Clothing shopping for women of substance (mostly local)

[catherineldf]

We just returned from an epic journey to find wedding garb for my beloved. What I really wanted was to rent her a tuxedo since I'm a total sucker for a butch in a tux, but this was not to be. Sigh. Maybe next wedding.
At any rate, we did find a nice gray jacket and tasteful but not overly decorative black shirt that goes well with it for her, plus a few teaching outfits. Plus a few things for me, because my inner femme cannot resist a decent clothing sale. Since we hit 4 or 5 places today plus checking out online stuff, I thought I'd share the fruits of our labors. Not intended as advertising or endorsement, for the most part, except when it is.

Dress Barn - clothing up to 3X - currently having a two for one sweater sale, plus other misc. items. Found a very nice jacket and work blouse for me there a few weeks back.
Herberger's - Today's big surprise. Never been into one of these before, but it's across from Dress Barn in Southtown. Clothing up to 3X, 35%-60% off sale going on. Some nice stuff - this would be where we found the dressier jacket and shirt set for the wedding.
Catherine's - clothing up to 6X, I believe. Looked like about 25%-30% off on many items. Lots of jackets and suits, skirts, etc. Good casual stuff too. Oh yeah, and 2 for ones on bras right now, which is a terribly useful thing.
Junonia - online only but based here in Eagan. Sports clothing as well as nice casual stuff - lasts forever. Clothing up to 6X - lots of good sales in Juno's Closet.
LaRue's - awesome, beautiful and pricey clothes up to 4X or so, I believe. The place to go for dressy clothing. Sometimes I like to go in just to pet things. :-)
Coat of Many Colors - Fairtrade, green, natural fiber clothes up to 3X. Really nice stuff - excellent comfortable work and dress clothes. Good people, too. Heartily recommended.
Love Your Peaches - Clothes up to 6X, online only. Haven't ordered from them/her yet, but I hear great things. Nice stuff and there's a sale page.
B&Lu - I love these folks! Funky clothes up to 5X (online only). Currently having a sale.
Persephone Plus - Customized clothing for the voluptuous Goth. Goes up to 3X and beyond. Also, there is fabulous jewelry in the Etsy shop.
Deva Lifewear - (old hippies, not a cult). Clothing up to 3X. Fairtrade, green, mostly made in either North Dakota or Appalachia. Really terrific natural fibers clothes. Also heartily recommended.
Marketplace Handwork of India - Anywhere from 1X to 3X, depending on style. Clothing and household decor by Indian women's collectives - fairtrade, green, etc. Lovely, lovely things And having an online sale at the moment.

Edited to add, by way of jenett:
C.J. Banks (online, but there's one at Rosedale, locally, and I think elsewhere in the Cities) http://www.cjbanks.com/ (cotton t-shirts in styles and colors I actually like!)

Comments

[jenett]

Couple more for your list, in case they're helpful:

C.J. Banks (online, but there's one at Rosedale, locally, and I think elsewhere in the Cities) http://www.cjbanks.com/ (cotton t-shirts in styles and colors I actually like!)

for 2nd hand, locally, I adore Better Than Ever, which is in Minneapolis on Grand and 38th St. They're only open Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun, but their plus size section is surprisingly good for their size.

I adore Deva, and Junonia (and for people scared off by Junonia's prices, I get a lot of my stuff from them from their sales.)

[catherineldf.livejournal.com]

I added C.J. Banks, which was totally new to me. Thanks! :-)
It took me a few moments to realize which 2nd hand shop you meant - I've been in there a few times and never found anything over a size 14 or so. It must vary widely over time (plus I must admit that I gave up on it). I'll give it another look when I'm down that way next.
I'd also recommend Practical Goods at 1561 Randolph. It has an awesome range of both household and clothing items, but highly variable on what's available from one visit to the next.

[cbpotts.livejournal.com]

Thank you! For verily, I needs me some clothes!

[catherineldf.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Glad to be of service. :-)
If I get any good tips about places closer to home (yours) I'll be happy to add them too.