without paying anything that resembles full price.

So, I’m back to Isaac (Mizrahi), Vera (Wang), Sarah J(essica Parker)., and Daisy (Fuentes). Thanks guys. You’ve made it so I can pick up a dress when I’m buying diapers at Target (which I love so much I’m one of those who calls it Tarjay), a vest/skirt ensemble while buying back-to-school jeans for my daughter (at Kohl’s), and you’ve even got me venturing into stores I might’ve otherwise not entered (Steve and Barry’s) because I was too chicken, only to find out that not only do you have cool clothes for me at reasonable prices, I can buy there for my toddlers and hubby too. And, believe it or not, these stores also have SALES and even clearance racks!

I remember being a kid who got teased because I had the wrong jeans and wrong sneakers and was just plain wrong (probably because I got good grades and had really bad hair). Mom couldn’t really do much – we owned our house (or at least the part that the bank didn’t) and we didn’t have a lot of money left over for trivial pursuits like dressing fashionably. But I know my kids (of which there are three) are not susceptible to such bullying, at least not because of their clothing, because these “discount” stores really do have great looking clothes! It makes me feel great that my kids can look good. I can see that it makes them feel good too when they get dressed in the morning, or when they get compliments at school.

So, for anyone out there who still thinks they have to run up high credit card balances and pay their accompanying high interest rates to look good, think again. And if you’re still buying those magazine-recommended thousand dollar outfits, please think again. The money you don’t spend on expensive items is better used to save for retirement, or to donate to a charity to clothe people who have nothing, let alone top dollar “fashion.”

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