3 Tips on How to Look Stylish on a Budget
Hey Fashionistas! I am excited to be sharing this post with you fashionistas on a budget! This is something that I have always felt dear to my heart which is how to look or dress stylish on a budget. We did not have a lot of money growing up and pretty much grew up poor. I remember being made fun of for not having any name brand clothes or shoes. Ross and TJ Maxx were my best friends. I would go through aisles and aisles just to find name brand shirts or shoes. I never wanted the t-shirt that had the little bitty Guess, Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren logos. I needed have the ones that had the brand in big letters across myself so my peers thought I was cool and could dress. It is really sad when I think about it. I get why many public schools switching to uniform and banning certain expensive brands too. There is just so much pressure these days. But my experience got me to be creative in my dress and being able to style looks on budget right down today. So continue to read on where I will share with you the 3 tips on How to Look Stylish on a Budget! Perfect timing with Black Friday Sales going on! Photography credit Luisas Secret.
TIP #1 – STYLE INSPIRATION
Before you go start shopping, you need to first figure out what style are you looking for or what type of fashion style you have or want to have. Sometimes that can take some time and playing around to figure out what your personal style is. I think I had gone through so many phases throughout my life but one thing that always has been consistent is I love bling and the high fashion look. There are many different styles – classy chic, boho, edgy, colorful, simple and modest. The best way to get style inspiration is to look at people such as celebs, influencers and models that you look up to or give you inspiration and see what they are wearing and how they put it together.
One thing that I always did when I was younger would look at fashion magazines or runway shows and see what they were wearing and recreate an affordable look which is actually something that I still to do. Later in this post, I will share with you the stores I shop at to create my looks because the majority of my clothes are affordable and not all the time name brand either.
One thing you should NEVER think or say is “I can’t wear that… I’m too______(fill in the blank)”. There really are very few styles that someone would be ” way too” for. Besides size, a common “I can’t” comments that I hear is skin tone. I’m too pale or I’m too dark. When trying out new colors, sometimes what makes you feel self conscious is if the color is very close to your face. If you feel that you are too pale for yellow, then don’t wear a solid yellow top. Perhaps do yellow shorts, pumps, earrings or handbag. Slowly add new colors and test out colors. There are so many different ways you can incorporate color into your wardrobe without that shock effect it may give you.
A lot of times, style is TAKING CHANCES! I never thought I would wear blue/green velvet pants (now on sale fo BF $14), but I wanted to try it out and see how it would look. Then I literally pictured in my mind what top would go good with the pants. Sometimes I get an idea but want to see how it would look. So then I would google it “blazer with velvet pants street style” to get inspiration. I always google street style at the end so I am not getting catalog imagines but actually people rocking certain styles on the street . Sometimes I find what I am looking for and sometimes I do not. But I usually go with my gut and get the pieces and try it out myself. Sometimes you don’t know until you try it on all together.
TIP #2 Accessories
Accessories is definitely the key in spicing up any outfit. Some cute earrings, belt and handbag can make any t-shirt and jean look like very haute! Sunglasses is one of the areas to look in and I shop at one online store for 90% of all my sunglasses! Sunglass Spot has on trend sunglasses and wait for it…. every pair is only $5.00. The small frame cat eye sunglasses that I am rocking along with Beyonce and other celebrities are $5! I bought them in both in both silver and gold! Pretty much any style that is on trend, they will have it. If it is super popular they will probably be sold out for awhile but you can set up alerts. The quality of these sunglasses are excellent. They are strong and sturdy especially the metal frames. The only reason why any of my broke was my own careless fault! lol I ALWAYS get compliments on them and no one has ever guessed that they are only $5.00. Definitely check them out during Black Friday where they typically do free shipping which normally costs $5 and last year the sunnies were 20-30% off.
Another area to look at when it comes to accessories are jewelry! Big statement earrings and necklace and to something more subtle can really complete a look. Most of my jewelry I wear are knock offs of brands that I do love, but may not want to drop over $20 for. One store to look at is Charlotte Russe. A lot of times they have 2 for $10 sales but regular price their pieces are $6.99. So many cute earrings and necklaces I have gotten here and rocked during NYFW and received compliments. The quality of the jewelry are also good. There are some that may feel a little cheap and some feel like it cost alot more than it should. This is where I will find Bauble Bar dupes. I love Bauble Bar but you will be dropping $15-48 for 1 piece.
Two other stores to check out cute accessories such as belts, hats and jewelry are Forever 21 and H&M. My beret came from H&M and it was only $12. Their jewelry selection is always very nice and reasonably priced. Forever 21 has great jewelry too but I especially love their handbag selection. As far as my belt, I got mine from Boohoo. This online store ALWAYS have sales between 40-60% off. Their BLACK FRIDAY SALE is going on right now and the entire store is 60%. This is where I got my coin statement belt which is now $6 vs $16 and belt bags too.
TIP #3 Shop Online Stores
Shopping online is the best way to get on trend outfits that are affordable. Most of my clothes come from online shops. Almost entire outfit actually came from one online store called Boohoo! It is my favorite and they have online stores worldwide. There is always a sale especially right now for BLACK FRIDAY EVERYTHING IS 60% OFF!!! I know many people may not like shopping online because they cannot try it on. Boohoo has an excellent and easy return policy! If you don’t like it, keep the original bag and send it back for FREE! Their sizes are true to fit like most stores like HM or Express. I do not feel that their sizes run too small or big. The have the same items for regular, petite and tall. Once you order some things and try it on you will know who they will fit on you and of course if it does not work out, return it.
Another store I like to get clothes from is Shein. Many of you may have heard of Shein and think NO! Yes China based stores can be hit or miss but Shein is the only that I still keep coming back too. They have improved over the years and the sizes are not super small (for asian bodies). I feel like they are a little bit more true to size but still slightly smaller. I have issues because I am tall. Whether Chinese or not I always tend to have to get mediums in shirts or blazers due to tall frame or long arms. However Shein has the BEST DUPES when it comes to fashion. If something is trend, you best believe Shein already got the memo and created dupes. Definitely don’t expect high end quality. I compare it to Forever 21 quality actually. Speaking of dupes, my ring bag is a great dupe from Amazon which was shipped from a chinese online store. I really can’t tell a difference from the real Chloe Nile handbag.
My Bauble Bar dupes that I have been wearing in this post and my previous post came from another chinese store that you may have heard of called Aliexpress. I stumbled across chinese store in Aliexpress (the chinese ebay) because I was searching for these earrings that I have seen people wear from Zara. Zara was sold out of them but I was determine to find a pair. Well Aliexpress made a REALLY GOOD DUPE. They were nice heavy sturdy material and everything and you really cannot tell a difference. So I bought 6 pairs for a total of $16. These chinese store I am wearing were only $2.55. The other pair I have been wearing in other posts were only $2.87. It arrived in 2 weeks. These chinese stores have been alot better with shipping times. Before they were notorious for taking a month. But now they have been within 2 weeks and even 1 week in some cases. They will say 7-21 days but it is usually never on the 21 mark. These earrings I got in 10 days.
Shopping online is always great idea to do because some things are exclusive to online and online usually have extra coupons that you would not find in store. Some other great online stores that have on trend clothing that are affordable are these and all are having major Black Friday Sales 30-60% off. Bookmark these links: here, here, here and here.
I hope this post helps you great a chic haute off the runway look at a price that you can afford! Thank you reading and stay tuned for more fashion tips and inspo!
