Lavishly on a Budget
I am a shopaholic, I'll be the first to admit that. Like I genuinely have trouble telling my brain "no" when it comes to buying clothes; shoes especially, which are my biggest weakness next to food. It's to a point where I can say I actually have a shoe collection. But how does a seemingly broke college student afford the shopaholic lifestyle? I'll say this: PROMO CODES AND BARGAIN SHOPPING. Shopping a lot doesn't have to mean spending a lot and as soon as you come to that realization life is soooooo much better. I've never been big on brands or had the desire to flaunt expensive attire; I blame it on the way I raised. Even if I did grow up in a super wealthy family, I still couldn't imagine myself paying $100 for a pair of jeans when I could easily go to Ross or TJ Maxx and find a pair for $20. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking anyone that chooses to buy expensive clothes or shoes. I would gladly welcome a pair of Louboutins or Gucci Aces into my closet right now (hint, hint). All I want is to get instilled into people's heads that there is more to fashion than the name on the label. I know I'm not the first to say it, and probably not even the 1,000th, but I'm sticking by it.
Outfit Deets
Now for the fun part. My "lavishly on a budget" outfit was worn for a birthday dinner I attended earlier this month. It was at this cute little restaurant in downtown Greenville that for the life of me I can't remember the name of. The food was mediocre so I guess it's best I don't include the name of it anyways. But the restaurant was nice enough for me to put together a foxy outfit so I'm really not going to sit here and complain. The dress I'm wearing came from Bealls Outlet and I'm pretty sure it was like 12 or 13 dollars max. It's a reddish-burgundy color with lace up detail under the neckline and a dolphin hem (my fav). I really wanted a trench coat for this look, so I had to work with what I currently have which is what I'd like to call a semi-trench coat. It doesn't 'really match the "typical" trench coat lengths which is how I came up with the name; it's like half way there to being a trench coat but it's still not close enough. But obviously it still worked with what I was going for on this occasion. It came with a belt which you guys can see in the additional photos in my lookbook. I got it as a Christmas gift in 2015 so unfortunately I can't tell y'all how much it is, but what I can tell you is it's from Forever 21. It's actually really itchy on the inside but beauty is pain and discomfort my friends. Lastly, my boots, which are also my favorite part of this look, are from Rue21. I got lucky and got them apart of a buy one, get one free sale so instead of buying two pairs of boots for $80 I got both of them for $20 each. What I loved about this particular pair is the lace detail on the back, which you guys can also see in my lookbook. If it isn't noticeable in the photos, the boots are a suede material and a very deep brown color. Despite my dedication to heels being four or more inches, the 3-inch chunky heel on these boots made me love them even more. They're super comfortable and easy to walk in; it literally feels like I'm walking on memory foam padding. Chunky heels are one of the only exceptions I make to having a heel that is below four inches. I will preach about this until I can't anymore; if you aren't in a professional setting then you have no business wearing a baby heel. It personally pains me to see such a disgrace. As I'm typing this, it's being said jokingly in my head, so please don't come for my throat. It's just something about a high arch in a pair of heels that does something to me. I love my ankle-breakers.
Fashionably Yours,
DG
