Times like these require every consumer to shop wisely most especially when it comes to one of our basic needs – clothing. Due to the economic crisis that hurts every household, the emphasis on clothing has turned from quality to affordability. But why choose between these two if you can have both? There are various ways to find quality and inexpensive items and one of which is shopping on Ebay for cheap clothes.

The key is to make a habit of investing on your clothes. Buy them off-season. Go ahead and check out swim suits and apparel, and summer dresses during winter because sellers would usually give the items cheaper than how it shall cost you when a lot others are rooting for the same thing. In the same sense, go and buy your jackets and coats during summer when sellers can give them to you half the price or more.

The best time to bid in Ebay is during off-peak hours. This time, sellers are hot on getting a purchase and would most unlikely make the bidding process difficult for them. These are usually in the middle of the night so make sure that you are online by then. You can also avoid bidding wars by placing your bid when the auction is about to finish. This way, you can have an idea on how much the other buyers are willing to shell out and compare that to your own price limit. If you really like the item, better yet add it to your Watch List instead so you can get an update on how the auction is going.

Which brings us to another tip: Never ever go over your set price limit. Always do your research about the items you are going to buy. Find out how much it sells outside Ebay and calculate the convenience you can get with buying it from the seller. Make sure that you include the shipping cost on your calculation. If it helps, don’t check back on the item after placing your final bid on it. Your competitive nature or blinding love for the item would only encourage you to bid higher than what you were supposed to. Trust us –you will resent it once you’re already sober.

If you can consider yourself as a certified Ebay shopper and more or less aware of the ins and outs of online shopping, you might want to try shopping on Ebay for cheap clothes in bulk. You’re right, wholesale. It does not only guarantee cheap clothes deals. It might also be a good way to start being a seller and earning money. You can use the search button to look for items on wholesale. Try these keywords: “lot,” “bulk,” “wholesale,” “collection,” “box,” and their synonyms.

But always remember that poor quality is never a bargain. Always scrutinize both the items and the sellers. You can never go wrong with old time sellers who have positive feedbacks on their belts. Watch out for fake items. There are lots of sellers on Ebay who suspiciously auction lots of designer brands they claim new for very low price tags. To make sure that you are getting the value for your money, ask the seller for better descriptions and legit pictures of the items. If they use commercial pictorials of the brand then think twice about bidding on the same seller. You would know that the items are genuine if the seller obliges to send you further photos and descriptions. Surely, she would understand why you have to ask so, but when you do this, make sure that your interest on bidding is as genuine. For secondhand sellers of designer brands, the best thing to do is ask for proofs of purchase such as receipt or serial number.

For safe and convenient online shopping, the number one rule is to always transact within Ebay and only pay through Paypal. It will ensure that all your purchases are protected and regulated, so that in case you become a victim of fraud, you can always have somewhere to turn your complaints to.

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Born to Spanish and Filipino parents, Monique Lhuillier is one of the most notable designers who are currently taking the bridal fashion industry by storm. Before Monique came out with her first line of designs in her first boutique in 2001, she first attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and after finishing her fashion degree, she worked in a small French firm. Her dream of making it big as a fashion designer was inspired by her mother’s glamorous style and persona and her family’s extensive travels in many countries. When she got married to Tom Bugabee and designed her entire wedding, she started to plan on making her own firm with her first love on creating fabulous bridal gowns as her platform. She then launched her very first collection of bridal gowns in 1996 and the rest, as they say is history.

Top celebrities have worn her creations in many different occasions, most notably in weddings. Singer Pink, beauty queen and TV star Ali Landry, actor Kevin Costner’s wife Christine Baumgartner, pop singer Britney Spears and a lot more all chose Monique Lhuillier to design their bridal gowns. Aside from this, along with her bridal fashion collections her other non-bridal gowns have been seen worn on red carpet events and have been featured on fashion magazines. What made her designs a phenomenal hit in just a short span of time are the feminine touch made in sophisticated and intricately designed and made dresses using luxurious silk fabrics with lots of laces and beads. These designs provide a modern and stylish feel for the one wearing while giving that sentimental romance of traditional look. Because of her artistry and her supersonic rise in the fashion industry as evidenced by countless celebrities craving to wear her creations, the Council of Fashion Designers of America have recently absorbed her into the organization, the same group were big names Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, and Oscar de la Renta all belong to.

