The mess that adults have made out of the United States economy is making it harder for teens to be able to spend lots of money on style. Not only is clothing expensive but so is pizza, school lunches, snack foods, movie theatre tickets, and even the gas to get there. Add to this the fact that finding a job as a teenager is becoming more difficult as businesses are now laying off employees and spending gobs of money on frivolous things is becoming close to impossible. So teens are adapting. Saving money is the new cool teen style according to the Associated Press (link to article below).

Here is what savvy teens are doing to stay in style:

Shop at outlet stores
Most high-end department stores have outlet store locations where the prices are incredibly reasonable. GAP jeans for $10-$20, Banana Republic shirts for $5, or Abercrombie and Fitch shorts for $7. How is this possible? Higher end stores can become overstocked with items they want to sell fast to make way for new products and so they ship them to these outlets to sell at a fraction of the cost. It doesn’t mean they are any different from the clothing sold at the full-price stores, just overstocked. Google your favorite store’s outlet closest to you to learn more.

Downgrade the store without downgrading the style
Many department stores are now stocking pretty darn cool styles. Target, Wal-Mart and K-Mart have contracted in recent years with several designers to create clothing that looks cool but isn’t as costly. Not to mention that a t-shirt is a t-shirt when it really comes down to it and a $3 t-shirt that looks the same as a $20 t-shirt really makes you the smart one.

Raid someone else’s closet
Most people have lots of clothes and only wear about twenty percent of it regularly. That means that there is a goldmine of unused clothes is the closer of every person you know – friends, siblings, parents, and relatives – just waiting to be discovered. And while “lifting” these treasures from someone else’s closet isn’t exactly cool, I bet you have something they would like as well so why not swap?

Discover thrift stores and yard sales
People get rid of clothes all the time and usually they are still very nice. The most common place for people to get rid of their old clothes is the local thrift-store like Goodwill or Salvation Army. These stores then sell the clothing for incredibly low prices but make one hundred percent profit which often goes to a good cause. Of course, you have to be willing to dig a little since every piece of clothing in a thrift store will be unique (but often sorted by size, category, or even color) but that can make shopping for clothes even more fun. Many thrift stores even have dressing rooms, too so you can try on your new look before you but it. Just be sure to wash it once you get it home to make it your own. Yard sales also can offer nice clothes the only drawback is that usually you can’t try them on they usually aren’t sorted as well but the prices are usually even lower than a thrift store’s so that can be good.

Find your own style
Following trends in magazines can be fun but it can also be costly since styles are changed frequently by companies wanting to make money. So why not find your own style – something that compliments your coloring, body shape and personality. In the end, that is the style that will look best on you no matter the season.