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Today's outfit of the day is variation of something I wore a couple weeks back. Yes, I do wear my clothes more than once! I went to a 'hood party that night and though it was just at a neighbor's house down the street, I wanted to dress up a little more than jeans without being over-the-top.
The Breakdown:
Old Navy puff & fur coat (thrift store $15/ARP $40), Banana Republic argyle sweater ($6 thrift store/ARP $70), turquoise tank ($3 For Love 21/ARP $3), winter white American Eagle cords ($5 thrift store/ARP $40), Steve Madden white leather boots ($7 thrift store/ARP $100 ), cashmere pashmina ($6 hospital sale/ARP $10), MAXXimum leather & suede purse ($6 thrift store/ARP $75).
Grand Total: $48
Approximate Retail Price: $338
Savvy Savings: $290
I LOVE the Steve Madden boots! Using What Not to Wear rules and continuing the white of of the cords to the point of the boots, helps to make my legs look longer, and what woman doesn't want to have longer looking legs? And even though white can be a rough color to wear with children running around, the cord material is more resilient and I love the fact that I don't have to iron it. Really, worse case scenario is if the pants get stained, and then I only spent $5 on it so I didn't waste my money. I've had these pants for over a year now and they're still going strong!
Today's outfit is another one of those questionable What Not to Wear moments. Can one wear a full length sweater and have it NOT look like a robe? I think maybe, just maybe.
I found this gem at a thrift store for $10 and I've gotten so many compliments. Of course after watching enough WNTW I know that's not always a sure sign that you've hit a home run. Although I will say that one woman hung out of her car to compliment me as I was walking with the Superstars in a parking lot! The jacket is by Kenji Natural, which I had never heard of before, but it fits well and it sure is cozy (I did NOT say "comfortable").
The Breakdown.
Kenji Natural full length sweater jacket ($10 thrift store/ARP $40), black Banana Republic wool turtleneck ($4 thrift store/ARP $50), winter white American Eagle cords ($5 thrift store/ARP $40), black Nine West leather boots ($8 thrift store/ARP $150), Rafe for Target black "patent leather" purse (trade with a friend/ARP $50).
Grand Total: $27
Approximate Retail Price: $330
Savvy Savings: $303
I'm not sure this is What TO Wear, but what good is the freedom savvy shopping brings if you can't try something new without breaking the bank? I felt good wearing this. And well, at 40 I've finally decided that there's a small part of me (growing bigger every day) that just doesn't care what other people think.
Of course I don't mean that in a bad way, but if the 30's taught me anything, it's that no matter how "decently" I think I dress for a stay-at-home mom who sometimes stays in her PJs all day long, there will be someone out there who does it better...and for less money. Conversely there will be someone who spends more money and feels superior for it because it's new, improved, more stylish or more eco-friendly and you know what? It's ok!
In life there will always be someone who is prettier, richer, smarter, funnier, thinner, or all around more together than I am, but no one has it all together and no matter what strong points we think we can boast in, there's another area of our life that is sorely in need of work. We're ALL that way. It's part of being human. It's what makes us U-nique and sometimes U-nusual, but overall it's about being U, flaws and all (sorry, kinda cheesy but I like the alliteration).
So to quote Ms. Frizzle in The Magic School Bus (can you tell I have an elementary school child?) "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" And even as that statement makes me cringe (I'm German and we're tidy, organized people!) I get it, and there's a lot of freedom in that statement. I hope you see that too.
Oh how I love Plato's Closet. It's the place I bring the clothes I no longer wear and they give me money (if it's not too "old" or "dated"). I always look around while they check out my clothes to see if there's any savvy shopping bargains, and today there was!
Behold, my new Betsey Johnson charm bracelet watch. Now, I do have several nice watches. As you can guess, I find them at the thrift store and sometimes on clearance in retails stores. I thought this would make a nice little addition to my collection. Considering it retailed for $150 and I got it for a mere $9 ($14 with a 40% off coupon for bringing clothes in) I think this counts as a SCORE!
The watch was too big for my wrist and needed links taken out. Anyone who has done that before knows it costs about $10. Having bought several watches at thrift stores before, I had invested $10 last year and bought a watch repair kit on eBay. In it I have all the tools to take out links and, ha, ha, change out batteries! I was able to take out the links I needed no problem at all. I've also used it for sunglasses, toys, and other teeny things.
Unfortunately the battery was also rundown, and I didn't think I would be able to take the backing off this watch without scratching it (some backs are easier to take off than others), so I scrolled down through the "coupon" section of our local coupon site (for my Savvy Nashville Suburban Friends check it out here) and printed up a coupon for a $4.99 battery change; that's battery and labor so I didn't have to take the time to figure out what size battery it needed and where to get one.
Anyway, $15 later I am the owner of a cute, working Betsey Johnson watch! Of course, TECHNICALLY I spent only $5 since I traded in clothes and didn't spend a single dime of my own money!
Today's outfit was really fun for me. I love the browns of this vintage jacket I found over 10 years ago when I was still single. I bought it at a thrift store (of course!) and it came with matching pants. Talk about a sort of zoot suit look! I love the jacket and I'm always excited when I can find a new outfit to wear with it.
