@CeejayT01, you are a lot younger than me, I'm 54 with a full-time job and almost grown-up kids.
I guess I'm quite picky about what I buy. I won't get anything that needs dry cleaning. I don't iron apart from the rare special occasion, the last of which was my wedding nearly 2 years ago. I don't mind hand washing a very nice wool jumper, but most of my hand wash items go on the hand wash cycle of the washing machine. And I only really wear wool along with a little cashmere, silk, linen, and cotton. I have some foot issues, and there are only a few brands of shoes I would ever buy. I am also quite petite, so a lot of clothing styles drown me. And I tend to want to buy things that are comfortable and I think will last well.
That narrows down my choices quite a lot, so there are only a few shops I really look at the sales in to start with.
I don't have any cotton basics other than knickers as I don't like wearing them, I find Merino more comfortable. Most of my basics like t-shirts, tanks, long sleeved tops, bras, socks, leggings, hoodies, sweatshirts, joggers, basic summer tank dresses and skirts are merino and I have built up a fairly big collection from end of season sales over the years. They are mainly from Icebreaker, Smartwool, and Dilling. They machine wash really well and last for years, but they are expensive, so I always wait for sales.
The problem is I've found it hard to resist more than I need in the sales so have several really useful boxes under the bed of unworn versions of the above ready to replace the others when they're past their best. I've had to stop myself buying more and look under the bed instead! I've been better at that lately.
But over the past couple of years, I decided I don't always want the very sporty look those clothes give me if my whole outfit is merino, especially as I'm getting older and now have a job where I sometimes go to the office.
So I wanted to find some other things to pair with my merino basics. I seem to go through a phase a couple of times a year of scouring the end of season sales for items that might work and have found success in the sales in a few places that I would go back to. But these might be more suitable for a 50+ woman than a 30+ woman! It has been hard to find styles that are comfortable, suit my body shape but are also age appropriate to at least some extent.
I've got some really nice wool jumpers from Celtic and Co.
I've found Poetry good for trousers, but that's mainly because their shorter lengths seem to fit me well at 5'3. Often, I find petite trousers a bit short but full length too long. They also have nice cotton/linen fabrics and colours. But I was less keen on their tops when I tried them.
I've found a few nice items from Brora, trousers, a couple of dresses and a lovely linen utility jacket.
I'm not that keen on Boden overall, but I have a couple of washable silk shirts, cashmere boxy cardigans, a long merino skirt, and a linen dress from there that I like. And at least they do petite sizes, which I find good for dresses, otherwise a midi is like a maxi on me.
I have a nice cashmere jumper and wool tank from Me&Em that I like, but other stuff I've tried from there didn't really fit me well or suit me.
But those are probably the places I would look at again if I wanted to shop. Although I probably shouldn't!
Now I've stopped shopping for the end of summer sales and have some nice clothes ready for next spring/summer. And I can think about wearing my nice wool or cashmere jumpers soon that I bought in the end of winter sales over the past couple of years.