My prized Betseyville vegan pumps
The Dish: Shopping stresses me out. While I love the idea of spending a day downtown, about 20 minutes into looking at clothes and I'm done. Fitting rooms? It's all too much work. However, the one exception to my retail-fearing nature might be shoes. I own, well, more pairs of shoes than I'd like to admit. Keeping my collection up to date doesn't have to be expensive, and I have a secret weapon: Ross.
Ross, a discount retailer, carries everything from housewares to clothing to accessories, to the most random stuff you'd never expect to find—or need—for 20 to 60 percent off retail prices. Its shoe selection is freaking awesome, and I never have trouble finding cute vegan styles for my giant feet. Believe me, it can be difficult to find age-appropriate shoes in a size 10.
For the summer, there's plenty of fashionable sandals to choose from, and I grabbed a few pairs at only $12 each. I will warn you, however, that these man-made material beauties aren't the best for major city walking—R.I.P., my favorite white gladiators. By far my biggest score has been the most adorable, faux-leather pair of Betseyville black pumps for only $15. Designer shoes for less than one Andrew Jackson? I'll take it. The style wasn't even on sale online yet, meaning that not all of the discounted garb is completely out-of-season, making it even more gratifying to stock my closet.
The Final Word: Similar discount retailers exist across the country, including Marshalls and T.J. Maxx. While these big, open-space, and often unorganized stores may seem daunting, if this shopping-phobe can handle the stress and snag sweet deals, so can you.
How about shoes in size 5? So hard to find and even worse when you're shopping vegan.
ReplyDeleteSize 10!? Everyone sells size 10. I know this because I wear size 11 and they always say "no, sorry, size 10 is the largest we have."
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for the internet. It makes it a little bit easier.
OMG! THANK YOU FOR THE TIP! I have just found out my feet are most likely a 12 (as oppose to an 11) As if cute vegan shoes weren't hard enough to find! Thanks Abby!
ReplyDeleteI know size 10 isn't the rarest size, but many styles I personally like are never in-stock in a 10. That's just the luck I've had—sorry you have trouble, too! I will say that the Ross I was at had a pretty good selection of size 11.
ReplyDeletePayless is also great for vegan shoes. I wear somewhere between 9-10 (depends on the style) and a lot of their dress shoes and boots are man-made materials.
ReplyDeleteI love Ross! Size 6 is not the easiest but I do find things. When you find something you like buy it right away. It won't be there tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThose are some pretty cute black pumps! I wear a 9.5 narrow, and it always seems that I can't find narrow shoes, or else the shoes I like go in whole and half sizes up to size 9, and then whole sizes only for 10, 11, and possibly 12. It's so daunting to try and pick shoes online without trying them on - should I go up to a 10? Down to a 9? Will the fact that it's only available in medium width make a 9 ok? Thank you for letting us know about your finds - I'll have to check out my local discount shops!
ReplyDeleteI love Alternative Outfitters online. http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/
ReplyDeleteAll of their products are vegan and fun and while they aren't always the cheapest, they do have good sales.
Do the non-leather shoes at those stores breathe at all? Last time I bought a pair I drove my friends away!
ReplyDelete