Instead of being hard on yourself (see tip 4), head to an outlet mall and buy some forgiving clothes for this stage of life.

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In costume design, futurism and the futuristic mingle freely, mainly because no one ever has to buy these clothes, though some may wish to.

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Along with this, buy some inexpensive post-baby work clothes.

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Although both buy some of the same cosmetics brands, Saks and Proffitt's stores share practically no clothes labels.

ECONOMIST: Retailing takeovers

Every day, at 17 border points, some 20, 000 Ukrainians cross into Hungary, Slovakia or Romania, where they buy food and clothes to sell back home, often in return for smuggled petrol and cigarettes, which are much cheaper in Ukraine.

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