Shopping on A Budget

Now, I'm no fashion blogger, but I do know a thing or two on fashion, and clothes. Being a teenager, I do love to follow fashion trends and I love fashion. However, clothes can be very expensive, especially if you are someone like me who loves designer clothes. My family is not rich, so I can't drop 10k on a celine handbag or 1k on Valentino Rockstuds (I wish!). Also, since I am a teen, I do not have a high paying job that can pay for my expensive taste, which means I have to figure out how to buy the clothes I love on a budget.

I like to call myself the bargainista. Why? Because every piece of clothing, designer or no-brand, is less than $25. How do I do it? Read on!

Outlets

If you love designer clothing, you must shop at outlets. Premium outlets carry many designer brands such as J.Crew, Coach, Levi's, Polo Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade. Nike, Micheal Kors, et cetera. By shopping at the outlets, you can save so much money. The best time to shop at the outlets are around holidays, for that is when they have huge sales. Just a word of warning for people with high end tastes: some outlets have stores such as Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Versace, but their prices are no different from a regular store.

For Example:
I always shop at the Levi's outlet store. I get ALL my jeans from them. The retail price for Levi's jeans are pretty expensive, but all my jeans cost $19.99 or less. I've even bought their jeans for only $9.99!

Sales

Honestly, I buy all my clothing on sale. I love J.crew as much as the next girl, but their clothes are way too expensive. Thankfully, they are always having sales, which are amazing! If you shop when they have 50% of clearance, you can score big savings. This applies to every store. Most stores will have sales, and sale time is the best time to buy (obviously). Remember that amazing top you saw just when you walked in to the store? But it was $100? That top is most likely going to end up on the sale rack. I recommend checking out the new arrivals, but don't buy them, because they will probably be on sale later. Also, keep in mind that when you shop sales, even the discounted price may sometimes be very steep. So the best sale one can get is when the store has an additional discount on the sale price.

For Example:
Anthropoligie is known for being a very overpriced store. They are currently having 20% off of sale items. I was able to score a floral tank for $23 and a laser cutout leather tank that retails for around $90 for only $23. In my book, $23 is still expensive, but hey, for Anthro, it's a steal!

DSW

DSW is my holy grail for shoes. If you are a shoe girl like me, always browse here once in a while. I always browse and purchase shoes from their clearance rack. Most of their shoes are brands that you haven't heard of, but their genuine leather shoes are high-quality. DSW is for shoe addicts who prefer quantity over quality. However, all my shoes that I have purchased from there have lasted a while and are really comfortable. Oh and this is not a sponsored post. I know that recently DSW has been sponsoring a lot of vloggers and bloggers but I guarantee you this isn't sponsored,

For Example:
I recently purchased two gladiator sandals from DSW. One shoe was only $9.99 and the other was $11.95! One sandal was synthetic leather while the other (the $11.95 one) was real leather!

Lookalikes

The title says it all; lookalikes. If you see something you just absolutely adore but don't have a wallet fat enough for the purchase, look for a lookalike! Settle for that until you can afford the expensive version.

For Example:
Brandy Melville sells their signature Chiyo top (a caged bralette) for $19, but Forever 21 has a lookalike that costs only $9.80.

Forever 21/H&M

Some people avoid these stores because their quality can't compare to other stores. I agree, but if you are looking for trendy pieces, this is the place to shop. The prices are really affordable, and sometimes you can find something cute! Shop here if you prefer quantity of clothes over quality. I'd say that Forever 21 is more for the teenager/young adult crowd, and H&M for the older crowd, but I shop at both. These two stores are great places to purchase cheap basics. The downfall to these stores is that their quality isn't top-notch, and their inventory is either a hit or miss.

Thrifting

I've never been thrifting, but my friends who do always say they get amazing deals. Clothes from a thrift shop cost no more than $5. If you have a lot of time, and aren't afraid to get down n' dirty, go thrifting! If you have a more expensive taste, I would look into consignment stores and Revolve boutiques. These shops are basically high end thrift shops where they carry well known brands.

Standards

Standards are essential to getting the best deals. By standards, I mean your standards. For some people, $20 is considered a great price for a tee shirt, but for others $20 is too expensive. Personally, I think that jeans should cost no more than $25, but I know of some people in my school who pay more than $100 for jeans. Shop around your standards. Also, make sure that what your buying is with its price. Say you found a sweater on sale for around $50, but it was thin. In my opinion, I wouldn't buy it due to its thinness. However, if that same sweater was made from 100% cashmere, I would totally buy it.



I hope this helped!

The Scrutiny of Size

In today's society, there is so much taboo over size, and what is the "perfect size". Body image and size is undoubtedly on every teenagers' or young adults' mind. In the good ol' days (like the 90's and before) robust women were "in". Every women coveted Marilyn Monroe's curvaceous and voluptuous body. Nowadays, every teen wants the body of a Brandy Melville model; a stick figure frame and a mythical thigh gap.

The media has always advertised stick figures. In clothing magazines, all the women are uber thin, and the men all have bodies that are chiseled by the gods. On the runways, all the sleek models strut their tall and thin bodies. Recently, there has been a growing trend in plus size models, and "fativists". This is where a lot of drama and taboo plays in. Many people complain that the use of plus size models is normalizing obesity, and due to "fativists" putting down skinny people to help bigger women gain body confidence, skinny shaming/hating came to life. There is just constant back and forth bickering between the bigger and smaller community on what the media should support.

My personal opinion is this: Whereas society should not constantly spew pictures of super thin women that might push girls into anorexia, we also should not shift to the other end of the spectrum and normalize obesity. I believe that society should endorse a healthy body. I don't think a healthy body is defined by a clothing size, waist measurement, but rather defined by your lifestyle.

So, what is the perfect body size?

I think that the answer to this question is just a matter of personal opinion. Some people think that the perfect body is a supermodel-esque body, some think that it is an hourglass shape, and some people think that the perfect body is a size 14. Some people are born very thin, and are made fun of that. Likewise, some people are born heavier and are bullied for their weight. I believe that you should do whatever with your body to make yourself confident. If you are larger and would feel more comfortable loosing a few pounds, by all means do so. If you are larger and feel confident at your size, you don't have to change. The same goes for thinner people.

Remember, whether you are overweight or underweight or anywhere in between, be confident in your body and don't let anyone put you down due to your size. Do what makes you confident, and do what makes you feel healthy.

And the thing is, no matter what your size, everyone is a little self conscious. Stop fighting and realize that everyone is trying to battle the same thing.