ByKat Hours Updated

The Best Place to Buy Work Clothes on a Budget

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a woman pays for her clothes at a checkout counter; she just might be looking for the best places to buy work clothes on a budget

Here's a little question for today: what is the best place to buy work clothes on a budget? For everyone returning to the office or just starting out, where would you recommend they start their hunt? I'll round up my top 5 choices, but I'd love to hear yours.

{related: the most affordable office clothes for women (roundup of budget-friendly wardrobe essentials!)}

In the past, we've discussed our favorite low-cost clothing basics, how to shop your closet, the pros and cons of thrifting for workwear, and how to build a work wardrobe with no money, as well as had discussions about how much we all spend on work clothes (here's the latest one). We've also rounded up the best budget suits.

The Best Place to Buy Work Clothes on a Budget – What to Look For

Before we get into the stores, let's talk guiding principles — what should you look for when buying work clothes? What kinds of clothes should you be buying “for work clothes”?

For my $.02, I would say that you're looking for clothes that are:

  • opaque (this can be an issue with a lot of cheaper fabrics!)
  • fit well enough to not be skintight or pulling
  • not overly trendy — your work clothes should not be disposable. Many of the readers' favorites have been around for years because they're great basics

If you're going to make the effort to buy work clothes, I would steer you away from clothes that might be confused with pajamas, loungewear, athleisurewear — as well as clothes that might be confused with going out attire or wedding wear.

Fast Fashion vs. Thrifting

There are generally two ways to get a deal these days: shop at fast fashion spots like H&M and Zara, so named because they push out a LOT of designs, very quickly, so the store has a constant influx of new clothes and designs coming in. The problem with a lot of these clothes, historically, has meant that the designs are so trendy that you don't want to wear them the next season — the clothes can also be subject to inferior construction than a lot of other clothes. (We've also written a lot about the ethical considerations around slow shopping and avoiding fast fashion!)

The other way to get a deal is to go thrifting — while that one can be better for the planet, it can be a complete and total treasure hunt.

One way you could do it is to go to Poshmark, eBay, or ThredUp and look for things that you know are great work clothes — do check out our Guide to Work Wardrobe Essentials for some guidance on this.

One thing you might want to look for is entire “lots” of clothes on sale, where someone decides to sell all of her, say, size 4 work clothes. This particularly used to be an option with maternity clothes. Keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace and other options near you.

A Starter Wardrobe

I would suggest a starter wardrobe of two pairs of pants in neutral colors (black, gray, navy — if you sufficiently like different cuts they can both be the same color), one or two blouses, a few opaque “nice” t-shirts (this is a reader favorite), and a topper/third piece. For the third piece like a blazer or sweater jacket, look for one that is sufficiently different from your pants in color and/or texture.

(There are some jobs where a starter wardrobe will be just a few suiting sets — and in many ways this can be a really easy, affordable way to do it. There's no guesswork involved, and you're clearly in work clothes.)

The Five Best Places to Buy Work Clothes on a Budget

Old Navy

Old Navy has more hits than misses when it comes to workwear. Watch out for things like dresses that are too short for work — but a lot of the pants and blouses can be great, particularly the various iterations of the Pixie pants. It's also great that they generally carry petite, plus, and tall sizes.

The brand has over 1200 store locations, as well, so if you prefer to try things on in person they're not too hard to find.

J.Crew Factory

Another option readers have been loving is J.Crew Factory. We've featured dresses, pants, even suits from JCF in recent years. Two particular reader favorites: their popover blouses, and their sweater jackets.

The brand has over 200 locations.

Banana Republic Factory

Readers have been big fans of Banana Republic Factory, where they often seem to have a math-intensive sale like “up to 40% off + extra 20%.” The suiting section is particularly strong at BRF, and they've even had washable wool suits in recent years.

The brand does have in-store locations (70+), but they're at outlet malls such as Woodbury.

Amazon

Amazon can be a bit of a treasure hunt, of course — but you can find decent things there. We've rounded up what to buy at Amazon for work outfits, but for a quick list, reader favorites include:

H&M

I would probably head to H&M before I head to Zara, personally — they've had full suits and a lot of lovely work basics over the years, although inventory moves too quickly to suggest anything particularly.

Bonus Mention: The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale deserves a mention here — every summer, for about three weeks, Nordstrom puts new fall merchandise on sale. There are usually several suits in the mix, as well as other reader favorites.

Bonus Mention #2: Watch the Sales

There are a number of stores that are slightly more expensive, but where there are frequent sales — I would include Ann Taylor and J.Crew.

How about you, readers — what is the best place to buy work clothes on a budget? For everyone returning to the office or just starting out, where would you recommend they start their hunt?

Stock photo via Stencil.