All posts tagged: cheap fashion

“Day at the Regatta” outfit

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Outfit names just come to me like saintly voices to Joan of Arc. I have no choice. I do my duty—and take the designations as they come. Day at the regatta.* It sounded so yachting. So seaside seersucker East Coast-y. So gimlets** on the dock, bwah-haw-haw-ty. So then I googled it, and the image spread was somewhere between the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and Girls Gone Wild. I guess regattas aren’t as classy as they used to be. vintage I. Magnin & Co. buttoned up striped dress – $20, Super Fantastic Triple Yard Sale – previously sported by Boise artist Erin Cunningham (I fashion blogged about her!) | Enamel blue flame earrings – Gift, Cuba via my smuggler/friend Jeff Cramer | Steiger navy leather blue heels with brass eyelets – $7, ReStyle On side table: vintage navy leather clutch – $8, Super Fantastic Triple Yard Sale – previously sported by Danielle Hurd | Nine West cream sunglasses – Free, In Retrospect b/c they were in the lost & found bin for more than a month and I’m crafty as fuck Word guide for non-classy types: * Regatta: a sporting …

“Japanese silkscreen” outfit

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Now this paints a pretty picture. Carole Little Japanese flower print vest (it’s rayon and acetate, not actually silk you guys, so I really pulled one over with the title) – $0.99 (sale!), ReStyle thrift store | Vivienne Westwood red skirt – $20, Lux Fashion Lounge | Guess black patent leather with gold buckle stilettos – $11, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | red polka dot fan – Gift bag – Atomic Treasures (received for judging this year’s Boise’s Funniest Person competition) Vinyl of the day: “So Runs the World Away” by Josh Ritter Cheep!

“Luxe at the Lux” outfit

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I rarely feel overdressed, but last night at the Neurolux, it occurred to me that maybe this silk wonder is a bit much. And then, I draped myself over their pool table. I’ll do anything for fashion. Especially risk being too luxe. Exquisite photographs by the multi-dimensional, multi-talented Kim Philley. Pool-table guest appearance by Xtopher Web. vintage Doreen: Handtailored in Thailand The Royal Orchid Hotel, Bangkok (I wrote that exactly as presented on tag. Now that’s fancy.) multi-dimensional pink & orange silk print dress  – $24 @ 25% off sale = $18, Antique World Mall | Steiger navy leather blue heels with brass eyelets – $7, ReStyle Cheep!

“Criss-cross applesauce” outfit

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Saucy. ($2 dollar special.) Moda International black silk wrap tank, $1 (sale) – ReStyle thrift store | DKNY two-tone tan/black pants, $1 (sale) – ReStyle thrift store |  Banana Republic twisted black and tan leather slip-on heels, $4, Gold Mine thrift store (Ketchum, ID) Cheep!

“Kool” outfit

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 Too kool for school. Like an existential model, I had this Gwendolyn Brooks poem in my mind during this whole self-examined photoshoot, because I’m so cool you guys. We real cool. We / Left school. We / Lurk late. We / Strike straight. We / Sing sin. We / Thin gin. We / Jazz June. We / Die soon. boutique castoff Lush teal green tank, $3.75, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Ralph Lauren Jeans Co. faded black denim – $1 (sale), ReStyle thrift store | Banana Republic twisted black and tan leather slip-on heels, $4, Gold Mine thrift store (Ketchum, ID) Rolling with the Holmies. (Groans. Revokes cool card.) Cheep it up.

“Bronze Metalist” outfit

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I’m a real metal winner. (Mettle, too.) (Just no medals.) Hawaiian Moon sage green silk dress – gifted & thrifted | vintage Carmelton bronze sheer party top (made in USA) – $1, ReStyle thrift store  | Cindy Says green-gold hells, Piece Unique, $I can’t remember but they were half off  Cheep!

“No white flags after Labor Day” outfit

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This is the first, and probably the last, time I’ll ever wear this hard-to-match orange-y knit top, these wonky over-sized, white pants. But with thrift store shopping, there’s zero buyer’s remorse when you make a mistake. You basically give a donation to a nonprofit for real good stuff. Then you make killer $7 outfits out of it. And when you’re done, you just “release it back into the stream,” as I call re-donating, like a down-home preacher would speak of a soul at a funeral. Real life is not so cut and dry. Your choices much more complex and layered. The missteps much more costly. But at least, every single day is another shot at a new outfit.Fiets Voor 2 orange creamsicle knit top, $3.75, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Izod of London white pants, $5, ReStyle thrift store | Cindy Says green-gold hells, Piece Unique, $I can’t remember but they were half off  Cheep it up.

“All that glitters” outfit

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Sequins. Once to me the very definition of standout, of stage wear, of sexy. For all seasons. Lately, I’ve been staring at the thick of sequins in my closet, wondering, “Where did that girl go?” Lately, my tastes run a bit more up close and personal. To catch the gleam of the gold threading in the white flowers of this lace. To see the iridescent sheen of the transparent beads on this Christian Dior belt. To see earrings made of cotton candy pink enamel and gold dragonfly wings. I suppose I no longer want to demand—glittery style-wise—people to look at me. I want to draw them in. Or just amuse myself, alone. Liz Claiborne gold threaded lace top – $1 (sale), ReStyle thrift store | vintage Christian Dior iridescent beaded belt – $5, Repeat Boutique consignment store | vintage Pride & Joy blush rose pants (made in U.S.A.) – $1 (sale), ReStyle thrift store | Damiani (made in Italy) bronze & gold sandals, $5, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store Cheep, cheep.

“Tenenbaum Tennis, Anyone?” outfit

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In honor of the Olympics, I wear the outfit most closely resembling any sort of sporting thing. Apparently, my only reference point seems to be the tennis scenes from The Royal Tenenbaums. Suffice it to say, perhaps I am not an athlete. But I know how to sport a look. Buttons orange & black striped white tennis dress – $5, Idaho Youth Ranch | Recycled rubber, cable & wood black studded biker bag – $7, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Guess black patent leather with gold buckle stilettos – $11, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store Cheep it up, Olympians.

“Becky with the Good Hair” outfit

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Kinky hair, don’t care. I found this Rachel Roy dress at a thrift store this Sunday, and all I could think of was that buzz when Beyonce’s affair-anthem “Lemonade” came out—circling around the sexy fashion designer, an ill-fated Instagram, and an onslaught of bee and lemon emojis. Then, for the following 3 days, the line “Better call Becky with the good hair” has been playing on repeat in my subconscious. It’s like mental water torture. Juicy dress, though. Rachel Roy coral & black banded dress – $8, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Kate Spade nude wedges with gold studded bow – $70, ROSS Dress for Less in Portland (originally $300) Free bonus Opal sighting. Cheep it up.