Thrifty Thursday’s – Baubles on a Budget

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I didn’t have much time to go thrifting this past week, so instead, I’m sharing with you my recent thrifty (i.e. affordable) find!  I went to Walmart this past week in search of party supplies for my blogiversary party (more to come on that), and happened to walk by the jewelry department.  A friend on Instagram mentioned that she found very affordable necklaces at there, and cute ones too!  So I was excited to see the quality of the necklaces myself.  To my surprise, they were well made and the variety of colors was amazing!  Check out some of the ones I picked up:

IMG_20140828_094459Cute colors, right?  And guess, what?  They were only $5 a piece!  Comparable necklaces at other stores are often at least $10 a piece.  So I picked up a couple for me and a few more as gifts.  Remember, Christmas is right around the corner!  I also usually like to have gifts like these on hand to give as impromptu hostess gifts, teacher gifts, etc. 

The two I was most excited about were the mint and yellow necklaces. 

ABM_1409237497_2ABM_1409237469_1I had searched for a nice, beaded yellow necklace for a while now.  Here are some ideas for styling these two colors, should you decide to get some for yourself:

IMG_20140828_102218I loved pairing the mint necklace with this bright red blazer (similar: Forever 21) and white top (Gus Mayer).  I think the softness of the mint is unexpected and nicely juxtaposed with the bold red color of the jacket.

IMG_20140828_102327_1Remove the jacket and you have a very clean white and mint color combo!  Perfect to close out the summer, or to save for wearing when Spring rolls back around.

IMG_20140828_102453The yellow necklace, on the other hand, adds a bright pop of color to most outfits, but particularly appealing against black, as is shown here with this black Zara top.

IMG_20140828_102645A print black and white dress (similar: Forever 21) can be overwhelmed with a busy necklace, so a monochromatic, beaded necklace like this one works well against a print fabric.

IMG_20140828_102738The mint also works well, don’t you think?

Pretty thrifty, right??  Not too shabby for $5 a necklace!  I’d love to hear your opinions on the necklaces and/or the pairings above.  Comment below with your thoughts!

Until next time!  Stay Chic!

Thirfty Thursday’s – Sleeveless Tuxedo Dress DIY

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This week, I got a little creative and crafty!  As you may recall, my friend Natasha from Baby T’s Fashion Diaries and I have joined forces for a two-part thrifting series.  Last week’s post was a huge success and many of you have mentioned that you were inspired to go thrift shopping as well!  I’m so glad that the post was inspiring.  Hopefully today’s will be as well. 🙂

This week, Natasha and I decided to take a thifted item and ‘repurpose’ it.  Make it work, as Tim Gunn from Project Runway would say.  So we did!  Take a look at what we did below:

Part 1:  The Inspiration – I’ve really wanted a sleeveless tuxedo dress for a while now. When I saw this Neil Barrett Tuxedo dress on Intermix.com for $1495 I knew I had to find a more affordable version of this dress.  So, when Natasha and I agreed to write this blog post together, I knew exactly what item I was going to repurpose!

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                    Neil Barrett Tuxedo Dress, $1495 (Intermix.com)

Part 2: The Thrifted Item – A men’s tuxedo style blazer/jacket.  I went straight to the men’s section of the thrift store (after all, I really only had a few minutes to shop with 2 kids in tow), and picked one that would be long enough to wear as a dress and didn’t have any holes or stains, etc.  Ten minutes and $6 later, I was the proud owner of this jacket:

$6 men's jacket from the Salvation Army

Part 3: The Sleeveless Tuxedo Dress:  Remove sleeves and sew extra material into inside of jacket and voila!  A sleeveless tuxedo dress!  I paired it with a Zara ruched sleeved top for work and added a Victoria’s Secret lace slip (which I scored for $4 at their recent Semi-Annual Sale) underneath to add length, but otherwise, also great to wear alone with a pair of shooties, like the ones I’m wearing here from Ann Taylor!

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Intermix vs Thrifted DIY

So, what do you think??  Let me know if you would like me provide specific details about the repurposing process and I’ll post a tutorial!

Otherwise, take a look at what Natasha found and did with her thifted item this week!  I love how she repurposed her skirt to make it into a more youthful-looking skirt!

Midi skirt to above the knee full skirt!Doesn’t she just look darling?!  A full-lenth midi skirt hemmed to show off her fabulous gams.  Love!  Read more about her process on Baby T’s Fashion Diaries!

Finally, let me know if you’re enjoying these thrifting posts in the comments section below.  Maybe this thrifting thing can be a weekly thing from now on. 🙂

Until next time!  Stay Chic!!

Thrifty Thursday’s – Office Wear

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You may recall that I recently wrote a post about my experience while shopping at a thrift store.  In that post, I describe how I managed to get two outfits – including shoes – for under $20!  I was pretty amazed myself!

Well, I’ve since become very excited about thrifting, so when Natasha from Baby T Fashion Diaries approached me about a second thrifting challenge, I immediately jumped at the opportunity to thrift again. 🙂

This time, we wanted to focus on items that a woman would wear to the office.  Office-appropriate outfits, if you will.  We did not set a budget, there weren’t any rules at all, really.  What we did agree to do, was to purchase an outfit that we could each wear to the office..from a thrift store.  Simple enough, right?

Check out what we found:

Thrift Blog Pic 1

Thrift Blog Pic 2

My thrift store finds:

  • Ann Taylor Jacket/Blazer $2.50
  • Banana Republic Wrinkle Free top $2.50
  • Gap pleated midi-skirt $3

TOTAL COST: $8

All items were purchased at the Salvation Army.

Shoes and necklace were not thrifted, however the necklace is from Forever 21 (old, about $8), earrings are from TJ Maxx (old, $10), and slingback heels are from the Nine West outlet (recent, $15).

My sweet friend Natasha found a fab outfit as well!  See for your self:

Natashas thrift picDoesn’t she look great!  A very office-appropriate outfit indeed.  Check out her blog and Instagram for details on her amazing finds!

What do you think?!  I am personally LOVING these thrifting challenges and hopeful to find some more amazing finds in the future.

Until next time!  Stay chic!