These 33 tips for buying teacher clothes on a budget will help educators look great and save money this school year!

Teachers need clothes that are both functional and school-appropriate, but building a professional wardrobe on a teacher’s salary during a time of rising prices and inflation can prove challenging–especially when many new teachers won’t receive their first paycheck until the end of September or October. 

Let’s look at some tips for building a professional wardrobe on a budget! 

What kind of clothes should teachers wear to school?

Dress codes for teachers can vary greatly from one setting to the next. Before buying a lot of new clothes, find out your school system’s expectations for teacher dress code as well as what type of clothing is acceptable in your school building and community. The subject and age level of students you teach along with your teaching methods are a wardrobe consideration as well. 

Teachers should dress for the weather and the temperature inside the school building 

A teacher’s wardrobe should always include pieces that can be layered for warmth or removed to cool down. Temperatures inside school buildings along with personal preferences can vary greatly, and sometimes school HVAC systems don’t work at all!

How to save money buying teacher outfits

Shop the clearance racks

The new, current, or upcoming season’s clothing will be displayed in the front of the store and other prominent places when you first enter a store.

You can look through the new merchandise and get style ideas, but don’t buy anything yet. Instead, head to the clearance racks in less prominent places–usually the back of the store–to find the clothing items with the biggest markdowns and lowest prices.

Buy classic styles as wardrobe staples

Trends come and go, but traditional, classic styles are timeless and can be accessorized with trendier pieces and jewelry.

Even though basic, solid colored pants and tops seem boring, remember that any clothing you don’t have to replace next season when it goes out of style will be money you save.

Buy quality, well-constructed clothing

In most cases, you’ll be washing your teaching clothes more frequently than you would wash clothing you wear for other purposes and occasions.

Dry erase marker dust, spills, germ concerns, and all sorts of other things teachers encounter in a school setting will require clothing to be laundered more frequently. Most “fast fashion” doesn’t hold up well to repeated washings.

Buy mostly school-appropriate work clothes

With 180 days in a school year, you’ll be spending a lot more time at work than you will spend enjoying leisure activities. To get the most out of your clothing budget, focus on building your professional wardrobe first.

If you’re on a tight budget, think carefully about how many times and to how many different places you’ll wear an item that is not school-appropriate before you make your purchase.

How to save time finding the size that fits when you are buying teacher clothes

Have you ever found a garment in your size, only to be surprised that it was much too large or way too small when you tried it on in the fitting room?

Sizes vary greatly across brands, stores, and seasons. Through the years, clothing manufacturers have implemented vanity sizing practices to keep clothing sizes small as shoppers’ bodies get larger.

Vanity sizing can result in unpredictable sizes

This Time magazine article presents some fascinating photos and graphics illustrating the ways that clothing sizes have changed over time, rendering size labels virtually meaningless.

Taking your measurements and a small retractable cloth measuring tape with you when you shop enables you to determine if an article of clothing may or may not fit before you head to the fitting room.

Take measurements from garments in your existing wardrobe that fit you well

To save yourself time during your shopping trip, look through your wardrobe and find representative garments that fit you exactly the way you would like all of your clothes to fit–a shirt, pants, etc.

Measure these clothing items, note the measurements, and take the measurements along with a measuring tape when you shop for clothes. This wikiHow article shows how to take measurements for both women’s and men’s clothing. 

You’ll still want to try on garments before you make your purchase, but having a measuring tape with you enables you to rule out the items that won’t possibly fit. 

Where to shop for teacher clothes

With so many shopping options available, the alphabetized list below will help you narrow your search to some good places to shop for teacher clothes.

Links are provided solely for the reader’s convenience. These are not affiliate links.

Brick and mortar and online retailers for teacher clothes

Ann Taylor and LOFT– Both Ann Taylor and LOFT offer a rewards card. LOFT offers a 10% teacher discount

Costco and Costco.com – Kirkland Signature, Costco’s store brand name, offers clothing as well as groceries and household items. Costco sells other name brand clothing items as well. However, there are no fitting rooms, so take your measurements and measuring tape to save time and avoid buying the wrong size.

Nordstrom Rack and NordstromRack.com –  If you live near a Nordstrom Rack store, this article about Nordstrom Rack Hacks will help you make wise purchasing decisions and save money. NordstromRack.com also offers deeply discounted clothing along with clearance sales. 

Old Navy/Gap/Banana Republic – Old Navy sometimes has very low prices in their clearance section, although the sizes can be limited by the time an item is marked down. Their website offers one-stop shopping for Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta.  

Sam’s Club and Samsclub.com – In addition to their Member’s Mark store brand clothing, Sam’s Club sells name brand clothes and shoes by The Gap, Levi’s, Champion, and Steve Madden, among others. However, there are no fitting rooms, so take your measurements and measuring tape to save time and avoid buying the wrong size.

Target and Target.com – A New Day and Goodfellow & Co. are two Target store brands that include styles suitable for teachers. Also, Target carries Lands’ End and a few name brands.

TJ Maxx and TJMaxx.com – This discount retailer offers quality merchandise at prices that are lower than most other retailers. This article from the Krazy Coupon Lady website offers 23 Freaking Amazing Ways to Save at TJ Maxx. 

Walmart.com  – Walmart and Walmart.com both offer an array of clothing options at affordable prices.

