In a past life I was an admissions representative for a community college. This meant that I traveled all over the state talking to prospective high school students about my school.

College gear was a staple of my working wardrobe. But at my college’s bookstore, some pretty average sweatshirts cost $50 or more. Not exactly in my budget.

So instead, I got smart. I shopped the overstock clearance at Lands End, Kohls, and Target for quality plain button-down shirts, polos, sweatshirts and sweaters in my school’s colors. I never paid more than $15 for any item.

Then I would take the shirt or sweatshirt to the local custom embroidery shop. Because they already had the college’s logo and a collection of the college’s mascot-related graphics from the athletic department on file, they only charged me $8 to put the design on my item.

If I had purchased the same item at the custom embroidery shop or at the college bookstore, I would have paid TWICE the price as I did for my high quality discount shirt.

A co-worker picked up a beautiful sweater at Goodwill and had the school logo put on it. She got a ton of compliments on the sweater, and no one new she’d only paid $4 for it!

So if you want to show your school spirit (or office spirit, etc), be sure to check your local custom embroidery shop to see if they already have the logos on file. If they do, ask them what they would charge you to put that logo on something you brought to them. Be creative: turtlenecks, socks, ties… there are lots of possibilities to set yourself apart from the crowd.

And don’t forget to check out local thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales for school or company clothing at bargain prices.  Keep an eye out for deals on clothing in your school colors, too.

You’ll get to show off your school spirit or advertise for your company without breaking the bank!

Looking for more thrifty tips?  Check out Thrifty Thursday!