End of the season sales-My fav time of year!

I love this time of year...getting ready for the switch over of a new season.  Goodbye Fall/Winter Hello Spring/Summer.  Crazy right?  Its just going to be February 1st.  But now is the time to buy your fall/winter clothes on clearance.  Especially when it comes to holiday attire for the kiddos.  I already have a couple of outfits for both girls for next Christmas that were marked down 75% off and more.  I always just buy a size up (my 3 y/o is wearing a 3t/4t so I buy her a 5t. ).  I did the same thing last year when I was pregnant with my 9 month old and she had so many Christmas outfits she could have worn one everyday for the month of December!

This was one of my favorites from the end of last season.  I found this dress for my 3 y/o at Kmart.  Originally a $30 dress marked down to $4.99.  If you go now, Christmas dresses are discounted at 50-75% off, but even if you wait a little longer you can find them marked down even more.

The girls matching Christmas dresses.  I found them last year on clearance at Babies R Us originally $45.00 dresses for $13.99.  They fit perfectly and I didn't have to worry about scrambling out to buy them a dress around the busiest shopping time of the year!
And then this is one of the cutest things!  I found this at buy buy baby in Brookfield at the end of last season.  $8 down from $25.  It was so stinkin cute and everyone that saw her in it just couldn't get over it. There was also a headband but its not easy keeping those on a little one:)

So get out there and start to feel it out...there are some really good finds you can buy now, and tuck away for next year.  Happy Bargaining! 

The infamous jacket!

The Abercrombie Jacket talked about in my first blog entry.  Very pricey (especially at the time) but look at the shape its in!

Magazines and the media....lets be realistic!

I love to flip through a good magazine for fashion ideas.  I find a lot of my “ignition” the sparks ideas and puts me on a mission find something similar for less.  But looking through a lot of magazines is disturbing to me.  Being a working mom of two, I know that many of the things that are advertised or highlighted are much too expensive for individuals like me and many others out there. 

I am a frequent reader or browser of magazines including Glamour, People Style, Oprah and All You.  All of these magazines are very different but all have a variety of “readers”. The most realistic I have found is All You.  I actually am a subscriber to this magazine and for good reason.  It is the one magazine that is realistic across the board from fashion to home goods to coupon clipping.  For people like you and I, we can relate. 

I have looked through a variety of these over the past couple months and taken some notes I would like to share. 

In the Fashion Bulletin of September’s Issue in Allure, they show a variety of menswear and patterns and “how to wear it” The cheapest item listed on this page is $88 for a skirt from White House Black Market.  From there it jumps up to a dress from Banana Republic @ $150.  It continues to go up from there all the way to the highest price item being a Hermes stainless steel watch $4975.  As much as I love White House Black Market and Banana Republic, even those stores can be pricey, even if you can find a good sale item.  Buying a piece like this every once in a while is affordable, but those are the kind of items you want to last you a year or two.  Moving on to their Fashion Cravings page where they list Must vs Lust items, even their must items are ridiculous.  An example of this is a wool sweater.  Their lust is a Dries Van Noten wool sweater at 1113 and their must is a Vince wool sweater at $320.  For $320, I can buy multiple sweaters for each member of my family.  One could say, why even look at these magazines then if you can’t afford the items?  As I said earlier, they create inspiration for me to go out and find a similar look for much less.

In the Yourself section of the September 23^rd issue of All You, they spotlight ankle boots, the most expensive pair being Fergalicious boots at $70 and the least being Trend Report at $30.  That is more realistic for a middle class working mom.  Later in the magazine in their Dressing made simple feature, they highlight entire outfits that don’t even cost $220, shoes purse and accessories included.  Many items of which can be integrated into other attire worn daytime during the work day or evening for nights on the town or dates with your hubby.

