Up-Scale Bargains

So I realize that not everyone one reading this blog is on as tight a budget as I am (as a recent college graduate with 2 part time jobs and loans....) so this one is for you.  Mind you the prices you are about to see... I could afford on a good week.

With Summer winding down a lot of end of summer get-togethers picking up, and what better way to be seen at the end of summer than in a cute little sundress?  Bonus to end of summer shopping is that stores are starting to switch to fall/winter fashions, which is a great time to pick up "basics" for cheap... basics being things that are easily mixed and matched in with next years fashions and so on... they are basically timeless.

Above we have a bride-to-be (my best friend!) at her bridal shower.  I loved the play with color on this outfit, and although she claims to not be as skill at accessorizing as I am I think she did a pretty sweet job on this one.  The dress in a basic solid color mauve that has been spiced up with yellow sandals, hair flower and clutch... not to mention NAILS! The matching yellow nails are a a great simple way to bring in your accent color in a small but ever present way.  So even when she's not clutching her clutch (ha!) she still has that yellow presents to balance out all that mauve.

So here is how this breaks down:
Dress - Maurice's $40
Shoes - Charlotte Russe $7
Hair Flower - Target $3
Nail polish - $2
Clutch - BonTon - Mark down due to "damage"

Which brings up another great point. Damaged items. These are great finds if the damage is something minor... something that can be washed out or sewn are great... but I'll talk about that more another time.

So grand total on this outfit is $50! That's really not bad considering that dress is always going to come in handy, put a nice floral cardigan over it and you have a whole different look! And for 12$ you've got shoes, a hair accessory and nail polish that can be used another time!

It just goes to prove that you don't have to go to thrift stores to be thrifty!
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