1. ThinkGeek
One of my favorite sites to shop, ThinkGeek.com has it all: wide selection across numerous fandoms, regular sales and deals, and decent customer service. If you shop there often, it's worth starting an account, so you can accumulate rewards ("GeekPoints", which can often be redeemed for double value) and start wishlists to keep track of all the stuff you haven't bought yet. Being something of a cheapskate, I only shop their sales, but I've picked up some awesome stuff for great prices over the past few years.
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| Some ThinkGeek favorites: Boba Fett hoodie, Jayne hat, and sonic screwdriver (actually a pen with invisible ink and blacklight!) |
My favorite recent purchase, though, was definitely upgrading from my old diaper bag (which was falling apart, but my youngest should be out of diapers soon, so I was reluctant to spend money on a new diaper bag) to this awesome Kaylee-inspired bag:
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| My new "diaper" bag--Firefly's Kaylee-themed messenger bag. Shiny! |
It's only slightly smaller than my old bag, but with the same number of pockets, so it's perfect for a diaper bag (I'm kicking myself for not comparing measurements and realizing this sooner!), but it's a bag I'll still want to use for myself once I can finally ditch the diapers, too!
2. Deal-of-the-Day Tee Sites
I seldom wear anything that isn't a geeky tee with jeans, but with how many geeky tees I buy (I try not to get carried away, but I keep finding awesome designs!), I definitely save money by sticking with deal-of-the-day sites, which usually offer one or two designs that are available for a discounted price that day only, since it's cheaper for them to print in bulk (you can often shop their previous designs for a higher price). Most shirts come in at under $16 including shipping.
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| The collection has grown since I first featured it here, but I was too lazy to take another picture.... |
At this point, I don't go out of my way to shop for new tees (I think I have enough...), so I've stopped checking my favorite sites daily, but I still get emails from a few of them and make occasional purchases. My favorites are TeeFury.com (daily designs) and OnceUponATee.net (weekly design collections), but I've also ordered from RiptApparel.com, PopUpTee.com, Qwertee.com, and Shirt.Woot.com.
3. Walmart
With geekiness in general becoming so mainstream over the past few years, I've also had a lot of luck finding some awesome stuff at major retailers like Target, Kohl's, and Old Navy, but my best luck has actually been at Walmart.
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| All Walmart finds: Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Star Wars, Power Rangers, & Hunger Games. |
I mean, it's Walmart quality, so you have to spot-check for crooked printing and holes at too-narrow seams, but for $7.50, I don't mind screening what I buy first.
4. Etsy
For geeky jewelry, I often turn to Etsy. You can find just about anything there! Here are a few of my favorites:
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| Some favorite Etsy finds. |
The only issue...it's usually not going to be licensed. As an Etsy shop owner who makes geek-themed items without a license myself, I've done a fair bit of research into copyright law, and most jewelry falls into the illegal "reproduction" category (my own items, which aren't jewelry, are legal "redistribution" under first sale doctrine). Unfortunately, it can be so hard to find affordable pretty jewelry in fandoms that aren't "in" at a given time, that I've bought jewelry that probably wasn't licensed just because I hadn't found anything else I liked as much from any known retailer. :-/
5. DIY
Okay, so this isn't a place to shop...but I'm a big fan of making my own stuff! I've dabbled in jewelry-making, so I have quite a stash of stuff I've made myself rather than buying unlicensed (personal use without monetary gain is an exception from copyright law). And while I do a lot of sewing, I haven't made my own geeky clothes yet (though I did make a black dress to wear with my store-bought Star Wars leggings--and then, of course, there's cosplay...I'd like to start making some everyday cosplay pieces myself), but I have a friend who doesn't wear tees but buys geeky ones anyway and alters them into dresses or cuts out the design to add to something else. When you can't find exactly what you want, there are often ways to make what you want instead, if you have the skill for it!
So where do you like to shop for geeky gear?
Oh, I wish I had seen that bag, before I bought my new Batman bag last week. I also love that you have all your tee's on hangers.
ReplyDeleteAnd you should really look forward to the time when you can leave the house without the diaper bag! It is such a freeing feeling. Yes, there will come a time where everyone puts on their shoes and jackets (themselves!) and you just walk out the door without looking back.
Batman bags are awesome, too! :-) But I am totally in love with my Kaylee bag. :-) Yup, I do keep all my tees on hangers....I'm not grown-up enough to own much in the way of fancy clothes, so I have the room in my closet and it lets me be too lazy to fold them! :-P
DeleteMy daughter is almost five, and when it's just me and her and I CAN leave the diaper bag behind, it does feel wonderful! Just waiting for my son to catch up, in his own time! :-)