Mini-skirts For The Season

My homemade skirt made from recycled fabric

Mini-skirts anyone? Yesiree! I am in love with this season’s form-fitting minis. Pairing them with leggings makes it less uncomfortable. Plus, they are completely easy to make. Just find a stretch fabric of your choice and in no time you can make yourself the cutest mini ever. I made the skirt in the picture out of some old fabric I found lying around the house. LOOOOOOVVVVE it!!!!

Red Lips: A Must-Have

                Adding a dash of color to your lips can spice up a look instantly. Bright red lipstick is a must-have for every woman. When wearing bold lip color, keep the eyes understated so they don’t compete with your lips. Color lip stain is a great alternative to lipstick because it garentees long lasting color without the feeling that your wearing anything at all.

Cheap and Chic Wedding Ideas

9 Affordable Wedding Items

1. Aldo Heels- These trendy heels are sexy and simple. Plus they are only $90.00.

 2. J. crew Wedding Dress- This silk tricotine wedding dress from J.crew takes simple and makes it delectably elegant. For only $450.00, you can spend more money on your jewelry.

 3. Flowers- These flowers are fall foliage. Seasonable flowers are cheaper, and can make your wedding festive.  

 4. Stamp- Stamps can be a great way to decorate. Use stamps on place settings, name cards and even invitations. $9.99

 5. Forever 21 teal dress- Your bridesmaid’s dresses don’t need to be expensive. This Forever 21 dress nicely matches the wedding dress by pulling in the waist tie. For only $24.80, your bridesmaids will love you.

6. Custom L.L. Bean Tote- This tote would make a great gift for your bridesmaids. Customize them with their names and fill them with cheap treats, like homemade cookies or lotions and soaps.

 7. Side ponytail- The side ponytail is an easy way to dress up your hair. You don’t even need to go to the salon to accomplish this up-do.

 8. E.L.F Smokey eye Kit- This how-to smokey eye kit is a great way to do your makeup on the big day. $15.00

 9. Center Piece- Do-it-yourself centerpieces CAN be beautiful. Just some cheap glassware, stones, fake flowers, votive and water make up this centerpiece.

Military Boots, And Motorcycle Chic

Forever 21- Boots- $32.80 Leggings- $6.90 Jacket- $44.80 Scarf- $6.50 American Eagle- Plaid Shirt-: $29.95

Winter is just around the corner. And military-inspired pieces are emerging everywhere. I especially like the military boots. This outfit above is something that I would literally where everyday if I could. It’s comfortable and chic at the same time. It’s something I like to call motor-chic, because I feel like I could jump on a motorcycle in this outfit and actually fit the part while still looking amazing!!!!! It’s love for me.

I’m Back!

          So, after a slightly longer than I had anticipated hiatus from my blog, I’m back. I told myself I was going to blog throughout the summer, but lets be honest, school ended in May and I was sworn off from all homework-like activities, the blog being one. But I’ve found myself back in the groove of life, homework and all, and the blog is back on my agenda. So keep looking and hopefully keep it updated!

Fabulous Flea Market Find

             In my past post, “Unique Flea Market Finds”, I talk about the great items you can find in flea markets. This weekend I went to the flea market in my area and found this great Garay Clutch, from the 1950s, shown below. The outside floral patterned panel comes off to create another gold clutch. I bought it for only $4. What a steal! It just goes to show, you never know what is out there until you just take the time to look.

1950s 2 in 1 Garay Clutch

Cut Off Shorts

So Daisy Duke could get away with it, why can’t you? Cut off shorts are in again this season, but you don’t have to go out and buy them. Make them! All you need is some old jeans and a pair of scissors. Cut them to whatever length you want. If you don’t like the shorty shorts, mid thigh is in this summer too. So take your scissors in hand and cut away.