The US weekly style issue from September 19^th, 2011 had a “More Splurge vs Save section.  Many of these items showed to have a reasonable “look a like” example being a Marc Jacobs drawstring tote @ $428 to a similar H&M drawstring bucket bag @ $40 (pg63).  But then flipping just pages later to their “Cool Classics” section they headline fall boots on page 79.  The cheapest pair being Nine West Suede Mavenue booties @$149 and the most expensive being Bottega Veneta suede peep-toe booties for $740.  For me, I would have been on a mission to find something similar, and probably not spent more than $50 on them.  I actually found a pair of peep-toe wedge  booties at Maurices in September for clearance down to $6.99.  They are adorable and I can wear them with many different outfits and all under $10!  This just goes to show that you can look to many magazines for ideas, and find them for a reasonable price!

The Oprah magazine always has desirable things in it.  I mean, come on, its Oprah!  We have all seen her favorite things shows.  But not all of us have Oprah’s money either.  In the September 2011 issue, there is a feature on “The O List” makeover edition on pages 94 and 95.  Immediately I was drawn to a very modern black floor lamp.  I usually immediately scroll down to the price to see if it’s even feasible for me to put on my “want list” (I have a want list and a must have list- the must have list are usually those things that if I can’t stop thinking about it after seeing it in a store, online or in a magazine, I find a way to get it but at a reasonable cost).  Well, the lamp was $2,438….that is my mortgage payment, for 2 months!  There is no way I could ever justify buying an item for that price.  Heck, that could even be a car for one of my girls in 12 years!

The point is, the media makes it out to be that everyone can live a life of a celebrity or within a means that they can’t afford for themselves.  This just isn’t the case for many people this day and age.  Many people are struggling to even make bill payments on time, and for many, fashion and shopping in the last thing on their mind.  But for those like me who find enjoyment out of fashion and dressing nice, I find a way to make it work for me and my family.    It’s all about strategy, research and finding the best deal for your buck

Notice the peep toe wedge booties?  These were the steal I got from Maurices for $6.99!

Mommy's little shopper!! Who could resist this model??

Shopping can be fun and reasonable for your kids too!  I find that a lot of the best times to shop for your kids is at the end of a season when things are going to be super marked down.  I was pregnant with Britta when I bought many of her Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas clothes and paid 1/4 for what I would have paid during these seasons. 

Clothes aren't the only good buys you can find at the end of season.  Pier 1 is a great example of this.  If you go there after any season (Christmas most recently) there merchandise is anywhere from 50-90% off.  It is every shoppers dream to find deals like that.  Keep those things in mind when you are shopping after holidays- think about what you can buy for the next holiday season, pay a fraction of the cost and you will be happy you did when that time of year comes around again.

(Pictured above- Carter's onesie bought on clearance at TJ Maxx for $2.

Baby's 1st Halloween bought at TJ Maxx on clearance for $1.99

Carter's little Chicky Halloween costume bought for 90% off at Kohls for $3.40!) 

Jessicas Simpson Line

Alright, I will be the first to admit it, out loud, and not be ashamed.  I love Jessica Simpson.  I have loved her since back in her early days of her early pop stardom competing against the likes of Britney and Christina.  I even went to the extreme of going to her concert back in 2005.  (I may have been the oldest person in the crowd).  And even though I am a secret 'With You' junkie( I even had the ring tone for the longest time), I will swear up and down on her fashion line.  From her purses, dresses to jewelry, the girl has taste.  My first purse I ever bought from her line was mentioned in my intro blog.  It was a deep blue, double strap handbag I bought from Boston store.  At that time I thought I was really getting a great deal.  It was $98.00 and it was a little more than half off.  Granted $45.00 for a quality purse you love and use often is a great buy, but I recently found the Jessica Simpson 'Gianna' Leopard Mini Flap Satchel at TJ Maxx a few months ago.  We all know that places like TJ and Marshall's always gets the overstock of larger department stores, and although they have great pricing, sometimes you can find really great deals, like this purse.  Originally, this purse came out on her fall line and was originally priced at $88.00.  I found this lovely piece for $15.00!  This was a must have item with animal prints being hot right now, and it can be worn with many different outfits.  Looking online now it is hard to find, but I did find a few sites that still are asking for $79.99 

http://www.designersimports.com/itemdetail.asp?mod=JS3641LW-MLBRN&?utm_source=Pricegrabber&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=JS3641LW-MLBRN_JessicaSimpson&utm_campaign=Pricegrabber

This is one of the many pieces you walk out of a store with, not feeling guilty about spending alot and having a great new handbag you know you will definitely get your money's worth out of.   But all savings aside, Jessica has alot of great items on her line and they are well worth the money.  Always check out the clearance racks at Boston Store and TJ carries alot her her stuff too.  Cute, good quality and reasonable = one happy mommy! 

