Bangles are my current obsession. They make an outfit look stylish without having to spend a ton of money. My personal collection spans several colors and types. Each has their own unique vibe and style, whether, they are plastic, wood or metal.
Here are some inexpensive bangles:
For months, I coveted the Derma Style by Lumiport Portable Acne Light Pen. I would read the www.drugstore.com reviews and contemplate whether I wanted to shell out $150 bucks for the pen. Finally, after starting a new job, I was able to purchase the pen. It was the best $150 I have ever spent. My sister is also hooked and is always asking, “Where’s the pen?” It will zap any zits that may pop up in a couple of days. You can also use it to prevent new acne from forming. I also got a huge bug bite on my face and I used the inflammation setting on it and it was gone in two days. The price tag is a little high but if you consider that you won’t have to make dermatologists visits and buy expensive creams this is a bargain.
As I have mentioned before, I try to steer clear of the popular bargain fashion stores. When I read other bargain fashion blogs they all seem to center on the same 4 or 5 stores: Target, Old Navy, Forever 21, Gap and Wal-mart. I have nothing against these stores and have shopped at all of them. The only problem is that you tend to run into people wearing the same dress you own.
My vow with the Bargain Styling blog is to never feature an outfit from one of these stores. I will feature accessories from those stores because they are not as recognizable. My featured store today is Lulu’s Fashion Lounge. They have very cute outfits for reasonable prices.
Esprit use to be my favorite clothing company. My 6th and 7th grade first day of school photos feature me decked out in head to toe Esprit. Of course, I only was allowed Esprit clothes if they were on the 75% off rack at Dillard’s. One summer, right before school, we went to visit family in Dallas and we got to go to the giant Esprit outlet. I still drool over the thought of that outlet.
The clothes were bold, fun and trendy. Most of the time they had Esprit blazoned all over them but at 12 that was the point of my clothing choices. A couple of years ago, much to my delight, they opened a store in Manhattan. I anxiously awaited the funky, bright colors that permeated my middle school life and when it finally opened I made a point to go their as soon as possible. Imagine my disappointment when I went to the store and saw a sea of black pants and monochromatic shirts. What happened? My beloved clothing line was boring.
Today I find Esprit totally mundane. Occasionally, when I find my way into the store or on their website, I find a cute piece but it tends to be accessories. This week they are having a 20% off sale if you use coupon code Labor 07. Below is a cute bag and belt that I found in the sale section. At an additional 20% off they are a definitely a bargain.
Congratulations to Bargain Styling readers Alisha Soule and Stacy. They each won an outfit of their choice from OutFitKit!
Everyone had such great comments and I got some great ideas. To show my appreciation each person who entered the contest will receive an OutFitKit chap stick. Shortly, I will be sending an e-mail with detailed information on how to receive your chap stick.
I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. Check out OutFitKit next week for new fall outfits!
Today is the last day to enter the outfitkit contest! For more information, on how to win a complete outfit from OutFitKit click on this link: OutFitKit Contest.
Summer is almost over. I waited so long for summer to get here and the next thing I know it is Labor Day. Fall is actually my favorite time of year but around January I long for summer. So for those of you out there who might be getting to do something fun for Labor Day weekend I have a great Labor Day outfit.
This outfit is all from New York and Company. They are having a huge Labor Day sale and many of their items are buy one get one 50% off and they have a huge summer clearance section. On top of all that they have a $25 off of $75 coupon that it is good until September 3rd.
For this particular outfit, I tried to pick items that were summery but you could extend them into fall by wearing a blazer or jacket. Also, because of the buy one get one 50% off I was able to add a cute t-shirt for $7.48.
The 42nd Street Trouser $44.95
The Fairview Collection: Bamboo Halter $9.99
City Style Shoes: Brown Suede $19.50
Bowery Slouch Hobo: $24.50
Mercer Tee:$7.48
SubTotal:$106.42
Less: $25
Total: $81.42
In this month’s Elle magazine one of their Elle fashion trends was pebbled skin. Of course, almost all of the examples they give were of real crocodile and had price tags in the triple digits. Not really being a fan of either real animal skin nor being able to afford it, I went on a faux hunting trip to find one of this season’s hottest trends.
First stop, the usual suspects. Forever 21 didn’t really have anything on their site. The fifteen dollar store only had snake. Delia’s mainly deals in patent leather. I did manage to find a few cute bags at target.com. Below is one of my favorites.
