Monday, November 3, 2008

Savvy Outfit of the Day $62

Today's outfit is courtesy of Belk's, eBay and the thrift store. Miss Chievous red striped hoodie ($6 Belks), Route 66 long denim skirt ($4.29 thrift store), Nine West camel colored leather boots ($9.99 thrift store) and the piece de resistance my yummy, oh-so-soft Banana Republic leather purse ($41 eBay).

A word about this outfit. So, uh, yeah, Miss Chievous. I didn't even know the brand existed. I found it in what would probably be classified as the Junior/Young Miss section, but the zip-up form-fitting hoodie looked cute on the hanger and for $6 I was willing to give it a try. Low and behold, it turned out to be kind of cute!

Route 66 for those who might not know the brand name is found at Kmart, someplace I don't usually frequent for my clothes but paired with grown-up boots & a stylin' purse, the outfit is nice and kid-friendly - and I'd like to think, more expensive looking than just $62.

As a Mom I want to be practical. I don't want to throw money away on something that my kids (or my own clumsy self) could ruin in just one meal. But I want to look nice. I want to look like I'm "together" even when I don't feel it. I want to be comfortable. I want my husband to think I look cute!

Now take out whether or not you have kids or a husband and doesn't it sound like what every woman wants? Great style for less? The "luxury" of changing your style without throwing out all your clothes and charging up the credit card? Sounds like a dream, but it's not, Savvy Shopping is for every woman, not just a suburban Supermom.

Savvy shopping can apply to high schoolers, college students, single women, married women without children, workplace Supermoms, anyone who wants to look good but doesn't or can't spend a lot of money. It can apply to the Superwoman who likes the bohemian look or the one who needs to dress for the board room.


Both the skirt and boots came from the thriftstore. I chose to go with the denim long skirt and heeled camel boot look, but for the same price a high school girl might choose a short little A&F skirt and Emus (a brand comparable to Uggs that I did find for $10 at the thriftstore). The college student might get a Free People bohemian skirt and a pair of leather slouch boots. The workplace Supermom might choose the Ann Taylor skirt and a pair of Ferragamo pumps (and yes, I found those too at a thriftstore, brand-new too I might add for $4). I'm sure you'll see them in one of my Savvy Outfits of the Day.

That single fact changed the way I dressed. I could spend $4.29 on a pair of Ann Taylor pants OR $4.29 on a pair of sweats/yoga pants. I know which I would look better in, it's just that in the past I wouldn't spend the extra money because in the "real world" it would cost $40 for a casual pair of Ann Taylor pants and just $20 at Target for a pair of yoga pants. It's not that I didn't think I was worth the extra $20 I just couldn't justify it.

Nice clothes seemed like a luxury that I wasn't willing to pay for when the extra $20 could be another pair of yoga pants or maybe lunch out with the kids. I know that isn't the case for everyone, but it was for me. Savvy shopping is what I finally found that allowed me to reconcile my desire to look nice and to be wise with my money.

I think that's one of the main things a savvy shopper needs to keep in mind, is that it doesn't matter WHERE it comes from. If it looks good and fits well, no one needs to know that you spent next-to-nothing...or what the brand name is.

2 comments:

  1. Just found your blog through Jen at 144 Inches of I-Cord. I love the idea of thrifty shopping. I worked with someone who could fly into Goodwill and come out with new sweaters with the tags still on them, etc. I've scored a couple of things like that, but I think one of the secrets is going really often. Do you find that so? Also, it's really smaller sizes that you can clean up on at thrift stores. When my kids are older I plan to keep trying...

    And of course - your great sense of style plays into your excellent finds! You look great!

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  2. THANK YOU - my stylists (Stacie & Clinton) deserve all the credit!

    I go thrifting once a week with the Superstars - who love it. If we've got an errand to run in another part of town we'll visit that thrift store but that's rare, maybe once a month when that happens.

    I have yet to test the theory of small sizes racking up but the clothes racks are split into S/M/L at Goodwill and I've found the sections to be just as large in M & L as it is for S. But now that you've said that I sense a challenge and might just have to investigate and blog on that theory!

    I've clothed the Superstars from infant (I find new with tag infant's clothes weekly) to 7 so far and my neighbor regularly buys Abercrombie for her 11 year old boy at the thrift store so thrifting is a GREAT way to find clothes for kids!

    Keep on thrifting...and reading my blog, of course!

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