The Budget Fashionista

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Nordstrom’s Half Yearly Sale started Yesterday and extends until Sunday, Nov. 6th. Big savings on apparel, shoes (oh yeah), and more for women and children. Note: I thought I had posted this on Monday. Without new episodes of “Lost” to center me, I’m completely...um… lost.

To say that I love DSW is an understatement. I actually wrote a love letter to the store in my book. I know pretty much all the stores locations in the PA-NJ-NY tri-state area. I shopped there way before the commercials (which are brilliant). What I like most about DSW isn’t just that it has low prices on designer shoes like Marc Jacobs, Via Spiga, Stuart Weitzman, etc at amazingly low prices—but the store has amazingly low prices on designer shoes …

Shopping Dudes Rejoice! Nordstrom is having its Half Yearly Sale, with sale prices on male closet staples like Kenneth Cole, Hugo Boss, and Ben Sherman. They even have an impressive selection of items for less than $30 bucks, like Pony High Top sneakers and Polo thermal tops, so you feel comfortable throwing out the sweat-stained top and sneakers that “talk”.

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Q: I’m a girl who has a love of fashion, but not a lot of time to go scouring through the racks looking for the real steals. I know this must be possible, so my question to you is what are some tips for people who want a bargain, but have little time? Target.com Overstock.com SmartBargains.com

A: You do not have to spends hours shopping each week to find great deals on designer fashion.

General budget shopping tips for busy people.

The first rule of budget shopping is to go on the weekdays. Besides missing the long weekend lines, most stores put out new merchandise and markdown existing items on Tuesday-Thursdays. Another tip is when entering a store, head straight for the back or side racks. Most retail stores place their new, more costly items along the aisles and in the front of the store. Another way to save time is to sign up for email alerts to your favorite department stores. Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Macys, all have email alerts that notify you of a sale days before it happens allowing you to plan accordingly.

Shopping online is great option for bargain shoppers who have a limited amount of time.  Online discount stores like Bluefly.com, SmartBargains.com, Overstock, and YOOX .com have some great designer fashions at low prices and allow you to shop without leaving your computer.

Happy Shopping

The Budget Fashionista

Q:Budget Fashionista, I need your help. I’m a 5"1", 110 lbs, 23-year-old female and I find it very difficult to shop for office clothes. It seems like there are very few fashion options for petite women. Any advice? A: I’ve been getting quite a few questions from petite readers in regards to the sad state of petite fashion. I agree that there’s little, to no, options for truly petite women. The fact is that as the size of the average …

You could also try wearing Parisian and Japanese designers, who tend to cut their clothing a bit smaller. Try designers like Kenzo, Karl Lagerfeld, TSE, Issey Miyake, Marini, Louis Vuitton, or the French budget site Le Redoute. With the exception of Le Redoute, these designers don’t come cheap, so you’ll have to practically live at the local outlet mall or on the bargain site—Bluefly.com. But the clothing will fit you. You could also try a store like Ann Taylor, which sometimes can be as pricey as buying designer clothing at an outlet mall and not nearly as fashionable and the Gap, which sells petite (and tall) sizes online. Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Lord & Taylor all have petite departments with a better selection online rather than in store. You might also want to save your money and head up to Canada—Ste. Catherine in Montreal and the Eaton center in Toronto have several great petite fashion shops.

Here’s some general tips:

Things to Embrace:
High Heels—Wearing at least a 2-inch heel will help to elongate your body (both torso and legs).

A Great Tailor—A great tailor is an importance asset for your wardrobe as he or she can alter garments to fit your shape.  I’ll talk more about how to find a great tailor later in this section.

Low-rise Pants—Lower waist pants will make your torso look longer. Make sure the hem of the pants covers your shoe to give the illusion that your legs are longer.

Big Hair—If you’re looking to appear taller, wearing your in a high bun or ponytail will increase height as well.

Vertical Stripes—The stripes give the effect of looking taller and slimmer.

Things to Avoid:
Cropped Anything—Cropped pants, tops, and jackets will shorten your torso.

Flats—They will not give you the additional height you need.

Long unstructured skirts --They will drown your shape and make you look shorter. Hem the skirt to either three inches above your knee, at your knee, or three inches below your knee.

Mini skirts—Off the rack mini skirts will fall at an awkward length. Make sure your skirts fall either 3 inches above your knee, at your knee, or 3 inches below.

Great Designers for Petite Budget Fashionistas
INC—Trendy, bright, and affordable.
Eileen Fisher—Fluid fashions good for plus size petites.
DKNY—Hip, younger, urban wear.
Ellen Tracy—A classic line, great for suits
Forever 21—Not a petite store per see, but clothes are cut smaller
Dana Buchman—Another classic line, great for work clothes
Lily Pulitzer—Sportswear for the ladies who lunch set.
Lauren by Ralph Lauren—The classic American designer’s preppy petite line.
Anne Klein—Suits and tops perfect for work.
Gap—Online store stocks a large number of petite sized pants.
Banana Republic—Online store carries fashionable designs in petite styles.

What: Nordstrom is launching videos today to accompany their online shopping experience, according to WWD. The “Design to Inspire” videos, the first round of which is featuring Milly and its designer Michelle Smith, have the designers discuss the favorite pieces in their collection, their inspirations, where to wear them and what to wear them with. Consumers learn about what they’re purchasing straight from the item’s creator. What We Say: We don’t plan on purchasing anything at the full price from …

What: Get a free beauty gift with purchase during NORDSTROM’s Anniversary Sale. What We Say: Most of the time, we shop at NORDSTROM Rack because the prices at the department store are a bit too steep. But with their Anniversary Sale, we can purchase high-end beauty products and get free make-up, skincare, and perfume. In pouches, which we can use to store make-up. The brands offering gifts with purchase vary from the high end to very high end: Lancome, Clarins, …

Recently popularized by headband-loving Lauren Conrad on MTV’s The Hills, the headband is a really great hair accessory, especially during those unavoidable bad hair days. A plain wide headband is perfect for keeping your hair out of your face, and give you a pulled-together look. However, a fancier headband with chic embellishments is ideal for evenings out to cocktail parties and even weddings! Even if you don’t want to splurge on different colors and styles, a sleek neutral toned headband …

On the bottom: The Tasha Soft Circle Headband, $32, available at nordstrom.com. Up top: The Circle Jelly Stretch Headband, $8, available at target.com.