Wearing Autumn Leaves

This Forever 21 dress was $15 at Plato's Closet. The denim jacket was 60% off for me at AE.

These earrings are a great story, though. I was shopping at World Market and found these beautiful earrings for $15. I was about to buy them, but I decided to buy a giant chunky green jewel necklace instead. Later that day, I saw the exact same earrings for $4 at Uptown Cheapskate. What a fateful find!

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Giving B&W Some Visual Interest

Black and white sometimes makes me feel uninteresting. But I have made this outfit more interesting by adding extra features to catch the eye. The hi-low skirt, the varying sizes of stripes on the shirt, and the scarf all help make this outfit visually engaging. This way I don't feel like I woke up and said, "Oh, black goes with white, so why don't I just put them together because I have nothing else to wear."

The Apostrophe sweater was $3. The scarf was a gift. The shoes were about $7. The AE skirt was $15. The bracelet was $3 at AE, shown in more detail here. 

Total = $28

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Casual Halloween Outfit

It was unseasonably warm on Halloween this year, which is why I was able to wear shorts. This was a simple Halloween costume that I could wear to one of my jobs. (I don't mean American Eagle -- I currently have 3 jobs.) 

The shirt was $5 at Five Below and the earrings were free from attending a camp.

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Fall Decorations

big metal pumpkin: $10 at Michaels       Little pumpkins: $6 for a dozen at Marshalls

 When I was growing up, I don't remember us ever decorating for fall. So I got an "innovative" idea this year to go out and get decorations to make it seem more autumn-like in my home. I know, it's not much, but I'm beyond excited about the humble beginnings of my fall decoration collection ... to be continued for years to come!

leaves: $1 for a pack of 50, at the Dollar tree               real pomegranates: grocery store

string of leaves: $4 at Michaels          little pumpkins: $1 each at Dollar Tree

Putting a spider web up is trickier than I thought! I'm pretty pleased with it, though.

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Birthday Suit ... Jacket

I got this great Apt 9 suit jacket at Hut no. 8 for $8.

This phenomenal red dress of an unknown brand came from my friend Corinne, when she had a closet sale recently. When I saw it, I said, "This dress is presidential!"

These shoes, though? Not so presidential. Just when you think you have enough shoes, you find an outfit who's best match is a $3 pair of Goodwill shoes that you bought when you were a sophomore in high school. 

And this gorgeous sapphire ring was a birthday present from my mother and father in law. 

Am I spoiled? I'll never say so.

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Pink Much?

Pink chambray top: $9 at AEO

Bracelet: $2 at AEO

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A Spring Scarf In The Fall

Scarf: $5 at American Eagle

Shirt: $10 at American Eagle

Denim Jacket: $24 at American Eagle

Crops: $20 at American Eagle

Bracelet: approx. $13 at American Eagle (in 2005)

Watch: Family gift
(Something I didn't buy from AE) Sperry's: $25 at Uptown Cheapskate

By the way, I did not plan to wear 5 items at the same time from my store; it just happened. And I'm not sure know how to interpret this "coincidental" outfit. Either I found my perfect fashion soulmate within American Eagle Outfitters ... or I need to shop outside of my store more often. What do you think?

Total: $97 (OUCH!)
The full retail value of this outfit is somewhere around $270, excluding the watch, which has a ridiculous MSRP of $700.

Bracelet from AE. Forgive the low quality. I am without camera for the week.

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Country Western

When putting together this outfit, I thought this country western belt was the best fit. It was a hand-me-down from a friend. What do you think about the belt?

These jeans were $8 at American Eagle and the button-up was $20 at Gap. The necklace and earrings together were $10. My watch was a family gift. The Wallabees cost me $20, but the little dress shoes cost me $3.

total cost of Wallabee outfit: $58

total cost of outfit with flat dress shoes: $41

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Which shoes do you like better with this outfit?

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Now, let's talk about hair. Hair is an accessory and part of any outfit. On days when I wear a collared shirt, I cannot wear my completely down because it looks messy. I will wear it half-up, in a pony tail, or in some kind of bun. When a pony-tail is the best fit for a work outfit, I like to dress up the pony tail by wrapping a strand of hair around the elastic, as shown below.

One way I like to dress up a simple pony tail.

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Masculine Femininity

Here's how I previously wore this skirt. It's a Lauren Conrad skirt that I got for $10 at Plato's Closet. Here's how I've previously paired this American Eagle jacket. The shoes are also AE. This shirt is probably 10 years old, and it was probably free.

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Red Crops

Crops: $20 at American Eagle (not a great price, but they were 60% off)

Top: White House Black Market, $3 at a consignment store (Probably $100 originally)

Necklace: $10 at Tatiana's Fashions

Bracelet: $4 at Hallmark

Total: $37 

photo from AE.com

shoes: "Blue." More info here

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Navy Blue, Turquoise, and Lime Green

Today I dare mix turquoise, lime green, and navy blue.

My necklace, top, and shorts are all from American Eagle. The top was $3 from a consignment store. The necklace was 80% off, at about $2. The shorts were from Plato's Closet and cost about $11. I think the belt was a gift. The shoes were about $20 from Uptown Cheapskate.

Total cost: about $36

Would you wear these colors together?

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Beige Blazer

dress: XSCAPE, $10        blazer: Wet Seal, $12

When one of my friends cleaned out her closet, she sold me this plum-colored tiered dress for $10. My leopard shoes were probably around $3. I scored the blazer from Uptown Cheapskate for $12. The headband was $3 from American Eagle.

Total: $28

headband: AE

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Delicate Necklace + Shoe-Shaped Ring Holder

Free dress, $3 AE necklace, $50 ALDO shoes, and my mom's earrings.

The shoes were also a gift from my mom, so I guess technically they were free.

Total money I spent on my outfit: $3.

necklace from American Eagle Outfitters (80% off for me)

I also would like to share some of my non-wearable fashion finds with you.

Recently, I bought this shoe-shaped ring holder from Ollie's Bargain Outlet for $4.

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White Button-Up

How to wear a white button-up?

This is how I wore mine.

How do you wear a white button-up?

xoxo

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Floral Chiffon

I am in love with this shirt from American Eagle. I wish all my shirts could be made from this fabric. I brought it home and my husband said, "That's fancy." Score. 

Best of all, it was only $8 for me!

Do you have a favorite fabric?

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Floral Pants

Okay. I caved. 

When I first heard of printed denim, I made fun of it. While the trend has grown on me a little, I think the real reason I love these pants is that they are black and white. The quirkiness of printed denim is offset by the elegance of black and white. (Right?)

Or maybe I just like them because they were Michael Kors and I only had to pay $13 for them. I got them during Belk's Labor Day sale. They were originally $125, which means they were 90% off.

This shirt was $5. I got it at the same sale. 

The bracelet was $3 at Hallmarks.

Would you wear printed denim?

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Creamsicle

Top: Banana Republic, $6 at Plato's Closet

Skirt: Banana Republic, free from a friend

Shoes: ALDO, $10 from Plato's Closet

Bracelet: $2 from Hallmark

Necklace and earrings: $10 from Tatiana's Fashions

(I know, you can't see the earrings, but they're not that special. They're matching pearl drop earrings.)

Total: $28 for the 6 pieces

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Peasant Dress

I got this dress from a friend who was getting rid of her old clothes. The belt was about $5 from Plato's Closet.

The shoes are OLD! They are from Fashion Bug and even though they offer my feet no support, they fall off my feet when I walk, and they are very dirty, I still can't help but keep them around. I haven't found another pair of shoes quite like them.

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