$1 Necklace

Lately, I've been appreciating the Walmart jewelry clearance section. In a recent post, I wrote about a bracelet from Walmart, and then on my last trip I found this necklace (shown below) for $1.  Happiness! Top: LOFT, $4 from a consignment store Pants: Gap, $4 from Goodwill Cardigan: $11 from Belk Boots: $20 from Belk Necklace: $1 from Walmart Total: $40...

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A Professional Outfit

I'm experiencing some camera envy looking at the difference between my home photos and my professional headshot above. Anyway, I wanted to share how I score professional pieces cheap. The process of finding in-tact, professional clothing at thrift stores can be a chore. Be prepared to spend a long time looking at and trying on clothes. But! You WILL save a lot of money. Purchasing button-up shirts from Goodwill or GCF is actually a very easy way to save when upgrading your professional wardrobe. Collared shirts are easy to...

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Sparkle Blazer

I bought this jacket because I thought it would be nice to wear around the holidays (Christmas and New Years). I love the gold colored threads in the fabric and the gold buttons. At $22, it was more than I like to spend on one item of clothing. For high quality items such as blazers, however, I remind myself that I'll be hard pressed to find these pieces at a lower price. What are some items that you are willing to spend more on? Have you met my garage sale mannequin? Top: LOFT, $3 at Goodwill Skirt: BCBG/Max...

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Floral Cardi

I am so happy to have found this floral cardigan at Goodwill. It is 55% silk and it matches my second new oversized grad school handbag. (See my first bag here.) Cardigan: Madison brand, $4 from Goodwil Shirt: free, secondhand from a friend Necklace: $12 from a gift shop Bracelet: $3 in the Walmart clearance section Jeans: $8 from A.E.O Shoes: $20 from A.E.O. Bag: $10 from Plato's Closet Total (with purse): $57 ...

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Lacy Ruffles

Cami: free, secondhand from a friend Necklace: ~$4 from Uptown Cheapskate Cardigan: $11 from Belk Crops: ~$18 from A.E.O. Shoes: ALDO, $5 - $10 from Plato's Closet Bracelet 1: $3 from A.E.O Bracelet 2: $3 from Hallmark Hairclip: family gift Total: estimated $40 - $49 See how else I paired the cami here. American Eagle bracelet Hallmark bracelet Add caption...

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Pastel Purple Sandals

I once had a dream that I owned a closet full of shoes of every color. For some reason, this dream has since heavily impacted my view of shoe choices. At the time of the dream I owned red, black, white, tan, and brown shoes. I have since sought to purchase shoes of many colors, including these $5 beauties. What aspects do you consider when purchasing a shoe? Scarf: $8 from American Eagle Outfitters Crops: about $18 from A.E.O Top: LOFT, $3 from Goodwill (probably 90% off retail) Sandals: C. Wonder, $5 from a local consignment...

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Oversized Grad School Handbag

Of course if I'm getting a new bag for grad school, it's going to have enough space to hold a mid-sized filing cabinet. I purchased this Jaclyn Smith (a Kmart brand, I later discover) from a nearby consignment store for about 50-60% off retail price. This wasn't my most successful purchase, as the bag has been proven to be of low quality. Knowing brands before you purchase second hand is always helpful to give you hints about the kind of bargain you're getting. Oh well, I'm still learning. Top: H&M, $3 from Goodwill Crops:...

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Coffee Table and Makeover for $12

Table: $3 at the State Surplus Agency Sandpaper: $1 at Dollar Tree Spray Paint: $8 at Lowe's Hardware A few years ago, we lucked out on finding this hideous, yet ridiculously cheap coffee table. It had a broken leg that I have since glued firmly to the table. Because this table was only $3 and still has hints of having a broken leg, I decided it would be a great project for me to practice my sanding and painting skills. I made a few mistakes, one of which was using too heavy a grain of sandpaper and overly-scratching the table....

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Pinterest Inspired

One of my favorite blogs is J's Everyday Fashion. She usually gets her inspiration from celebrity outfits and sometimes Pinterest. I've never seriously applied this technique to dressing myself, however, until recently. One morning, I was wearing a worse version of this outfit and happened to check Pinterest quickly while eating breakfast. Well, the Pinterest outfit certainly looked better than mine, so I immediately copied it, minus the short skirt. How often do you copy your whole outfit (or most of it) from Pinterest...

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White Lace, Fake Pearls

Oh, hello there, big, daunting, unapproachable world of blogging. I have some great outfits to share with you since I've started GRAD SCHOOL (eek!), but my computer died and I've probably lost all of those pictures. That's the only reason you won't get to see those outfits. It's not like I've been procrastinating starting to blog again or anything like that. Ahem. Today I found an amazing shirt that I couldn't stand to not share, broken computer or not. Since starting grad school, I told myself I'd only shop at Goodwill, because...

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"Mine House is a House of Order"

  Lately, I've been extremely motivated to organize our house. When you live in a rental, you develop a mindset of: "This place is not permanent. I am only here for a little while. Why bother decorating?" But I think we may stay in this house for a while longer, so I am getting my act together. As my fellow procrastinators out there may know, if you suddenly feel motivated to do something, you need to act on that motivation immediately before it passes. So this morning as I was struck suddenly and acutely with the inspiration...

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Break from Blogging

If you couldn't tell, I have taken a break from blogging. I no longer work at American Eagle Outfitters, which was the main reason why I began blogging; I wanted to catalog my work outfits so I would not repeat them and I wanted to keep track of how I paired all the new clothes I was buying for work.  Currently, I am keeping a tight lock on my clothes spending so that I can pay tuition when I begin my graduate studies in the fall. Most likely I will recommence blogging once my classes start.  I have been doing tons...

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