The Breakdown.
American Eagle khaki cords ($5 thrift store/ARP $40), New York & Company geometric gauze print shirt ($4 thrift store/ARP $30), Ann Taylor Sweater ($4 thrift store/ARP $40), bronze Gianni Bini boots ($6 thrift store/ARP $75), Banana Republic suede & leather hobo ($10 thrift store/ARP $200), vintage wool long striped coat ($12 thrift store/ARP $40).
Grand Total: $42
Approximate Retail Price: $425
Savvy Savings: $383
So Green goes Brown - what does it all mean? Well, what's more green than recycling? Everything in today's outfit is from the thrift store - woo-hoo! Who knew green could look so good?
My girlfriend, Shannon, just sent this blog link to me. It's called Attention Target Shoppers and this lovely lady has made it her mission to let us other savvy shoppers when the big markdowns and sales are going on at Target. Remember when I said that Target will eventually mark down their overstocked Christmas toys to 75% but I wasn't sure when? She's the go-to lady on that. If you love Target (and their sales) as much as I do, you'll need to bookmark this blog...and mine of course!
So I figure after all this time it's only fair to give the Superstars their due when it comes to children's savvy fashion. They had a great time posing (as you can tell from the hand on the hips thing going on...guess they have been watching Mom even when they don't listen to her).
When it comes to savvy savings on children's clothes, it's amazingly easy. Since I got to a thrift store usually 3-4 times a month I always stop at the children's section to do a quick-through. At Goodwill the children's clothing from baby to 2 years is $1.99 and from 2 years to about 4/5 (sometimes 6X depending on who's doing the tagging) is just $2.49. Then after that 6x/7 and up to adults is $3.49 a piece. Shoes for the little ones are usually $1.99 to $3.99 sometimes higher if they realize it's a good brand name or if it's boots. Older kids run $$2.99 to maybe $5.99.
The Superstars are on the low side of the growth curve and so I've not had to worry about them outgrowing things too quickly but even if they did, for just $10-$20 for a full outfit (shirt, pants, shoes and sometimes jacket) it's not going to break the bank. Yes, shoes & underwear are always bought new...as if!?
Superstar #1 Breakdown
Cherokee black cotton jacket (Target $3.50), Cherokee raspberry polka-dot shirt/dress ($3 Target), black tights ($3 Walmart), Hello Kitty purse ($2 thrift store), black patent leather Gap loafers ($3 thrift store). Grand Total: $14.50
Superstar #2 Breakdown
Gymboree cord jacket ($2.50 thrift store), Children's Place cord skirt ($2.50 thrift store), Cherokee long sleeve shirt (part of 2 piece $1.75 outfit at Target so let's say $1.40), brown tights ($3 K-Mart with coupon), black Circo shoes (Target $3.50). Grand Total: $10.90
As a note although I do respect the idea of quality made clothes, I'm not sure there is anything so different between a $40 shirt from a Gymboree store and a $7 shirt from Target that's going to really "pay-off" in the long run. Goodness when kids are young you are lucky if they wear it for one whole year, even luckier if it fits the next kid(s) in line! That said, if you have the money then by all means, do it! Me, personally, I would just rather take the extra $30 I save and go out for lunch or a movie with the Superstars.
Really, they don't care when they are young and if you make too much of it when they are young, they are going to remember and push for it when they are teenagers. Been to an Abercrombie youth store lately? My goodness, the prices are more than what I would spend for myself!
Anyway, do check your local thrift store or consignment store and always remember to cruise the sale racks at your local Target, Walmart and even mall stores. You never know what you might find!
There's nothing like a bright coat to chase away the winter grays...I told you it was pretty stunning, didn't I? I never would have bought a raspberry colored coat as my main coat, but I found this brand new with tags coat at the thrift store for just $15 I couldn't refuse. Isn't the inside lining gorgeous?
The rest of this outfit is pretty boring, but then all I did was run around a bit today so the coat stayed on the whole time; of course we couldn't have the outfit steal any attention away from the coat now could we? Wouldn't you know at my first stop a woman commented on how beautiful it was. No, I didn't tell her it was from the thrift store! I only tell you, my close friends such need-to-know details like that!
The Breakdown.
Raspberry Koret coat ($15 thrift store), black v-neck The Limited sweater ($3 thrift store), white lace edged tank ($4 Rave), Banana Republic jeans ($10 eBay), black patent leather Bandolino kitten heel pumps ($8 brand new at TJ Maxx), Tignanello black leather purse ($7 thrift store - I saw it at Macy's in the fall for $90!). Grand Total: $47
So take it from me and my raspberry coat, be daring today and if you happen to be out looking for clothes, try on something daring and different from the things to which you normally gravitate, you never know what you might find.
Shop Savvy!
Today's outfit of the day is variation of something I wore a couple weeks back. Yes, I do wear my clothes more than once! I went to a 'hood party that night and though it was just at a neighbor's house down the street, I wanted to dress up a little more than jeans without being over-the-top.
