Fashion Makeover: Maximizing Your Wardrobe While Minimizing the Price
One week from today I’ll be boarding a plane for Austin, Texas to attend South by Southwest, courtesy of Tyson Foods and Walmart! While the thought of attending a blogging conference is exciting, this stay-at-home mom’s wardrobe isn’t quite the professional look I prefer to display to potential business contacts.
So I saved my money, set a budget, and set out to see how far I could make my budget stretch. I think I did pretty well, though it was really hard for me to spend that much money on me. (If I were shopping for my kids, it would have been easier!)
But you tell me. After watching the video, let me know how you think I did. Did I build a good professional look? Did I get my money’s worth?
And if you’re interested in frugal fashion, be sure to tune in to Frugal Coast2Coast on Monday (8:30 EST/5:30 PST). We’ll be interviewing Kathryn Finney, author of How to be a Budget Fashionista! I’m sure she has some GREAT advice!
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By Lynnae McCoy, on Mar 5, 2009
I'm Lynnae, wife of one and stay-at-home mom of two. I'm committed to getting out of debt by being frugal with my choices in life.
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Total success! You did a fantastic job. I appreciate that you started at Goodwill first, and then progressed to retail stores. I am also an odd size (tall) and have a tough time at Goodwill. The mix and match and common color theme is wonderful and you will look great! The presentation video was well done as well. Congratulations!
That was great! I really like the polka-dot dress :)
Good for you for saving up the money and being intentional with your purchases. I think it’s a real downfall for a lot of women to shop without purpose and that’s where we get in trouble.
I’m in agreement with the first comment. I’m in love with that dress. I need to start making me a budget for clothes. I hardly have anything nice and I HATE spending money.
Way to go! With that $10, maybe you could find a nice belt.
Outfit idea: Take a dress and layer a blouse or cardigan over it and cinch it at the waist with your belt. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, but ya gotta try to find out!
Lynnae, I think you did a really good job. I love, love, love the dresses you bought at TJ Maxx. I get a lot of stuff at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. I don’t know if you have Marshall’s on the west coast, but it’s like TJ Maxx.
I have very high end taste when it comes to clothes. Unfortunately I don’t have the income to support that taste! I buy clothes off-season. J.Crew is my favorite store. In the winter they put all of the summer clothes from the season before on sale, and in the summer their winter clothes are on sale. Most of their clothes are pretty classic, so they don’t go out of style quickly. I get really great deals by buying in the off-seasons. I’ve gotten clothes cheaper at J.Crew than I could buy at places like Target.
Good job on your new wardrobe! You will likely not need anything really warm, because the humidity is pretty high, and temperatures may be warmish. I hope you will enjoy your visit to MY hometown! Austin is a wonderful city, and SXSW is tons of fun.
Good job on your shopping!!! You worked hard to save the money – and I, like you have such a hard time spending that money on myself – but it’s necessary sometimes! :-) WTG for finding so many great pieces and making the money stretch. :-) Now I wanna go shopping. ;-)
Wow, you did great on your purchases. They all look professional so you are all set.
PLUS, if this is a business purchase…………I believe part of it is a tax deduction.
Anyhooooooo, Love the dresses.
Congrats.
Lynnae you did a great job! Cute choices on everything, I also love the dresses.
Welldone! I’m definitely with you on black; not the best for your colouring or mine. I think it’s harder to get together clothes all at once; I usually take months.
Great job Lynnae! $10 left! I too love the dresses…super cute!
I really love the dresses you bought and have inspired me to get a couple since I also have none.
Mercedes
This is awesome. I love how you pointed out that Goodwill can have some really nice things. These clips are great, keep them coming!
Great job on staying within budget and finding some really good deals.
One question….where are the Accessories! I love the aqua and brown skirt w/ aqua cardigan, it would look great with some faux turquoise!
Love the gold toned shoes too!!!
Everything is super cute! While you’re in Austin, you might want to check out Savers (they’re called Value Village elsewhere). I got 5 pieces of business/business-casual attire for $30! (Three shirts, one blazer, one pair of black slacks) Still my favorite bargain-shopping success. Sorry I won’t be in town… Spring Break baby!
Wow, you did a great job shopping. Excellent choices. I too, love to shop at Good Will. I found a black velvet turtle neck top, to wear with black pants,for New Years Eve, for $3.99. I even received complements on it. If they only knew…(grin) There is no TJ Maxx or a Crew store in the city where I live, so most of my shopping is at JC Penny, when things are on sale. Thanks for sharing with us. Enjoyed your video. Have a GREAT trip!!!!! Bonnie in WI
Good choice for the shoes – I wear A2 all the time and can walk miles in their heels with no foot pain. They are worth every penny even at full price. And I bought two pairs of A2 shoes this week too :)
Great job putting everything together for so little money! You’ll look and feel great!
Save the money up for a nice jacket – don’t go cheap there or it will show!
I think you have a calling for the frugal fashion! I am so going to TJ Max and find that dress! I love it!
Lovely choices. I really like the dresses. Yes, some accessories and you will be all set!
Great job! I like your yellow scarf :)
I find brooches and scarves a frugal way to add variation to the clothes.
I just stumbled upon this site and am glad to see that there are many others like me! I LOVE fashion, but with a Goodwill budget. So, I go to Goodwill! Fortunately, I find alot of great deals there..and I AM picky about what I get. I’ve gotten Vera Wang, Calvin Klein pencil skirts, Express, The Limited, etc. I also keep my three little girls clothed from there. We are ALWAYS getting complimented on our clothing. Another great revenue is Target clearence clothes. I love shopping their 75% off racks and sometimes pick up dresses for $5, shirts for $2-3, and shoes for just dollars. Same with TJ Maxx. Good luck all!
Good shopping. But did you ever consider learning how to sew? Skirts are very simple to make, as are caftans, tunics and some designs of pants. Chances are there’s a discount fabric store near where you live. Buy washable fabrics; wash and dry in dryer before cutting out the garment. By making your own clothes, YOU select your wardrobe’s color scheme and are not at the mercy of those who create the “trend of the year”. With just a little experience, you can even make a jacket, especially one without buttonholes and a lining. Then take the money you’ve saved and buy really GOOD shoes. You only have one pair of feet and they need to last a long time. Be sure your shoes can be re-soled and re-heeled.
Hi! I noticed that my website isn’t appearing well just in case you want to read what I think about fashion being a fashion buff that I also am. Cheers!
Shawls and scarves always add another dimension to an outfit… it feels like you’ve got a whole new wardrobe, even if you’ve only spent a few dollars.
Great work. I always love shopping for bargains at TJ Maxx and Filenes Basement…. if you keep your eye out there you can find some fantastic bargains.