Part of my college adventures includes my classes. My favorite class currently is my lab for Education in America. I am studying to become a math teacher, and this lab provides the opportunity to spend time in the classroom observing teacher methods and classroom behavior.
Long story short, I must dress professionally every Thursday morning when I go to my lab. Professional clothes can be quite pricey. However, with my thrifting skills, I have been able to put together some teacher-like outfits for an affordable price.
First I want to compare my cheap outfit to a similar outfit (from Polyvore) that would have cost much more.
For those of you who don't know, Polyvore is a site that lets you put together different outfits. It also redirects you to where you can buy the clothes you use in your sets. As much as I love playing around with Polyvore, I would never buy anything from the site. Let me show you one outfit I put together to prove my point.
Top - $47 (see here)
Pants - $112 (see here)
The even funnier part is these prices are "clearance" prices. The top was originally $235 and the pants were originally $320. Looking at these prices makes me squirm. I really can't understand why anyone would spend that much on clothes.
Now take a look at my (much) cheaper ensemble.
Top (Worthington) - $5 at Goodwill
Pants (SagHarbor)- $2 at Rescued Treasures
Shoes (xhiliration)- $4 at New2You
This was a great outfit for my first day of my education lab. I truly felt like a teacher. Even better, it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. Compared to the above outfit, I saved $150, and the outfit above didn't even include shoes.
My next outfit I wore for my second week of my teaching lab. I found a similar top on Modcloth (below on the right) that would have cost $37.99. Instead, I found a much cheaper alternative.
Top (Old Navy) - $1.50 at New2You
Pants (Express) - $4 at New2You
Flip flops - $1 at Old Navy
So instead of $38, I only spent $1.50 on this top saving me $36.50. In fact, I like my top better because it has ruffles. Also, I did not wear these shoes to school, but I just happened to be wearing them when I took the picture. Once a year Old Navy has a sale where they sell flip flops for $1 and that's where I got these. I do have shoes that are navy with white polka dots (which I got for $4 at Goodwill) that go with this outfit better, but I forgot to bring them to college.
The point I am trying to make is that professional clothes can be affordable if you look in the right places.
Happy thrifting!