Her future plans include opening her creations to footwear designs and open more boutiques around the United States. Her creations are all seen in upscale boutiques in New York and California.

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Pronovias is today considered as one of the leading designs of bridal wear in the world. Just recently to seal its lead in the bridal gown business, the company teamed up with Valentino, one of the most admired designers in the world, in an exclusive contract. This even propelled the popularity of this fashion label because it was seen as a perfect partnership- the fashion ingenuity and innovative spirit of Valentino and the entrepreneurship of Spanish company proprietor Albert Palachi.

Pronovias wedding collections and designs provide a stunning look to the bride whichever the taste is. They range from classic and vintage themes to the innovative and modern-woman-look. The glamour of the bride is brought out and the dream look of a bride walking down the aisle in all her beauty and sophistication in a romantic wedding enhanced by a fabulous bridal gown are all the touch and mark of Pronovias. Its team of ingenious designers that add up to the line of dream bridal gowns includes Lydia Delgado, Hannibal Laguna, Manuel Mota, whose designs of sexiness and seduction became sensational, and Miguel Palacio.

As part of its business expansion worldwide, Pronovias is becoming unstoppable and because it has attracted eager brides who dream of a dramatic wedding through a spectacular bridal gown, the company has now its shops in London and New York and soon to be in Milan, Italy. As it continues to penetrate the global fashion market, the designs of Pronovias came to rise because of the lasting values of innovation, excellent customer service and satisfaction, communication, and retail, all of which are propelled by the aggressive marketing campaign through advertisements by the company.

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Before creating the most sought-after wedding gowns of today, Vera Wang first worked as Senior Fashion editor of Vogue Magazine and for 16 years, she was able to work with the most famous names in the fashion industry and see the everyday business in the world of fashion. After this Vogue Magazine stint, Vera Wang left to work with Ralph Lauren as design director until 1990 when she decided to put up her own fashion label. This came as a result of her frustration on her wedding gown when she got married to businessman Arthur Becker. She also noticed that there was no established labels when it comes to wedding gowns and after the inception of the idea on wedding gowns, the rest is history and we would see famous celebrities wearing the Vera Wang label.

Before this everything started in Vera Wang’s big entrance to the fashion industry, she first honed her skills and got her acumen in fashion design when her mother, of an affluent Asian-American family, would regularly bring her to Paris to see fashion shows. Also, her mother became her biggest influence in her designs. And here was born her love, and passion for fashion designs.

After putting up her own fashion label by exploiting a market segment that needed to tapped, Vera Wang’s designs would later on become the standard in bridal wear designs. Her wedding gowns are simple yet intricately designed and very modern and chic. Her designs also attract the taste of the modern bride who looks for a luxurious design with sophisticated and elegant look, which have been worn by the most famous, most glamorous, and most influential celebrity women. Aside from this venture, which became a huge success, Vera Wang has also explored putting her labels on other products such as eyewear, jewelry, handbags, lingerie, cosmetics, and more.

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Founded and based in 1996 in Arleta, California by Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy, Juicy Couture, manufactures a modern line of casual and dressy apparel. Making a huge impact in today’s fashion trend and market, Juicy Couture specializes in handbags and tracksuits using velour as a main material. Their phenomenal rise started when they proposed a tracksuit design for Madonna with “Madge” on it. When Madonna wore it in public and it caught the scrutinizing eye of the public, and then began the popularity of this fashion label.

