How to Elevate Your Basic Bag

I've talked a lot about clothing on my blog. Let's talk about one of my favorite accessories... bags!

Whether it's my school bag, my huge oversized gym tote, or a small, going-out crossbody bag, I love to add a little something extra to make my bags stand out. 

Take a look at this bag, for example: 

It's just a simple, black tote. Many of us own at least one of these, but not many people feel the need to elevate it like I do. I'd recommend you either add a scarf or a keychain to it. 

There are many ways you can tie a scarf onto a handbag, just follow this website's guide for ideas. 

InStyle gives some tips on how to use a scarf to add a little flair to any bag. By following these ideas, you can end up with a much cuter, more unique bag like these: 

Another idea I love doing (and always get so many compliments on) is adding a fluffy keychain. I always opt for the large faux fur ones. 

Kendall Jenner wearing a fluffy keychain on her bag

Etsy has some great options. I order keychains from there all of the time. I make sure they're not real fur, and because they are so cheap, I buy a wide range of colors. If my bag is colored, I put a neutral color on. If it's a plain black, tan, white, or gray bag, it's super fun to put a colored fuzzy keychain on like the picture above.

By adding a keychain or scarf to your bag, you instantly make it your own. Try it out!  :)

Looks For Less (ft. Lauren Elizabeth)

Since I am in college, budgeting my money is not only important, but it's essential. I can't sacrifice my entire paycheck or allowance on a single shirt. I love buying new clothing, but I make sure to do it on a budget. 

While I have shared my favorite ways to save money as well as the best stores to buy cheap, trendy clothing from, I stumbled upon this video and wanted to share it with you guys. 

Lauren Elizabeth is a beauty/ fashion/ lifestyle/ wellness blogger and YouTuber, and I really enjoy her videos and her blog. This video in particular is relevant to my posts and what I care about. She talks about dupes. I love a good dupe (which for those of you who don't know, are basically cheaper versions of expensive items) and buy them all of the time.

Check out the video and let me know your thoughts. 

Time to Talk About Cargo Pants...

Let's face it...cargo pants are super trendy right now. Regardless of if you like the style or hate it, we need to talk about them. This trend suddenly blew up in the beginning of 2018, and now every girl on Instagram is wearing them.

Let's talk about where it started (or seemed to start).

I'm not 100% sure if this was the true culprit of the trend, but I AM GIA came out with a cargo pant with a chain across the side, and now every website is copying them. 

MY TAKE: It's nice to see a pant that's not a jean become popular/ trendy. I don't personally wear these pants, but I have nothing against them. I like them best when they are styled simply. A basic white t-shirt or neutral colored tank is always best for my taste. 

Stores are now selling camouflage-printed cargo pants, and those seem trickier to style. Lots of celebrities are incorporating these pants into their street style, or are dressing them up with a nice shirt and heels. 

These pants are versatile and much more comfortable than your standard skinny jean. You can dress them up or down simply by changing the shoe. While I think they are cool, the trend seems to be spreading so quickly that they may soon become less trendy because everyone is wearing them. 

Trends I'm Loving

There are two trends I'm absolutely loving right now. 

NUMBER ONE:

Hair Scrunchies 

How cute, right? They were super popular in the 80s and 90s, and then went out of style. I started wearing hair scrunchies about six months ago, and have just recently seen them start to come back into style, YAY! They add to any outfit and are a simple way to elevate any look.  

NUMBER TWO:

Gold Layered Necklaces

  

I started layering multiple length gold necklaces about a year and a half ago, and I've seen this trend become popular recently. Now coin necklaces are very popular and are super cute.

NUMBER THREE: 

Dresses With Sneakers

I'm 5'11, so wearing the types of heels I like isn't always the best option for me. I gravitate towards higher heels, and walking around NYC in 4+ inch heels just isn't ideal. I've found myself wearing sneakers a lot of the time, and have always loved dresses and skirts for the summer time. Lately I've been pairing my summer outfits with a clean, white sneaker, and I think it looks kind of cool! Don't get me wrong, a nice heel or trendy sandal is cute too, but look at how cute a sneaker can be!

What trends do you love right now?

Three Ways To Save Money While Shopping

In a time when designer clothes are super trendy and coveted, there are ways to stay fashionable without going broke. Here are some ways to save some money. 

