Fashion Whining: It's Too EXPENSIVE!

(I use vintage brooches for hair clips, shoe clips, as an accessory on a belt, or even attached to a thick ribbon tied around the wrist for a pretty and cheap bracelet. So much versatility it makes me giddy.)

So another excuse that comes to mind when I think of women who "opt out" of looking like a woman in favor of looking like a mom, is that they simply don't have the money to purchase a new wardrobe. So they just wear their old duddy duds, and make me cry. REALLY? DO YOU WANT TO MAKE ME CRY?

It is a total misconception that looking good has to cost a lot of money. We've gone over the point that when I was first married, I had a $25 per month clothing budget right? $25!!! Ridiculous. But, because I was so desperate for shopping and clothes, I sucked it up and made it work. I learned quite a few tricks that first year of marriage, and even though I usually can get away with spending more per month, I still use these tricks to expand my wardrobe.

1) Work with what you have. You may have the bones of a good wardrobe on your hands, but aren't using it to its full potential for whatever reason. And better styling may be the answer to some of your bad clothes problems. Instead of throwing on a tee and capris (shudder), try some layering instead. A tee, with a blazer, or a knit top with a collared shirt underneath. Re-think your wardrobe and figure out new ways to wear old clothes so that they look different.

2) Play with accessories. When I buy accessories, you will never see my buying a demure chain necklace or gem-stud earrings. All of the accessories that I buy are for big impact. They're glitzy, or huge, or interesting, because changing up some cheap-o accessories makes a totally every day outfit something to talk about. Skip the hearts-on-a-chain and go for a huge layered necklace, big earrings or a cocktail ring, and wear them even if you're not going out anywhere. They will seriously transform your wardrobe as you find new ways to wear them.

3) Pare down your wardrobe. This might sound counter intuitive if you're looking for more options. But I feel that some people don't have huge clothing budgets so they shop sales and come home with 2o one-dollar crappy items, instead of one $20 well-made item. And those crappy ones don't get worn because they are ill-fitting, so you probably end up constantly wearing the few items in your closet that you actually DO like. Pare down to some well made, amazing basics that you love to wear. Then layer and accessorize to make them look new every day.

4) Have fun with shoes. Shoes can be bought pretty inexpensively, and you can use them to add spice to an otherwise boring outfit. I have a large shoe collection because I firmly believe that a good shoe can make an outfit. I love to wear a monochromatic look and then pop out some contrasting shoes; my favorite right now are navy blues with red shoes. LOVE. Don't take footwear too seriously. The second someone starts going about bad arches and comfort level my eyes glaze over. Get some comfy shoes for everyday, and special shoes that you can wear for three hours at a time without whining for fun.

5) Re-purpose items. This tidbit comes from my experience as a teenager, and I still do it to this day. Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money, and what's more, I was the only girl in my family with four brothers... fashion was not high on the must-have lists of my parents. So I learned to take things I owned and re-purpose them into another item. I would cut up t-shirts and wear them as head wraps and use my mom's vintage brooches as hair clips. I was the queen of finding uses for other things to make my clothes look new and current. And just the other day, I tore a piece of lace from one of my camis, and I kept the lace because I'm just programmed to try and figure out another use for it. If you're handy with a sewing machine, go right ahead, but you don't need major crafting skills to figure out you can add brooches to pumps to make them look more glam or tie a scarf on your purse to give it personality.

Don't ever let money get you down to the point that you don't care what you look like because you don't have the money to shop Rodeo Drive. Be creative and resourceful, but most of all take the time for yourself to figure out a better way. You'll be amazed out how much better you feel.