The last stop was gojane.com where I did find several croc items. One being a pair of hot red croc heels.
Go Jane Red Croc Heels $20.90
Go Jane Metallic Print Animal Bag $15.99
I was a little disappointed that I didn’t find any faux croc bangles similar to what I picked up at the NYC wholesale district. I will be putting those with outfits for OutFitKit very soon.
I have no reservations about my love for vintage. It is the easiest, cheapest way to get a unique outfit. You know that you won’t see anyone else wearing your ensemble when you go vintage. In the past, I would mainly shop at Thrift stores to score my vintage finds, lately, I have been turning to the internet. Ebay is an obvious choice to look for vintage items but it can also be expensive. If 12 people are bidding on the same dress you can be assured that it will end up in the triple digits. The thrill of the hunt is also lost on Ebay because you can easily find good vintage on the auction site. For these reasons, I don’t hunt for vintage on Ebay.
One of my favorite past times is browsing the internet looking for new online vintage stores. 1000’s of stores exist and in all different price ranges. Two of my favorite stores are the Rusty Zipper and the Purse Diva. Both of these stores have a very large selection of reasonably priced vintage items. You may have to dig around a little to find something fantastic.
Here are a couple of dresses that I found on both sites:
Rusty Zipper $32.00
The deadline for the contest with OutFitKit is fast approaching. If you have not entered you only have a few more days. For more information, on how to win a complete outfit from OutFitKit click on this link: OutFitKit Contest.
Sunglasses are the essential summer accessory. At one point, I had no less than 6 pairs floating around the apartment. I managed to only hold on to the one pair my eye doctor sister can’t stand. They are giant white plastic frames. I do admit that they are a little Willy Wonkaish. That would probably explain why every little kid loves them and when I wear them most of the compliments come from the under 8 crowd.
The best thing about sunglasses, besides being a great accessory, is that they promote good eye health. Research suggests that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light may contribute to a variety of eye diseases. To protect your eyes most doctors recommend wearing sunglasses all year round as (UV) light is present even when the sun is not shining. To ensure maximum protection look for 100% UV block when purchasing sunglasses. Also, sunglasses are great for protecting the delicate area under and around your eyes against aging UV light.
What can be a better excuse to buy sunglasses all year round then protecting your eyes? In that case you should hit up the Forever 21 website as they have a sale going on right now on sunglasses. All sunglasses are 4 for $9. The only problem is that they do not list the UV rating. The couple of pairs that I have from F21 were 100% so I imagine at the very least they are UV 400.
Here are a couple of my favorites:
That is what I call a real bargain - a rockin’ accessory, great eye health, and an anti-aging weapon all for $4.50.
This post isn’t exactly about style, however, confidence is a major part of fashion. You need confidence to pull off an interesting outfit or make an outfit turn from ho-hum to fantastic. For me, it is really hard to be confident when my skin resembles a pepperoni pizza. I have struggled with skin problems since I was about 12. And have spent thousands of dollars on doctor visits, prescriptions, over the counter medicine, and all the other crazy stuff I was willing to try. Nothing ever worked or only worked for a short while.
For those of you heading off to college and looking for a new laptop bag, I have the solution for you - Voltaic Systems. They have designed a solar backpack that will charge your cell phone, ipod, laptop and many other electronic accessories. So if you are in the middle of lecture and your battery dies you can plug right into your backpack.
The best part about the bags are that they are made of recycled PET a very durable fabric. The fabric only comes in black but to add a little style you can customize the solar panels covers with either silver, orange, green or charcoal. They may cost a little more than a traditional backpack but when you consider the environmental impact- they are a bargain!
Here are a few pictures of the backpack/laptop bag line:
By September 1st, two awesome Bargain Styling readers will each win a $34.99 outfit of your choice from OutFitKit.
Why You want This Prize: Each outfit comes complete with accessories including a bag and jewelry. You can choose any outfit on the site listed for $34.99. How many times do you get to choose your own prize! All outfits come straight from New York City.
The Red Dress Shoppe is a retro inspired clothing store that sells beautiful, unique dresses at semi-affordable prices. Their dresses range from $119 -$56 but they have a summer clearance sale going on right now and I found some great dresses for $38.
This is a blog for fashionably stylish women who love to look good without dipping into their kids' college funds. I will show you bargains, sales and deals and help you put together a stylish ensemble without breaking the bank.
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