Stylish; but on a budget

I get asked all the time where I buy my clothes and our kids clothes.  I thought it might be fun if I answered that question here on JandA&Co.

Watch for more posts about this as I share outfits for me and the kids that I pick up for a bargain.

I think it is such a waste to spend tons of money on clothes.  I have tried to teach this to my children.  I want them to know that you can look great without spending a fortune.

Yes!! I have been known to spend good money for a nice pair of jeans, but jeans are a staple and a good pair really will make you feel great.  Jeans are something that I wear everyday, so I think it is ok to spend a little bit more money on them.

I will also spend more money on pieces that will go with a lot and can be worn over and over with many outfits.

That is about the only thing that I will pay full price for.  Everything else must be on sale or clearance.  I almost always buy clearance for my kids.  They grow way to fast to pay full price for anything.  We have also been blessed with lots of hand me downs from friends.  The key is learning how to take the hand me downs and pair them with other sale items to create your own look.  Hopefully I can share some of that with you here.

Today, I thought I would share an outfit that I recently put together.

I hit the thrift stores often, looking for a good deal.

You can always find name brand and nice clothing there. 

I don’t sit and rummage through every article of clothing.  I can usually spot the good items just by standing back and looking.  They will jump out at you.

Like this cute pair of cropped pants.

I picked up these red beauties from New York & Company for just $3.50, and they still had the tags on them.

(ok,  I am not normally a size 2; I don’t want any haters.  Notice they also say stretch.  That is the key, but fitting in a size 2 made me want to buy them even more.)

I brought them home, and gave them a good wash.

I paired them up with a cute stripped shirt from Old Navy bought on sale last year for just $6.

Then a nice black Cardi which was $16 at Target.  I hate spending $16 for anything, but a black Cardigan is a staple and I wear it all the time.

Ok, so that really shows you how cheap I am.  What?  Dressing 6 people gets expensive.

I found the shoes at Forever 21 for just $7.  I love buying shoes in silver and gold because they go with so much.

The fun red flower pin was made by me out of left over red felt and a little tutorial from the web.  I made it like 3 years ago so I don’t know where the tutorial is.  Sorry Folks!! I am sure Pinterest has something.

The earrings are from Target, and the cute necklace was a gift from Joella.  Joella happens to be the designer of these cute necklaces.

I bought the earrings for $7, but I got 7 pairs; so I would say they were just $1 a piece.  The necklace was FREE to me.

The belt also came from Old Navy several years ago for about $8.  It has been such a versatile piece. Which is key when buying clothing. 

Ask yourself if it is good for only one outfit, or if you can wear it with lots of things?

(taking a picture of yourself is so hard… I just couldn’t get a good one in my mirror)

So this little outfit comes in at just over $40.00.   Which is a steal.

Have you added up how much an entire outfit costs?  You will be amazed at how much money you wear everyday.

Stay tuned for more budget finds; and dressing for less.  I will even be sharing some things that my kids wear.

Don’t forget to check out your local thrift store to see what kind of deals you can find.