guest post! {frills for thrills!}

Hello there Little Pretties! I'm Sarah from the fashion and lifestyle blog Frills for Thrills! 

Since I love to collect clothing and accessories and can't justify paying a lot when I buy a lot, I've pretty much mastered the art of bargain shopping! When Molly asked me to do a guest post I knew I wanted to share my secrets with you my little pretties! Read along and enjoy!

Pace Yourself: Buy what you need when you need it. Like a diet, when you deprive yourself of any shopping, the next time you get a taste you will overindulge and overspend. Which leads to buyer’s remorse (after the initial high). Hint: If you don’t get to shop often, make a list of items that you’ve wanted to try on and once you finally hit the mall hunt for those and those alone.

Know Your Limit: Have a cap on what amount you will spend on a specific item. For instance, I personally wouldn’t pay more than $60 for a single pair of shoes unless they were an investment piece to my wardrobe. A good way to set a realist budget is to calculate the CPW, or the Cost Per Wear. By dividing the dollar amount of the garment by the number of times you will wear it yields your CPW. If the numbers don’t even-out, the item costs too much and isn’t worth it. Hint: If your CPW isn’t high enough, there is always a better deal waiting for you!

Shop Around Online: ShopStyle.com is my favorite shopping buddy and I almost always consult her before I hit the mall. When I’m looking for a specific item I type it into the search box and sort by color, price, size, and more. Then it lists all my options. If ShopStyle.com doesn’t have what you are looking for, the rest of the world wide web will, so try the same thing with Google.com and click on the “Shopping” tab.  Hint: If you can, buy it at the store to skip shipping fees and feed your need of instant gratification (I blame our culture)!

Hit the Sale Racks First: When searching for quality investment pieces sort through the sale racks at the department stores first. I almost always find what I’m looking for at a much lower cost. And despite what you might think, the sale racks still carry items that are in season.

Don’t be Afraid of Thrifting: I’m still sorting through what I will and will not purchase second-hand, but when I do, I save so much money. Plus, I can scratch my itch to shop more frequently because I’m not spending as much! Hint: Thrift stores are organized by type of garment, size, and then color. No what you are looking for and ignore everything else.

Mix it Up: You can wear the same item multiple times in multiple ways. Mix, match, and layer to get more use and develop different looks out of the items in your wardrobe. If you’re in a rut, find some fashion bloggers that have similar style to you and mix their inspiration with items that you already have in your closet. Hint: When you have a piece you don’t know how to style, just type it into google and add “street style” at the end and scroll through the image archives until you find a look that fits your taste.

Host a Swap Meet: Invite your friends over to set up a little table/pile of their old clothes and trade with you! My friends and I shared similar sizes in high school and whenever we got sick of our own clothes, we’d bring them in our big black trash bags and swap each other. It was super fun and not as scary as a thrift store because you knew where these clothes were coming from and that the person wearing them before you [hopefully] had good hygiene. Hint: To keep it organized, have designated 

{all photos from weheartit.com}