The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Would You Shop for Fashion at Wal-Mart?



This entire outfit from Wal-Mart's Metro7 line costs only $35.94.

According to Yahoo! Finance, Wal-Mart's clothing sales haven't been so hot lately, and experts speculate that the big-box store's flagging clothing sales are due primarily to poor branding.

Mind you, we've never lived close enough to a Wal-Mart to shop there regularly, let alone buy clothes there. And considering all the negative press they've received for questionable (even reprehensible) business operations, why even bother?

Besides, we're rather reluctant to buy anything fashion-related at a store with "mart" in the name, and we certainly don't want to buy our clothes under the same roof as hunting gear and guns. It's enough to make any fashionista, budget or otherwise, shudder.

To be honest, we're not sure there's anything Wal-Mart can do to change our minds short of enlisting Marc Jacobs to collaborate on a cheap-chic collection. The only thought we might entertain would be purchasing Wal-Mart's offerings online: We wouldn't have to go out of our way and we wouldn't have to endure the chemical-laden air and glaring fluorescent lighting of their aesthetically offensive brick and mortar stores...

On second thought, we'll stick to Target.

What do you think? Should we get with the program and give in to Wal-Mart? Or is this one budget-fashion frontier you're willing to forgo?
Comments
all aesthetics aside (i can't believe i said that), my problem with wal-mart is the poorly stocked shelves, unprofessional attitude of some of their staff, and their asking to show your receipt as you leave. i resent shopping in any store where they automatically assume i'm a thief. we have choices. even though there's a wal-mart almost across the street from my office, i'd rather go to target, where the staff is courteous, the lighting is better, the aisles are wider, and the selection is better.
#1 maggie z on 2007-07-31 08:19 (Reply)
I definitely agree! I think that I would feel just too weird doing it. You can't go from bloomingdales to walmart and not just feel like you're shopping on a different planet. Sure the clothes may be cheap, but hello? forever21? Their stuff is just as cheap, more fashionable, and in a store found in pleasant locations (did you girls know that Forever21 is opening a store on the Mag Mile where the Virgin Mobile store used to be? go Forever21!)
#2 Peaches on 2007-07-31 14:13 (Reply)
this is a model wearing the outfit and it doesn't look that great, so what would it look like on real people?
:-)
#3 pirate jenny on 2007-07-31 14:51 (Reply)
That is so true Pirate Jenny! And you can really tell how much work was done to that photo! sheesh! :-P
#4 Peaches on 2007-07-31 21:14 (Reply)
(Comment removed)
#5 Shop Star Style (Homepage) on 2007-08-01 00:35
I've bought clothes at WalMart that I get complimented on every time I wear them. There are some good deals there!
#5.1 Ali on 2007-08-01 08:27 (Reply)
That's awesome! If you know yourself and your style, you can rock clothes from ANYWHERE :-)
#5.1.1 The Budget Babe on 2007-08-01 08:38 (Reply)
I used to work at Wal-mart. A brief period in my life where I had lost a job and needed the money. Ugh. I had bought t-shirts there when I worked there and they were the worst quality I had ever seen. They streaked after one wash! Between that, the treatment of their employees and their questionable business practices, I don't shop there any more, period.
#6 Melissa on 2007-08-01 14:10 (Reply)
thats the worst! I'm sorry to hear it was so awful for you! I really can't stand poor quality clothes either- they may be cheap, but if you have to keep buying new clothes every couple washed cause they're ruined it'll add up just as quick!
#6.1 Peaches on 2007-08-01 14:40 (Reply)
Ouch. Thanks for the inside scoop! Goes to show there's more than just a shred of truth behind all of Wal-Mart's bad publicity...
#6.2 The Budget Babe on 2007-08-01 14:45 (Reply)
Leave a comment
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed.
Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
Standard emoticons like :-) and ;-) are converted to images.
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.