Copy Cat

Fall fashion has hit the stores. So what does this mean? Lots and lots of catalogs at my doorstep tempting me to shop! As I was flipping through the JCrew catalog, I saw this cute work outfit and thought to myself... I can totally make this same look for a tenth of the price. So I raided my closet and made out pretty well. As seasons change, I love to stock up on structured basics in classic, solid colors. They are a nice staple for your closet and you can mix and match them more easily. I especially think that every working woman needs to have at least a few blazers: black, tan or brown, and one pop of color (pink, red, green). This can dress up any outfit (even a cheap tee and khakis as seen below). Another tip for my working ladies... buy CHEAP flats! If you are like me, you probably where them so much that they get worn out fast. I never spend more the $30 for a pair of flats... even my designer ones :) Below is my copy cat JCrew outfit... Please let me know if you see any outfits that you'd like to mimic of a low cost. I'll try my best!

The Original JCrew Outfit: Blazer - $350, Cropped Pant - $89.50, Striped Tee - $90, and Patent Flats - $188 .. bringing the total outfit cost to $717.50! 

The Copy Cat: Ann Taylor Blazer - $50 (originally $200), H&M Cropped Pant - $14.50, H&M Striped Tee - $12, and Forever 21 Patent Flats - $10 .. bringing my total outfit cost to $86.50! I'll take a $631 savings any day :)

multi-purpose

The other weekend I went shopping with a friend. We hit the typical stores that I used to love which always have great sales, like Urban Outfitters, and I found NOTHING! Then I decided to look at the other stores like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, and Zara. This is when I knew that my style was ... let's just say maturing. Gone are the days of purely "work" clothes and "fun" clothes. As I've gotten older, I've realized the importance of multi-purpose clothing. Items you buy should be appropriate for work and casual events, but that's not to say that you should be boring. Mixing these multi-purpose items with funkier one still keeps them on trend. Here are some ways I wore the Banana Republic "Coco silk tank," purchased for $28 (originially $80). BTW you can save 30% on your entire purchase today at Banana using the code BRFASION.

Work: Paired the safari style tank with mustard cropped pants from H&M ($14) and lepoard flats from Forever 21 ($10). Then I threw on my classic work accessories... Sunglasses and a watch.This makes a fashionable work approriate outfit if I do say so myself!

Fun: To jazz up this shirt, I added some fun necklaces - both are from AE, are old, but were bought for $5 each. Since the shirt is so structured, I decided to add a pair of  frayed cut offs ($15 at Marshalls) and some funky sandals from ShoeDazzle ($30).