Filippa on Backyard Bill

An interview and lovely photoshoot with another fashionista with an amazing sense of style, Filippa, on one of my favorite fashion blogs called Backyard Bill. Backyard Bill photographs people in outfits pulled from their own closets. Enjoy!

Shopping Vintage Online

Shopping vintage is one of my favorite ways to shop on a budget and buy something unique. And if I can do it online – even better because I don’t have to go out, have it in my hands, and be that much more tempted to buy it.

The tricky thing about shopping vintage online is measurements. ABIDE BY INCH MEASUREMENTS. DO NOT GO BY YOUR USUAL MODERN DRESS SIZE. Why? Dress size inflation. For example, the size 14 that Marilyn Monroe wore is a modern size 6.

I’ve mostly bought vintage shoes, boots and outwear, but Sally Jane Vintage has me thinking that I will have to make a foray into buying clothing too. I usually buy vintage from Etsy because I find the sellers tend to be very responsible about their item descriptions (which also drives prices up so beware), but you could be brave and try eBay too.

Other favorite vintage shops on Etsy:

DearGoldenVintage

Allen Company, Inc.

Raleigh Vintage

Marie’s Vintage

Coming Up Roses Vintage

Timeless Vixen Vintage (pricier but so beautiful!)

Starlet Vintage (ON SALE NOW, from 20-30% off!)

inspiration - garance dore

In case you’ve never heard of this incredibly inspiration French fashionista, you are about to become Garance’s biggest fan. Interview magazine has just published a feature on her! Check it out here.

VS Wrap - Price Stalker Worthy?

A friend of mine alerted me to this lovely wrap from VS. It is $58, but with a coupon (and VS is usually generous with coupons) you could get it 20% off or so. Has anyone tried one on in the store? It comes in lots of colors and can be worn in “at least six ways” — I can’t wait to get to a store and try it on to see if it is price-stalker-worthy!

(Just a hint: if you like VS, google search “Pink Nation” and sign up. They will send you coupons for freebies via email…)

How do I make myself a fashion budget?

Money has been on my mind a lot today. As I pulled my W-2 out of my mailbox at work this morning, as I wrote my monthly check for rent, and as I perused my bills due at school for the class I am taking this semester, I laughed quietly to myself at the idea that people on average pay $28,000 for a wedding and usually more. I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again: money is crazy.

I realized that I didn’t even mention how I came up with a $200 per month budget for clothing. That budget is certainly not one-size-fits-all. Last summer, I called my mom to complain about how guilty I felt about a recent purchase and she (in all her motherly wisdom) suggested I set a budget for myself so I didn’t have to feel guilty anymore about my clothes and simply enjoy them. This is what she had me do:

1. Carefully, with a fine-toothed-comb, go over my bank statements for the past 12 months and add up what I spent total on clothes, shoes, accessories, underwear, and jewelry.

2. Divide this number by 12.

3. Start by budgeting that much money for myself per month. Later, if it felt like too much, I could adjust accordingly.

My problem had been that every time I tried to start a budget before, I fell right off of it because I tried to stick to something unrealistic (for myself!) like $50 a month. It just isn’t going to work.

Noting trends like (a) I spend twice as much as usual in November on Black Friday and (b) I spend much less than usual (almost nothing) on clothing in December, I budgeted my $200 and have stuck to it very well ever since. Not a shadow of guilt!

UGG

For those who are dying to wear UGG boots to work…voila! The UGG Gissella.

Of course, for the budget fashionistas, there are more budget-friendly ways to buy these boots on eBay.

And if you aren’t a big fan of UGG footwear but wish you could incorporate the label into your wardrobe, this adorable bag is another option.

Stripes and Dots

Normally sensible about these kinds of things, Ann Taylor LOFT is telling us that stripes and dots are “two playful patterns that look pretty on their own – and surprisingly stylish together” and that “opposites attract”. More notable, however, is that none of their models on the flyer I received in the mail are wearing stripes *and* dots – only one or the other. For me, stripes and dots are too reminiscient of scrapbooking (great if you are a scrapbooker!) or the nursery, ALTHOUGH I am perfectly willing to be proven wrong if someone can find a nice combo of the two.

