The Best for Less

Ahh, fall is on the horizon.  The air is getting a little more crisp, Starbucks has busted out the pumpkin spice flavoring, and the stores are all tempting me with their fresh fall items.  It’s hard resisting the desire I have to blow my last paycheck of August on trendy fall accessories, but thanks to my devoted research I won’t have to.  And neither will you!  In this post I have found some popular summer to fall transitional pieces and have found similar but much less expensive alternatives. 

uo   target

This fancy floppy hat is $90.00 from Urban Outfitters, but Target’s take on it is a cool $16.99.

asos  ae

This awesome Aztec bag from ASOS was originally $64.03, but American Eagle offers a comparable option for only $29.50.

nastygal    target

These badass leopard wedges by Steve Madden via NASTY GAL break the bank at $158.00, but Target once again flatteringly imitates them at a much more manageable price of $29.99.

I hope that this guide has helped fuel your own desire to find fall trends on the cheap!  What other autumn accessories have you been able to find at seriously low prices?

Happy Hunting!

Rad Red

I went clearance shopping with one of my friends from my old job yesterday & came back empty handed.  It was a sad time.  But will we were clearance shopping we did a little window shopping as well.  We went into Express & New York & Co just to see what all the chic ladies were wearing this fall.  We saw a lot of fur & a lot of red.

This made me realize how much I really do love red.  Recently I've been thinking about starting to wear lipstick.  Megan has some pretty rad red lip color in her about photo, I know for sure, but I dunno how the other ladies here at est. 1839 feel about lip color.  I think they'd be on board.

At any rate, I have these awesome red shoes that I got for $2 or so while thrifting ages ago.  I love them! They are perfect for nearly any outfit & they really jazz up jeans.  If I feel like a chic casual day at work, I can throw on my dark jeans & these red shoes and no one knows I needed a break!

I wish I had more red in my closet.  Red is a color that is great to bring some life to wintery outfits.  Red scarves, red shoes, red nail polish.  Red is so classic!

Rad Red by fivesixteenthsblog featuring slim skirts

How do you feel about red?

Do you rock the red lipstick?

DIY Update : Scarf Necklace

Yesterday I posted my lust for a scarf necklace DIY.  Right now its not quite fall enough to wear scarves full on but I still wanna get some use out of them.  So, I thought I'd do a little tutorial.

Also, I am in the wig I bought.  I love it.  No judgement, please & thank you.

Start off with a square scarf, folded into a triangle

loosely fold it into a strip.

Grab the middle

& tie a loose knot.  Fix it so it looks nice.

Move up a little

& tie another knot!

repeat!

tie ends together.

Wear it!

So, is my wig weird?

Hope you try this!

Linking to Let Birds Fly

We love today: A Taste of Your Own Medicine.

pepto nicki emma

It may seem like I’m talking about the sweet taste of revenge, but actually I’m referring to a trendy summer color palette for makeup and accessories that I have nicknamed “medicinal mod”.  Recently I have been noticing starlets sporting mint green, pepto-bismol pink, and bright yellow in subtle spots such as nails, lip color, and eyeshadow.  I think this is a pretty, yet daring trend and thanks to the popularity of this look it’s easy to find these beauty products for pennies at the drugstore.

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What thematic color palettes are you drawn to?  And whose styles inspire you?

Until next time, friends!

We Love Today: Men (& Menswear) We'd Melt For

I know at least one other est. 1839 blogger (shhh...it's Amy!) will agree with me when I say that is is one actor I go gaga for. Matthew Gray Gubler. I don't deny it...I don't. (Ok, so I am a little embarrassed) But after talking with Amy about loving men's fashion the other day I thought I'd do a Men We'd Melt For post on the blog.

The others may not melt, but I sure do:

Joseph Gordon Levitt

Matthew Gray Gubler

Adrien Brody

oh, my beating heart. 

quick hand me my smelling salts I may faint!

And the thing I like about men's clothing is the same thing I like about women's clothing:

layers, blazers, scarves, straight legged trousers.

I am also all about androgyny.  Is that weird?

I like styles that can be both male & female because I believe ladies can look dapper too.

:)

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There is just something about a man looking so fly & stylish.

I wish I could find me one like that!

The great thing about men's fashion is how it translates to women's fashion.

(and vice versa!)

Like I said, we all can look just as dapper:

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Do you like your man to look extra spiffy?

Do you pull off any dapper looks?

We Love Today: Maxi-mum Appeal!

I love to wear skirts & dresses in the summer.  I think they add a bit of carefree & look at me I'm happy kind of feel to your style.  I have a few maxi skirts & love to wear them.

Sometimes they are a hassle (tripping up stairs, sitting weird where they get pulled down a bit, etc) but most of the time they add a bit of feminine to a conservative look.

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I like them too because you can wear them work or casual style.

Sexy & sleek.

Count on it I am wearing a Maxi Skirt today!

What are you loving today?

Fashion For Less: Watch Out!

Hello!  This week has just flown by.  Lately I've been unpacking, working, & haven't found time to blog.  These past weeks have been all about pining to Pinterest, collecting fun images, & plain 'ol relaxing in my down time.

So now that I have a whole collection of things I want to share, I thought I'd start by sharing an image that has two styles/accessories I love: scarves & watches.

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I love the double watch look & often sported it during college.

I still have some of my accessories stashed away that need to be unpacked 

so I can't wait to get back to this trend!

I also have a rack full of scarves & I remember when I fell in love with them.

This one in a cute little bow is to die for!

I like to say I collect scarves, but the truth is, I pretty much collect everything!

I love the unique finds from thrift shops & other second hand stores.

Since I love polyvore, I decided to look through a few pages of watches to find some 

that I'd love to sport double.

Polyvore Set

My fave place to find unique watches? The thrift store!

All of the watches in this set are $10 & up.  The top right one is over $2,000! (wwwhhhaaatttt!?!?!?)

But you can totally DIY one of them with an old watch face & leather/fabric from the craft store.

I am working on making a really cool watch DIY to share here! 

(keep a look out!)

What are your fave accessories? I'd love to know!

ps. I am linking to this great Friday Fancies link party over at Long Distance Loving!

Check out the other awesome entries & vote!

We Love today: Frugal Feathered Finds

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of lovely ladies shaking their tail feathers. And by that I mean wearing feathers…in their hair, as earrings and in some daring cases sewn on as fringes.  The trend is really taking off (like a bird….okay, enough with the puns), and I wholeheartedly approve.  Recently, at the Delaplane Strawberry Festival, my friend Christi and I found some really cool feather earrings for 5 bucks from a craft vendor. 

I like them because they are just slightly longer than my hair and they match it too.  It makes it seem like if I could grow feathers, that’s the color they would be….and I’m not sure why, but that appeals to me. I also like that they fork off like a swallow’s tail.

Christi, in addition to these earrings from the festival, found some lovely blue clip-in feathers for her hair (at the Purple Fern in Winchester). Both items are an aqua blue hue that match her several bird tattoos.   It’s a really lovely thing when someone’s outer appearance matches their character, and Christi’s avian accessories just seem to complement her personality effortlessly.

These would also be simple and inexpensive to make on your own….I’ll roll that around in my head for a while and see if I can come up with something worth sharing!

Your fine feathered friend,

Amy