Phoenix Wedding Photographer

What to Wear: When You’re Broke!

Oh my goodness, have you ever had one of those weeks/months/years where you feel like you’re working and working, just to watch money drain out of your bank account?   I know that in 2010 we ALL felt that way, and let me tell you, this week is killing me, people.

 To make a long story short, (and less boring), my beloved little Beetle, David Beckham (he’s foreign and gorgeous, just like my car, thus the name), is costing me every dime I have right now, and it’s happening the week that I’m flying to New York City for a huge birthday bash for my cousin, who just so happens to be a fashion designer. Um, I can’t go buy a fabulous outfit!  I can’t buy a stick of gum for this trip! My boyfriend bought my ticket (love that man), but I can’t hit him up for wardrobe too….so let’s talk about how you can look fab, without spending a fortune.

Cheap Secret #1Renttherunway.com

This site is phenomenal!!!! For around $50-$100 you can rent a designer gown, outfit, etc. for a couple of days and return it! It has everything from bags, to jewelry, to dresses, to shoes and more, and it’s all on their site to rent.  How amazing is that?!  You could show up to an event in a Calvin Klein runway outift, for $75. 

 Here’s my favorite example on the site today:

Badgley Mischka Dress:  Retail :$440

Renttherunway: $75

$75 got Badgley Mishcka?!?!?!  This is one example of the awesome deals you can find on this site. Totally worth a look, and my friend Cathy has now used the site, and it worked out really well for her, easy to receive and easy to ship back. What a wonderful idea someone had!

Cheap Secret #2:  Trade Your Closet Party

Ok, this is an event I’ve attended a couple of times, that honestly worked amazingly if you have enough people. What you do is: go through your closet and bag up everything you never wear anymore/doesn’t fit/you hate/etc and tell every single friend you know to do the same thing, and ask them to tell all of their friends to do the same.

These smarties got the whole church to participate!

Once you have everyone’s contact info, you invite them to a Trade Your Closet Party at your house, get some snacks and cocktails, and have everyone bring their discarded clothing items to your house. Set up a cheap clothing wrack, or just drape things over your couch and chairs, and it’s an open free trade! Shoes, purses, clothes, jewelry, clothing ,whatever people aren’t using anymore gets them admission to come see if there’s something they’d like to have! 

I did this for the first time in college and walked away with a pair of heels I still have to this day, and a pair of jeans I wore until they had to be retired. FOR FREE!  Just because that top looks weird on me, or I don’t fit in those pants anymore, doesn’t mean my best friend won’t look amazing in them! It’s a straight up trading party, and it’s beneficial for everyone!

It’s a big movement!  Check out swapstyle.com!

Cheap Secret #3: Have a Friend Go Through Your Closet

About three months ago my little sister was wailing to me about having no outift, and no money, for an event.  She came to my house, but it made her more upset because she is so much shorter than I am, my clothes just don’t fit her well. We then went back to her closet and I really dug into it.  I was pulling out stuff she never wears, things she thinks she hates, and so on, and pretty soon I had made some outfit combinations she had never thought up.

Stacy and Clinton make a living out of this on What Not to Wear!

Get your most fashion-minded friend to come do this, and you might be really surprised at what they turn out. My sister thought she had NO clothing, but when I left, she was wearing things she hadn’t worn in a long time, with a renewed appreciation for them! They might pair things up together that you never thought of, they might belt something in a way that makes it look totally different, they might add boots and tights that you hadn’t thought of, you just never know. You look at your clothes every single day, but your friends don’t.  Let someone come help you, and you might really be surprised.

Cheap Secret #4: Make Do

In the end, what can you do?  You can either go get yourself into debt by buying new clothes, or you can suck it up and make what you have work.  Or…if you’re me….you can bring the bare bones pieces that you can’t borrow due to size (boots, tights, undergarments) and count on the fact that your fashion designer cousin will have something you can put on. If not, oh well, I’m pretty sure the last thing we’ll all remember from this NYC weekend, is what we wore.

On our last trip together, my cousin Reagan (left) and I on the way to the Grand Canyon

xoxoxoxo

 

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