Juicy Couture also started to widen its line of items and now includes men’s clothing, jewelry, handbags and children’s clothes. It continues to attract the eyes of the fashion-forward with its high quality products and materials with superior craftsmanship that have a very urban feel to the one wearing it. The label is also widely known for various slogans and symbols embroidered ion its lines of items and aside from this, it is very popular among the teenage people because of the colorful designs and characters. It is also expanding its fashion line by manufacturing pet carriers, charms, and jewelry boxes. The most recent sensation among its line of items are sunglasses designed to create a fresh look and making the superior design noticeable.

Aside from its stores in the US, Juicy Couture has proven its popularity and marketing success with its stores in Milan, Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Dubai and caters to retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Scoop, Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, and Fred Segal.

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Among the most costly pairs of jeans, Diesel jeans are among the most sought after in the fashion-forward market scene. This Italian-based company was founded and is still owned by Renzo Rosso in 1978. This line of clothing is mostly aimed at the youth market but is also now found on other items such as perfume and jewelry, leather goods like shoes and bags, eyewear, and wristwatches. Diesel also manufactures other lines of casual clothing for men and women. Diesel jeans, which remains as the primary product, is always associated with designs that show strong masculinity, femininity, and sexiness.

Presently, the company has 17 subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas and its various lines of products are available in 500 retail outlets where 300 are Diesel-branded stores in over 80 countries. Some of them are also franchised stores. The current production of Diesel’s products is outsourced to small companies but its signature product, which is of course denim jeans, are all manufactured and based in Italy. The company continues to be a leader in developing unique styles with high-quality fabrics that undergo stringent manufacturing and quality control. This is because, from the very beginning when Renzo Rosso founded the company, he has always surrounded himself with creative and talented people who come up with unconventional ideas yet remain productive and imaginative. To further make its presence in the youth market as its main target, Diesel currently focuses its attention in endorsing youth-related activities and concern by sponsoring youth projects and artistic youth endeavors.

The company’s annual sales now reach over 1.2 billion euros and Diesel remains to be one of the leading denims company. Despite its expensive price, its line of products especially its denim jeans are highly favored especially among the young.

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Established in December 2002 by Jeffrey and Kim Lubell, True Religion through its subsidiary Guru Denim, Inc., is a premium American clothing company which produces, aside from jeans and denim, has a diversity of products such as jackets, blazers, sweatshirts, t-shirts, headwear, scarves, gloves, shoes and accessories. The company aside from doing the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of its own products also does the design and development of its clothing line of business. Its base is in Los Angeles and its flagship store is located in Manhattan Beach.

Its denim products are considered high-end fashion since it started to introduce its unique design to the market in 2002. The jeans are in three shades: light medium and dark vintage washes. True Religion Jeans are also known for designs having pockets with horseshoe-shaped stitching, twisted inseams, and pictures of Buddha playing the guitar. Just recently, the company also entered the perfume industry. True Religion also made an exclusive agreement with GMI Corporation, based in Italy, and gave it the license to manufacture and sell the brand products to the worldwide market. GMI Corporation boasts of its 40 years of partnership with top selling apparel companies. It now distributes the True Religion line of items in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the United States. To further boost its presence in the market, True religion has also recently selected Paramount Apparel, Inc. through an exclusive contract to make and develop some of its designs and market worldwide its line of headgear, scarves and gloves products.

The company continues to grow worldwide with the help of its distributing partners, it is now found on display in high-end boutiques and department stores in over 50 countries.

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One of the most popular fashion labels in the world today, Lacoste is a French apparel company that designs and sells high-end items such as perfumes, clothes, shoes, tennis shirts, watches, eyewear, and leather items. It is widely known for its green crocodile logo on its high quality products and accessories.