1.  This is common sense, but use the website's promo codes. Sometimes they aren't always posted on the main homepage of the website, but there are ways to stay on top of promotions like subscribing to an email list or following that brand on social media. Oftentimes these other media outlets will provide promotions to their subscribers or followers. 
2. Check online for different promotions. Do some digging, it's worth it. I'd look at places like coupon.com, retailmenot.com, and groupon.com. You could also try to search "X store's name coupon June 2018" for example. 
3. Sign up for UniDays.com! It's an awesome website that offers discounts for students. All you have to do is sign up using your school account email address. I've used the code I received multiple times. There's no harm in trying it out. 

I use all three of these methods because I loooooovvvvee saving. I pretty much always purchase with a discount code of some sort because I do my research and purchase things when I know there's a huge promo going on based on the emails I get, the social media pages I follow, or when the website itself posts it. 

Cheap/ Fashionable Clothing Stores You Should Know About

I've managed to talk about cheap clothing stores that are fashionable without actually mentioning my list of them! I promise you I am a true "expert" on this topic. Let me prove it. Below are the places you have to check out if you want trendy/ cheap clothing. I've linked each of the stores below. Simply click on the store name and it will redirect you to their website. 

• Misguided →I'm not going to elaborate because I mentioned in my last two posts how wonderful this store is. Definitely check it out ASAP. 
• Boohoo → Very Similar to Misguided. There's currently a 40-80% sitewide sale. FYI they recently collabed with Paris Hilton.
• Pretty Little Thing → Similar to Misguided and Boohoo. I group these three together because they are verrrrrrryyy similar. 
• Asos → They are super popular because they have many different brands. Their prices are higher than the websites above, but you can always find solid options here. Free shipping and returns always.
• Forever 21 → Everyone knows about Forever 21. They have extremely cheap clothing options, and expanded to accessories, shoes, home goods, cosmetics, etc. 
• Nasty Gal → They have unique pieces. A bit pricier than my other websites, but you're sure to find some cheaper cute things. I like this store, but I like the story of how it was started even more. Watch the Netflix Documentary GirlBoss to see how it was started. 
• Zara → I love Zara for basics. You can always find the perfect white t-shirt and pair of jeans. I prefer shopping at Zara in stores vs online.   

After you check out these sites, you're sure to do some damage to your credit card. Remember to always utilize their discount codes and check online for promo codes people post.  Happy shopping!

Misguided Follow Up

Misguided is a fast-growing company that needs to be talked about. As I was doing some research on the brand, I checked out its Wikipedia page and found that it was so much more than what was previously described. I thought I would make some necessary changes. 

This is how it was before I added to it: 

Missguided is a UK-based multi-channelretailer selling clothes aimed at 16-35 year old women. The company's collections include tall, petite, lingerie and nightwear ranges.^[1]Sales for the financial year ending March 31, 2017 were £206 million, growing 75% year-on-year.^[2] Missguided's headquarters were in Salford, Manchester until 2015 when they moved to Trafford Park where the company claimed to have the 'coolest office in the world'.^[3][4]

Simple, straightforward, and includes the basics. It's fine, but there's so much more to the brand than this. 

Next, I added a necessary paragraph to further explain the brand as a whole (as well as including that they offer a plus size line now!). Check it out: 

Missguided is a UK-based multi-channel retailer selling clothes aimed at 16-35 year old women. The company's collections include tall, petite, plus size, lingerie and nightwear ranges. ^[1] Sales for the financial year ending March 31, 2017 were £206 million, growing 75% year-on-year.^[2] Missguided's headquarters were in Salford, Manchester until 2015 when they moved to Trafford Park where the company claimed to have the 'coolest office in the world'.^[3][4]

Misguided is known to be a popular online store that specializes in keeping up with trends and offers major discounts. Their goal is to empower women globally. They have a huge presence on social media and partner with various influencers to promote their clothing lines. Popular collaborations include: Madison Beer, Fanny Lyckman, and Carli Bybel. They recently started a wedding collection that includes affordable dresses.

In conclusion, it's important not only to talk about the company's sales and owner, but to talk about their cultural impact on society today. Mentioning their social media presence, new collections, and mission is essential. Although simple and not much was added, these changes seem positive to me and give readers a better sense of what Misguided embodies and who they are as a brand. 

