Zara

Upon discovering Zara in Paris back in the early 00’s, I have forever been in love with this trend forward discount brand.  If I have a client or a wardrobe budget who needs to be frugal, Zara is always my first stop.   Zara produces the trends practically side by side to the brands they are “borrowing” from, and I find their quality and fit to be much better than their fellow fast fashion counter parts.  Pretty much every trend from the runways to the influencers can be found on the Zara website for 10% of what you would pay for the fashion designer version.  If you love fashion and want to be on trend, but you are on a budget, Zara is a fantastic option.  It will even hold a little* value for resell on Poshmark, if you are lucky!  

What to buy?  Pretty much everything is fair game here.  I wouldn’t necessarily go for basics but more fun fashion type items that might last you a few years.  Their shoes are wearable and other accessories are good. And the bags are typically great dupes of the runways hits.  These are not necessarily investment pieces, these are temporary pieces to be later replaced by an investment piece.  I do like their collaborations though! 

Where to buy it?  Zara brick and mortar is worth a pop-in if you have one near you, but the buys of merchandise from store to store can be disappointing.  If you are in NYC, check out their flagship at 666 Fifth Ave.  For LA, Zara in the Beverly Center is the biggest store with all of the collections.  For me and my remote locations, I stick to their online store, zara.com .  It’s clunky to shop but it’s worth it for the fashion forward finds.