Dresses, Dresses, Dresses

        Why buy separates when you can buy dresses?  Dresses are so in this season, every style, from ruffles, maxis, babydolls, strapless, to t-shirt dresses. They are cute, and flirty, and an inexpensive way to spice up your wardrobe

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dresses can be found at -

Charlotte Russe

Hippie Summer Outfit

Outfit from Forever 21 Dress- $11.50 Vest- $15.80 Shoes- $22.80 Purse- $29.80 Necklace- $7.80

I Make Old Clothes New!!! You Can Too

Everybody is talking about Eco-friendly tips nowadays, one being switching from paper or plastic to reusable shopping bags. But why buy a reusable bag, doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose. It makes much more sense to make one out of things you already have, that is truly being Eco-friendly, plus you get to choose the look you want and it is cheap. The picture at the right is a bag i made out of a tank top. you can get my step by step instructions at http://tinyurl.com/cvurgh .  It is so easy!

Shopping Off-Season Sparks Savings

Fashion on a budget can be hard. Being a poor college student myself, and living on my own, I know the ins and outs of shopping cheap. If I had an option between saving money or buying a pair of totally cute black patent leather pumps, I’d choose the pumps 99.9 percent of the time. But the question is how can you buy clothes for cheap while staying chic?

   One way that I save money while shopping is to buy clothes and accessories at the end of a season or off-season. Most clothing stores start selling a new season’s line at least three to four months before that season actually begins. This means, for example, that at about the middle of January to the beginning of February, stores start selling clothes for spring. That means that the winter clothing line needs to be sold to make room for the spring line. There are always big sales with huge markdowns for all types of styles and brands.

   So my black patent leather pumps could be 70 percent cheaper than they were in the winter, and maybe now I won’t need to decide between saving or buying.

Get Cash for Used Clothes and Buy More!

Outfit from Plato's Closet under $35! Shirt:forever21-$8 Tank:urban behavior-$3 Pants:dkny-$15 Shoes:target-$8

You know that girl who always seems to be wearing the latest fashions from the hottest stores?  Either she has a lot of extra cash, or she is shopping at the used clothing store, Plato’s Closet. Everyone wants to wear name brand clothes, but not everyone can afford them, that is what makes Plato’s so practical. Plato’s is a store that buys and sells gently used name brand clothing for teens to young adults. So not only can you buy clothes, but you can sell them clothes you no longer want and get cash on the spot for them. They only sell clothes from the past year to year and a half and sell them for 70 percent less than they retail for, so you can stay in style without emptying your wallet.

 

 

 

 

 

With 200 stores throughout the United States there is sure to be one near you. You can check out their locations at http://www.platoscloset.com

 

Online Coupon Codes

             With much of today’s shopping moving online, added fees and fewer sales seems to be the norm. Not only do you have to pay for shipping, but many of the sales you can get in the stores are not available on the web. However, there is a way to get around some of these added fees. Just like coupons you get in the mail, there are also coupon codes for clothing stores online. There are many sites that offer these coupons, one being www.retailmenot.com, which offers coupons for over 20,000 stores. All you have to do is type in the store, and then coupon descriptions and coupon codes will pop up. Not all codes are legitimate, but with the customer review and success rating, you can tell which ones will work and which ones probably won’t. You can search for coupons on Google too. Searching for online coupons can get you free shipping, money off your purchase, free gifts and much more. So next time you shop online, don’t forget to search for coupons. It could save you some bucks.  

Making Old Clothes New

            Why is it that saving money is so hard? Probably because there is always so many new things to want! But now-a-days we all have so much more than we need, especially when it comes to clothes and accessories, and we probably don’t even wear half the things in our closets. So why not make those old clothes into something new? That is what seems to be the practical thing with the economy today…AND it’s fun. There are many websites with do-it-yourself clothing ideas. One website like this is www.instructables.com . It is a website that offers instructions on a variety of different things, anywhere from making a tie-dye shirt, all the way to building a guitar stand. This website and others like it offer great ideas on how to spice up an old wardrobe. So don’t throw away those perfectly good clothes, make them into something new and save your money.  

