Bargain Styling

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:

Forever 21 $5.80

Go Jane $2.99

Claire’s $6.50

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!