Another combo gnawing at my brain these days is the Fall-Winter ‘09 trend of shorts and tights. I resisted with all my might because I thought it too trendy, but now all the shorts are on the sale racks and I happened to try on a pair of Alpine-ish wool ones with tights a few weeks back. I actually really liked them and loved how I could have shown off my legs all winter long and remained modest at the same time. Oh well – could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. Too late to ride the trend now.

A rule when it comes to trends: you need to buy trends new (hopefully with coupons!). By the time they are on sale, they are usually ridiculously silly-looking.

Headpieces

When I was browsing this morning, I came across this photo that completely knocked me flat. Look at the chains in her hair! Lovely. (Photo from Le blog de la mechante – pretty photos, but sometimes the language can be a tad vulgar so I normally keep it in French.)

I did a little browsing on Etsy, and here are a couple links to similar headpieces (obviously investments):

3 Strand Golden Pixie Chain

Daisy Fields Chain

And, if you are shy about headpieces and want to go for a headband:

Gold Double Chain Headband

MLK Day Shopping

On Monday, I convinced my mother and sisters to do my favorite leisure activity: shopping! First, we went to Anthropologie.

Pros of the store:

1. Awesome place for fashion inspiration and the chance to try new trends. Raid the sale racks and try on a variety of things to see what you like on yourself.

2. Their clothes are very expensive full-price but they are fairly generous when it comes to sales.

Cons of the store:

1. The clothes are not structured, so they do not work on all body types.

2. Everything is displayed beautifully, to best influence you to buy *everything*. You must resist this urge.

Anyway, after trying on four or five things from the sale rack and taking note of brand names/sizes for future eBay reference (more on eBay shopping another time), I came upon this lovely belt…

I have been in the market for a wide belt for a couple years. A caution for short (& possibly squat) people: if you are going to wear a wide belt, make sure you are wearing a long tunic or dress to lengthen your frame and counteract the belt.

I bought the 100% leather belt for $10.49 including tax. Score!

Later, my mum and I swung by Value Village, a huge secondhand store. The store is dirty and the merchandise requires a discerning eye – if the employees even remotely recognize a label (e.g. Ann Taylor) they have the habit of WAY overpricing secondhand clothes – but shopping there is quite an adventure and I have found many treasures.

Today I found two handpainted 1-inch pinback brooches: one from Russia and the other from Poland (?) that would look lovely on a purse or lapel. I bought them: 2 ($3.45 ea.) + 50% off on federal holidays + tax = $4.15. Score!

[I will try to post a pic of the pins later.]

Current budget: $200 – 10.49 for the belt – 4.15 for the pins = $185.36

Diary of a Budget Fashionista

I started this blog at the behest of many family members and friends who claim I have an eye for so-called “budget fashion”. In reality, I just have a tremendous love and admiration for clothing, shoes, accessories, fashion, style, panache, quirk, and pretty things.

I will not lie: shopping on a budget and staying fashionable at the same time eats up many an hour with cruising sales, picking through Goodwill racks, trying on outfits, and even paging through as many catalogs and fashion magazines (domestic and foreign) that one can obtain. “I really don’t have the time for that”, you say. That is where this blog comes in.

On this blog, I will try to verbalize shopping tips for other budget fashionistas (and I hope you will share yours with me as well), keep a running tally of my purchases so you can see my budget at work, recommend places to buy clothes on a budget, show you some of my fashion inspirations, and do a healthy bit of trendspotting.

To begin, I will share a handful of my rules and philosophies on fashion and shopping for clothes:

1. I am going out on a limb here. I am 5′2″ and 118 lbs on a good day, in other words, rather short and squat. Fashionwise, I can either (a) beat myself up because I will never EVER be a size 00, OR I can (b) keep myself physically fit and dress to suit my body type. I choose “b”.

2. My fashion goals are (not in any particular order) to: develop a fashionable yet timeless wardrobe, dress modestly so as to glorify God in my appearance, dress to suit my figure, and stick to my budget.

3. My budget is $200 per month. That includes everything having to do with appearance (clothes, shoes, accessories, jewelry, toiletries, cosmetics, and underwear) except for my haircuts.

4. I never buy clothing, shoes, accessories or underwear full price. NEVER.

5. I never buy jewelry unless it is handmade.

6. I rarely buy anything trendy unless it could also pass as vintage, e.g. a pair of granny boots are definitely trendy right now, but could also pass as 80s vintage.

Goodbye for now!!!!!