amommysjoy: Fashion Tips Friday

One of my favorite "celebrity bloggers" is hosting a Fashion Tips Friday. And, since I think I have some cred in this area since I did win The Best Dressed Senior superlative in high school, I thought I would delight you with my {cough cough} fashion tips.

And, yes, that entire last sentence is completely sarcastic as I was "best dressed" in the day when pleather pants and bandana headbands were all the rage. Whassup and phat may have also been in my vocabulary. Ahem.

Let me preface this post by saying this: there was a time when I delighted myself in the ways of high end retail fashion and stayed current on all trends and spent an entire babysitting paycheck on what I would wear out on Thursday night. However, that was before I was married and had to do adult things like PAY BILLS. Savings Accounts and Retirement Funds were foreign to my vocabulary and I couldn't have cared less that a sparkly-sequined-leopard-print-top probably wouldn't carry over into the fall of 2002. It didn't, in case you wondered.

But, now I am married and responsibilities seem to take up most of our budget. This is totally not a complaint, as I've actually come to appreciate the creativity that my budget has inspired.

So, without further ado, my #1 fashion tip is...drumroll please...SHOP THRIFT. And if I had to pick a #2 it would be SHOP SALE. But the focus of this post is definitely thrifty fashion.

I don't know if it's because the economy isn't at its best or if I've just never taken the time to look hard enough, but there are tons of quality, trendy clothes at consignment shops and thrift stores. (My theory is that people are looking for quick ways to make some extra cash, so they sell off their clothes not long after purchasing them.)

As I've mentioned before, I LOVE Plato's Closet. This outfit is from there:

Striped T-neck: F21 ($6)

Skinny Jeans: Old Navy ($6)

The following dresses are from a local thrift store where all dresses are $5! Let me write that again: $5! Yes, for the cost of a footlong from Subway, I was able to purchase the following AMAZING deals.

This is a Karta dress with some gorgeous beadwork along the neckline. I could tell when I saw it that it was either vintage, expensive, or both. The verdict is still out on its age, as my brief google search just let me know that it was probably expensive when purchased. This brand is sold at Saks. Also, I am wearing leggings in all pics because goodness knows no one needs to be seeing my Casper-like legs.

This is a BeBe knit sweaterdress. Nothing from BeBe is cheap, so I'm considering it a steal too! (And my eyes look so crazy because I can't believe it was only $5! Ha!)