Misguided Review

Remember how I told you guys in my last post that I would soon recommend my favorite inexpensive stores? Well, here is the first one! It's called Misguided. 

A little history of Misguided can be found here. To summarize, it's a UK-based clothing company that is super size-inclusive and carries tall, petite, and plus size options. They are known to be very trendy and copy expensive brand's designs. Yes, this is controversial and something you should stay away from if it bothers you. I'm not going to go into the ethics of it now, I'm just here to review the store as a whole. 

Back to my review. I like to rank clothing stores based on a few elements: quality, price, trendyness, variety, website friendliness, and customer service. 

Let's get to it. 

QUALITY: This refers to how well the clothes are made. Is the quality of the clothing decent, or does it fall apart after one use? I've ordered from Misguided multiple times, and I'm always impressed by the quality. Of course, there are times when the quality is not absolutely amazing, but for a $15 shirt, it's decent. 

Take a look at these dresses.

The Khaki Ribbed Midi Dress is $20 and the quality looks decent. I've purchased a dress similar to this one from Misguided before, and was impressed. In the next picture, you can see that you can also opt for a nicer dress. They even have bridesmaid dresses! These dresses are likely to be better quality, and are a bit more expensive. 

PRICE: This is hands down THE BEST part about Misguided. I can almost promise you they are having at least a 20% off sitewide sale. They do this constantly. At this moment, on June 13th, 2018, it's 50% off sitewide. How crazy?! Ps: they also have 30% off for students :) Wohoo #collegeperks. 

TRENDYNESS: Okay, so what I have to say about Misguided is that they do an amazing job of staying on top of trends. Again, to be fair and blunt, they absolutely copy name brand designers, which is not really fair. However, if you're looking for the latest trendy cargo pants, definitely check this website out. 

These shoes are really in right now (I'm not personally a fan, but everyone seems to love them.) Name brand designers like Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton make them, and Misguided hopped on that trend very quickly. 

Designer shoes

Designer shoes

Misguided's attempt 

VARIETY: They have a fabulous assortment of options. Below is a screenshot of what they offer. I scrolled over the dresses section to show you how many options they provide. They're sure to have something for everyone.

WEBSITE FRIENDLINESS: Misguided is one of the easiest trendy clothing store's websites to navigate. The check out process is super easy. 

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Because I'm buying online versus in stores, having an amazing, responsive, and polite customer service team is super important to me. What is sizing is off and you have a question about returns? What is something is faulty and you need to speak to a representative about your options? Misguided's customer service has been decent in my past experience. They obviously send confirmation emails, and updates about shipping. They take about 24 hours to respond to all emails. The ways you can contact them: email, Twitter direct message, Facebook direct message, and instant chat on their website. They've been responsive/ helpful to me, so there's nothing to complain about here. 


My overall verdict of Misguided is that I highly recommend it. I give it a 10/10. It's one of the first websites I order from if I want cheap, trendy clothing. I've ordered from almost every category of items from this store (shirts, skirts, dresses, shoes, jackets, jewelry, etc) and am always pleasantly surprised. Try it out and be sure to let me know what you think. 

My Take on Discounted Fashion

Coming from the discount/ coupon/ clothing sale expert, I'm here to tell you that there is nothing wrong with discounted clothing. If you look at my last post, you'll see that I did a bit of research on the topic. Today's fashion industry (keep in mind I'm speaking from a New Yorker perspective) is obsessed with high-end, luxurious name-brand labels, unique clothing pieces, and staying on top of trends. 

For those of you reading who are female college students like me, a $600 Gucci shirt is not in your budget. I'm a 20-year-old living in NYC, one of the most expensive cities in the US,  so the majority of my money goes to rent, food, and money for social activities. Don't even get me started on tuition...

Anyway, something that is important to me is how I dress. Fashion is such a great way to represent yourself, and keeping on top of trends is always fun. I've gathered a list of some really great trendy stores that won't break your bank, which I'll share in a few posts from now. 

Don't get me wrong, if you have the money and enjoy spending it on luxury fashion, that's great and you should go for it. But for the rest of us who love new clothing but don't have thousands of dollars laying around, I'm here to share my opinion on discounted clothing. 

I'm 100% for clothing on sale, stores that have major weekly/monthly discounts, or simply cheaper stores. I absolutely don't think there is anything wrong with buying cheap clothing. 