Tell me what you want as readers!!!

I have a ton of pictures of fashion finds from kids to adults that I have found along with there prices.  Tell me what you are looking for and I will help! It is easy to look good and save money when doing it!

This entire outfit cost me less than $45.00.  Dress, shos and purse included. 

My Introduction-Welcome to my dream

Creating this blog has been a long time coming for me.  Some may think it is silly, but it is something I often think and dream about wanting to share with others.  Please share with others and come back to read on as I always will have something to share.

 

I am a wife and mother of 2 beautiful little girls, Savanah 3 and Britta almost 9 months.  We live in Plymouth, WI where I grew up.  

I have always had a dream of working with fashion/shopping.  I did a short stint in the modeling industry but was quickly told by many all of my faults.  Not the best thing for a 16 year olds ego so that quickly went out the door.  My two passions and dreams for a career were working in fashion and helping those that are less fortunate.  I chose the latter path and have been working in the social services industry after getting my Bachelors and Masters in Social Work.   Working in this field the past 6 years has made me more grateful for the things I have and even more so wanting to cut back on spending money on luxurious things.  More recently, I lost my job and it really hit me and my family hard.  I started considering going back to school to get into fashion.  I am often complimented by others for the way I dress or things in my home and every time I tell them the deal I found it for, they are in shock.  So I started doing some research about going back to school.  When I found out it was $100,000 it was immediately out of the question.     

I grew up in a small town of less than 10,000 in the Midwest.  Obviously not the number one place that comes to mind when you think of fashion.  Growing up I always loved clothes, but back when I was in grade school, I didn’t care much about labels. My childhood best friend and I were easy on our parents then, asking to go shopping at the local Kmart or Wal-Mart.  I will always remember my birthday in the 5^th grade.  There was this vest I wanted SO BADLY from Kmart.  It was jean with multi color denim.  I still have a picture somewhere I should try and find and post.  I would never in my right mind wear that now, but I laugh about it because at the time it was as important to me then as my favorite royal blue Jessica Simpson purse I got from Boston Store a couple years back for $45 (clearance of course).  But now things have almost come full circle.  I enjoy shopping at many places, but ironically, Kmart is one of my favorites.  Sure it isn’t BCBG or Gucci, but many of the items are cute and most importantly reasonable.

My teen years I became a little more selfish when it came to material things and I wanted all the expensive things that were “popular”.  I was fortunate with my parents that they bought all these things for me, but looking back I would have slapped me lol.   My family wasn’t well off by any means but we were your average middle/working class family.  Both my parents worked and I even had my first job by the time I was a freshman.  Being older now and looking back, I can’t believe all the things they still bought for me even though it wasn’t ideal for our lifestyle.    They worked hard for the things we had, and I remember one Christmas wanting this goose down Abercrombie and Fitch jacket.  It was $300.  My mom already took me xmas shopping at all my fav stores every year and pretty much bought me everything I wanted.  I still hoped for it and on xmas she gave me all my gifts (oodles and oodles) and then surprised me with the jacket.  I hate that I was so selfish, but I actually still have that jacket and still wear it from time to time AND Its still in good shape, is fashionable and lets be real, it was 300 which is a lot of money for a middle class family.   Now being a working mother of two girls (yikes- if they like clothes and shopping as much as I do my husband is in trouble), I have to be more realistic.  Not only for myself but for my girls.  Now I know what it’s like to work hard for the things we have, but I still know that others are not so fortunate.

I want to share with others that can’t afford all the luxury clothing, purses, jewelry, home goods, toys  for their children, children’s clothes, gifts for others, you name it I can usually find it.  I always find great deals, and I start by looking at the clearance racks.  It’s hard to walk past a new line or item that has just come out, but paying full price for things now days is hard to justify.  Especially for most families during these hard economic times.  I hope that many of you reading can find some good bargains through me and my shopping tips for yourself and your family.