The Recession. It's an issue in fashion and retail not many want to talk about especially when sales are down and people can't even afford to put a roof over their head, but still manage to convince themselves that the government will bail them out somehow, so they buy that Gucci purse or those Rock and Republic jeans they didn't need and run up their credit cards. While we all can't be like Carrie Bradshaw and buy 12 pairs of Manolos, we can dream, right?
Working in retail, I felt the pinch, especially when laying people off was masked with claiming that upper management was "Managing Talent". No company wants to be known as, "the-company-laying-off-people-because-we-can't-make-sales".
So in the process of trying to be financially responsible [since I don't want to be that person that files for bankruptcy or go into foreclosure] by reconciling statements and credit cards, I felt the need to find some kind of way to satisfy my never ending urge to shop [ironically enough]. And we all know, this failing economy has made us face our financial difficulties to be responsible for debt we've accumulated, whether it be credit cards, mortgages or student loans.
So I, living in Southern California, tried typing in "LA Bargains" in my Google search and found some websites that gave me helpful tips about shopping and snapped me back into reality.
I know, I know...A cheapified website with cheapy looking store reviews. I saw this website before from one of those local Southern California news segments. It has some addresses and contacts to some stores that could have potential, but some just look --- cheap. Like Suzie's Deals cheap. I guess I have some places to visit. I just might visit some of these like the FIDM Boutique or the Saturday Sales at the Fashion District and give a review on 'em. Stay tuned.
Bargain Hunter: Save a Buck in Everyday LifeThis chick named Julia Scott is a writer for the newspaper I guess and she just posts tips, tricks, reviews on saving a buck. I especially liked the links to
"Can You Afford It?". The links on that article totally snapped me back to reality.
= Cheap ways to be a tourist and go and "Baller on a Budget" dates with Jerald. They had some good points of interest, some I already knew, and some I didn't. Visiting a cemetery doesn't sound too appealing to me though.
So Madelyn Miller posts her shopping adventure and reveals to all. I found a lot of places I'll be visiting and hopefully finding something "Recessionista" worthy.
I somehow found this website, clicking here and there on links. I know I didn't find it directly from my LA Bargains search, but I particularly found their website helpful because it spoke to people like me: the average income person that has a lot of debt (credit cards, student loans, and now a mortgage) that still long for labels in their life. They have endless blogs and articles on shopping smart with articles like:
So go ahead, and be fashionable while being financially responsible! I know I'm gonna try damn hard this year. No-if-ands-or-buts about it!