I Make Old Clothes New

 

Outfit out of old clothes cardigan- men's v-neck sweater; skirt- long hippie skirt

In my post on March 11^th, “Making Old Clothes New”, I discussed the option of taking your old worn-out clothes and turning them into something different. I decided to do this myself to show you how easy and gratifying it is. In the picture to the right, I altered both the skirt and the sweater. The skirt used to be an old flowing hippie skirt that I altered to be a high wasted mini skirt. The sweater used to be a men’s v-neck sweater that I cut down the middle and added button holes and buttons to, to create a cardigan. It only took me an hour or so to create this new outfit, which I matched with a black belt and t-shirt and some black patent shoes. Be creative, save some money and transform your clothes!

Accessories Galore

 

A pair of bold and sweet Forever21 earings. Can be found at www.Forever21.com

Do you know a cheap and easy way to update your wardrobe? It’s ACCESSORIES!!!! Purses, hats, necklaces, earrings, shoes, scarves; there are so many to choose from. One of the most enjoyable things for me is shopping for accessories, because they don’t hurt the bank and they can make an outfit look oh-so-chic. This season seems to lean toward bold and sweet accessories; items that both make a statement and look girlie at the same time. So this spring when your itching for a new look, load up on some awesome, unique accessories and look great.

The earrings can be found at www.forever21.com .

Cali Summer Styles

Shirt- 2 for $12.50 Shorts- $34.50 Sunglasses-$5.80 Hat- $8.80 Shoes- $7.50 Necklace- $5.80

Summer is around the corner, and cool simple Cali styles are in. Here is a few pieces I picked out that are affordable and stylish.

Shirt and Shorts-  www.ae.com

Accessories- www.forever21.com

Embracing Creativity with a Weathered Wardrobe

       This weekend I had to go to a friend’s wedding shower, but I had no idea what to wear. All my cute dresses were skimpy summer outfits, and it was way to cold to wear them. Then I found this shear, floral Xhileration dress in the back of my closet, probably hanging their since last summer. It’s cute and its floral pattern seems to be all the rage this spring, but I felt like I would still be cold. So, I paired it with some black stockings and wore my black leather jacket outside and it solved my problem. The leather jacket and stockings kept the outfit both edgy and warm. In this transition from April showers to May flowers, be creative with the clothing you already have in your closet. Don’t disregard something just because of the weather, but embrace it by creating new outfits and looking great!

Unique Fashion Finds at Flea Markets

            Last summer my sister Emily had to go to a wedding but didn’t have anything that she particularly wanted to wear. A week or two before the wedding, my parents were making their weekly trip to the flea market and my sister went along. For those who aren’t familiar with flea markets, they are basically out-door venues, where vendors and locals sell secondhand, and sometimes new products. That day at the market, my sister found a beautiful yellow, vintage dress. It fit her like a glove. She bought it and wore it to the wedding.

            You would be surprised at the things you can find at flea markets. They can sell jewelry, hats, purses, clothing, you name it, they might have it, along with furniture, tools, books, trinkets and the list goes on. It may take a bit more time than just going to the mall, but you can be certain that you will find one-of-a kind items that no one else will have. Here is the best thing, my sister only paid the vendor $7 for the dress. The woman originally wanted $8, but my sister said she would pay $6, so the vendor compromised and said $7. You can barter your price, there is nothing better than that. There is such satisfaction in finding a great item, and then demanding to buy it for the amount you want.

             Go out and explore your options. Don’t settle for everyday ordinary clothes that everyone else has. Branch out your shopping to new places like the flea market and stand out!

            To search for a flea market near you, visit www.collectors.org and click “Schedules and Directories” to search by state.

Yellow Dress From Flea Market

          Here is the dress my sister found at the flea market. It’s probably from the 1950s, although i’m not certain. She only paid $7 for it. Great find!

I Make Old Clothes New….Again

         You know what is cheap, cheap, cheap? Being creative. I transformed a men’s old sweater, and made it into the women’s cardigan vest shown in the picture below. You can get my step by step instruction on how to make your own vest by going to http://tinyurl.com/c4q3tr .