Some may disagree. Take someone like my sister. She and I have similar fashion styles, are similar in age and economic status, but often prefer different stores. She has expensive taste, and rather buy one or two nicer dresses that cost a bit more.

I, on the other hand, rather have double the amount of new dresses that cost way less. 

To put it simply, she is turned off by the idea of a $20 dress, while I think it's absolutely great.

When you find cute clothes that are on a major sale, you must remember a couple of suuuuuuppper important things before you buy:

1) The quality is not going to be the best. There's a reason these designer stores charge so much. Their products normally last a while longer than that of a less expensive brand. As long as you're okay with this, go for the cheaper option! 

2) There's tons of controversy which I plan to write about, regarding brands that rip off designers and sell look-alikes for much less. There is a lot of debate over this, and I have conflicting opinions. For now, we're just going to assume that it's okay. 

Overall, if you're trying to budget your money, don't let others force you into spending your entire paycheck for one single new Prada bag. Unless this is something you truly want and need, follow my blog's later posts and try shopping at some of the places I recommend. You'll be able to buy a lot more new things and will end up not spending too much money. No matter where I shop, I always try to get a discount. Whether that's scouting out the sale rack, going to cheaper stores, or applying an online promo code to my checkout chart, finding discounts is something I love doing and encourage everyone to do the same.  

Millennial Shopping: Driven By Prices

I'm happy to learn that a surprising amount of money is spent on clothing, seeing as I definitely add to this statistic. As the online shopping world expands, so does the amount of money spent online. Millennials make up a large amount of consumers in the online shopping world. According to Nielsen.com, "shopping for apparel is a regular and frequent activity for most U.S consumers." 

College students are no exception. With modern technology expanding, online shopping can be as easy as a click of a button (or screen in the case of iPhones.) Online stores make the purchasing process user-friendly and they allow consumers to simply select the items they want, and check out in a matter of seconds. You can store your address and credit card number in your phone's memory to make purchasing your items easy and convenient. Companies are figuring out ways to make online shopping exciting and something consumers want to do frequently. Perhaps this is why shopping is so common these days!

Richard Kestenbaum, a contributor to Forbes.com, wrote an article explaining why millennial shopping is so important. As of June 2017, there were 80 million millennials. Together they spent $600 billion dollars annually. The prices of clothing is extremely important for millennials because "almost 80% are influenced by price. Even as much as they are looking for other values from their products" some of which include, "authenticity, local sourcing, ethical production and a great shopping experience, nothing beats a discount no matter how old you are." 

According to Kestenbaum, the topic of brands is very prevalent in this day and age, "A majority of millennials follow brands on at least one social media platform" because they want discounts. "Two-thirds of millennials say they will switch brands if they are offered a discount of 30% or more." Discounts are frequently used when purchasing clothing. Kestenbaum notes that 72% of millennials spend an average of 3 minutes looking for a coupon before making an online purchase. While "that may not sound like a lot" of time, "online shopping is meant to be fast, simple and easy, three minutes of searching for coupons is significant and clearly an important motivator." 

The main takeaway here is the millennial shopping habits are something to pay attention to. We want shopping to be fun, easy, quick, and most importantly, cheap!

Fashion on a Budget: The Intro

Welcome to my blog, where I talk about fashion from a female college student's perspective.  Join me as I help young women budget their money while staying fashionable. 

Growing up in NYC, I've always been surrounded by fashion. New York is the fashion capital of the world (or at least one of them) and throughout the past couple of years, I have come to recognize and appreciate fashion as a tool of self expression and as a creative outlet. Expressing yourself by wearing unique clothing helps you become an individual/stand out.

Attending college in Manhattan really changed something for me. Cool, intricate, and distinct clothing swarms not only the streets of New York, but also the hallways of my school. I love clothing, and nothing excites me more than to pick new pieces out, try them on, and bring them home to my already way too overflowing closet.

While high-end, luxury brands are fabulous and highly desired, I'm here to talk about buying fashionable clothing on a budget. I've gathered quite a bit of knowledge on different stores, and want to share my recommendations for where to shop, what trends are going on, and how to budget your money and find the best sales.

Join me on this fashion journey as I hope to create a supportive community that is in constant conversation about the overwhelming world of fashion. Let's delve into how to look stylish without going broke.