Also, Walmart.com is similar to Amazon.com in that it offers a wide range of products from vendors whose merchandise is not offered in the brick and mortar Walmart stores.

The Walmart app offers an online fitting room option to help buyers get an idea of how a garment will look on them before they make a purchase decision. 

On-line retailers for teacher clothes

Amazon.com – Offering one stop shopping for just about everything, Amazon.com is also a great place to buy clothes. Prices can fluctuate and vary, so know current market prices before you shop. Also, the customer reviews offer helpful buying insight. 

6pm.com – The discount version of Zappos, 6pm.com sells all types of clothing, shoes, and accessories. They offer free shipping promotions frequently, and their standard shipping rate is a reasonable $3.95–much less than most other retailers! 

Pre-owned: In-person shopping for teacher clothes

Facebook Marketplace  – Offers just about anything, though finding what you want tin the correct size could prove challenging. Nevertheless, deep discounts on gently used or new clothing items could prove rewarding!

Plato’s Closet – Buys and sells gently used and trendy young adult clothing & accessories for men and women. Plato’s Closet’s clearance sales offer even deeper discounts from 50% to 90%.

Pre-owned: Online shopping for teacher clothes

ebay.com  – The leading on-line marketplace for buying and selling just about everything, ebay is a great place to find teacher clothes at reduced prices. This article on the Recovering Shopaholic blog provides tips for buying clothes on ebay. 

Poshmark.com – Buys and sells high-quality pre-owned clothing. The Poshlife by Poshmark blog offers tips for shopping on Poshmark. 

ThredUp.com -Buys and sells high-quality pre-owned clothing. This article offers hacks to help you shop like a thrift pro and get the best deals.  

7 Tips for shopping at thrift stores and buying pre-owned clothing for your professional teaching wardrobe

1. Shop at stores that organize clothing by size

Unless you have lots of time to spare, trying to find a garment that fits on racks of jumbled clothing is a nearly impossible task and a poor use of your time. Save yourself time and skip the stores that don’t sort clothing by size. 

2. Dress for your shopping trip with try-on in mind

Many thrift stores don’t provide fitting rooms for you to try on clothes in private. For this reason, wearing tights, leggings, or other form fitting garments will allow you to pull on a garment to see if it fits before you purchase it.

3. Look carefully for flaws and imperfections before you make a purchase

Remember, someone got rid of the item you are considering for a reason. Make sure zippers work properly, all the buttons are included and attached, and examine the item in varying types of lighting to make sure there are no stains.

With wool garments, look very carefully to ensure there are no signs of moth damage. Sometimes inspecting woolens carefully will require you to stretch the fabric slightly to make sure there are no hidden holes.

4. Factor in the cost of alterations or repairs

If you fall in love with an item that needs an alteration or repair you can’t make yourself, consider the amount of money and effort it will take to get the garment in wearable condition. Tack that cost on to the item’s price and consider if it’s really a good buy or not.

5. Know the terms of the store’s return and exchange policy

Some stores offer full refunds; others will issue you a store credit within a specific time window; others have a policy that all sales are final. Know this before you buy to avoid being stuck with a garment you can’t wear or return.

6. Take a list of the wardrobe items you need

Having a list with you when you go shopping to help focus your efforts. Depending on the size of the store, encountering so much merchandise at once can be overwhelming and distract you from finding the items you need. Also, having a list and sticking to it helps minimize impulse purchases.

7. When possible, find out where the store gets its merchandise

While some stores rely solely on donations, others buy overstocks and past-season merchandise from major retailers. Knowing what you need to buy on your shopping trip along with the type of merchandise a store carries enables you to focus your search and saves you time. 

Avoid dry clean only garments (or make sure you can machine wash or hand wash them)

Dry cleaning bills are another expense you don’t need and can avoid easily. Reading garment labels will let you know if an item requires dry cleaning. I tend to hand wash or machine wash just about everything, regardless of what the garment care label says, and have not ruined anything yet!

Patric Richardson’s book Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore provides lots of tips for how to care for even the most delicate of garments. 

Don’t skimp on your shoes!

You’ll be worn out from standing up and teaching all day–you don’t want your feet to ache! Read the following information about how shoes age and the things you should consider before buying pre-owned shoes.

Be cautious about buying pre-owned shoes

Although you can save a lot of money buying pre-owned clothing and accessories, one clothing item that you’ll want to be more cautious about buying pre-owned is shoes. Be wary of buying any pre-owned shoes that show significant wear or if you have no idea how old they might be. 

Rubber soles and plastic heel taps break down

The passage of time and the conditions in which shoes are stored can compromise the structural integrity of rubber soles and plastic heel taps. Even though a pair of pre-owned shoes might look like new, it’s possible that the heel taps or rubber soles will disintegrate when you wear them. 

The shoe’s interior may not provide adequate support

Also, it’s possible a shoe’s interior has broken down with wear and won’t provide you with the support you need when you’re on your feet all day.

As teachers, we are on our feet all day long, walking around our schools, helping students. Also, standing all day in the polished concrete floors used in many new school buildings is extremely hard on our feet and legs. For this reason, buy the highest quality comfortable shoes you can afford.

Conclusion

With the cost of living continuing to rise, making smart clothing purchases is one great way you can make your money go further. These 33 tips for buying teacher clothes on a budget will help educators look great and save money this school year!