French player Rene Lacoste founded the company in 1933. Before he came up with the products that were labeled after him, he first displayed his own clothing creation when he wore his self-designed tennis shirt, which he wore in the 1926 US Open Championship. The alligator logo came was conceived when there was a betting in the 1927 Davis Cup on an alligator suitcase, after which his nickname was coined “Le Crocodile” or “The Alligator”. His friend Robert Georges then created a logo for him showing a crocodile. With the aid of his friend Andre Gillier, then owner of a French knitwear manufacturing company, he created his fashion business starting with a line of tennis shirts that bore the crocodile logo. He also ventured into making shirts for sailors and golfers. In 1970, his son Bernard, included other line of fashion items and accessories such as perfumes, eyeglasses, shoes, watches, bags and leather accessories, which all became instant hits in the fashion world because of their superior quality. Christopher Lemaire later joined the company and with his excellent acumen for revolutionary designs, he intensified the sales success of the company.

Today, Lacoste has provided licenses for its trademark, including that of Pentland Brands and Samsonite, and is now a much sought after high-end fashion label around the world.

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From the famous Polo shirt in 1968, Ralph Lauren is now one of the most powerful brands and one of the most sought after in the fashion industry. Aside from its high-end apparel for men, women, and children, Ralph Lauren is also etched as popular brand on accessories such as footwear, eyewear, jewelry, hats, belts, and leather materials. The brand is also found on bags and luggage, home furnishings such as bedding and bath products, furniture, fabric and wallpaper, paints, broadloom, tabletop, and giftware. Among its most popular products are cosmetics and fragrance, the latter, which is under labels like Glamourous, Romance, Polo, Lauren, safari, Ralph, and Black Label.

The person behind the powerful fashion and brand label Ralph Lauren was born in Bronx, New York from a Jewish immigrant family from Belarus. As a young boy, he learned to earn his own money to buy suits, something that he himself would create for his name after several years. His phenomenal rise started with his launching of his collection of ties that became a sensation among the young, hip, and stylish New York young professionals. And, the rest as they say is history. He face stiff competition from Armani and Dolce & Gabana in the late 1980s but when he expanded his deals, Ralph Lauren himself became a powerful business empire.

Ralph Lauren, who remains to be the creative director of his brand and the Chairman and CEO of the company, is worth over $1 billion. The company as of March 2008 has 155 full price retail stores, 80 Ralph Lauren stores, 65 Club Monaco stores, 10 Rugby stores, and 158 factory stores all over the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia.

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Starting as a hunting-and-fishing-supplies company in 1892, Abercrombie and Fitch is now operating as a retailer of luxury American clothing company. Currently, this lifestyle brand includes among its subsidiaries its flagship brand Abercrombie and Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., RUEHL No. 925, and Gilly Hicks. It currently operates in stores in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom and plans to open stores in Japan for its Asian expansion and in Venezuela for its South American expansion. The company manufactures casual apparel for men, women and kids and offers sportswear gear, shirts with graphic designs and bearing its visible brand name, fleece, jeans and woven pants, shorts sweaters, and outerwear. Its other subsidiaries also sell intimate apparel for women such as bras, underwear, and personal care products.

Outdoorsman David Abercrombie started the company by selling high-end fishing rods and safari gear and then a devoted customer Ezra Fitch joined him later. After the company’s profits declined, it closed in 1977 after filing for bankruptcy and then later on bought by Oshman’s Sporting Goods, now Sports Authority. The buyout also did not bring in any profits to the company. Later on, the company would be sold to Limited in 1988. Everything then changed under the new owner when he revolutionized the brand with trendy clothes that easily captured the young crowd. By 1996, Abercrombie and Fitch expanded rapidly and already had 105 stores and sales that reached $236 million.

Despite getting under fire for lawsuits involving racism and discrimination in its workplace as well as eliciting protests on sexually suggestive designs on some of its shirts, the company continues to rake in profits and even outperforming its competitors. After opening its stores in Canada and Europe, its Asian and Latin American expansion hopes to make it a global brand with its success focused on its catchy logos, status, and looks that capture the spirit of the young generation.

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