Tuesday, June 26, 2018

ten outfits under $35, part IX.


It’s been almost a year, but I’m BACK with more outfits under $35!

This is my ninth post where the outfits are $35 or less. You can find the other eight here, plus the very first two (in which I had different price points):


If you’re reading this now, you’ve probably been through my cheap outfit rules – so I’m going to quit going over them. If you haven’t, you can find the full set of rules in volume VII. But here’s all you really need to know: I’m into hunting bargains, and the total cost of each and every outfit is under $35

So let’s do this.
romper – Mason Jar – $32.40 (10% off)
boat shoes – Country Peddler – FREE! (was $22, used credit)
bracelet – Michael’s/Etsy – about $2 for supplies
TOTAL: $34.40

This is my first (and only) romper. I bought it on a whim last summer and kind of totally loved it. Unfortunately, I ripped one of the buttons off during its first wear over Labor Day weekend, and it took me a thousand years to fix it because I hate sewing. But now my romper is back in action and ready for summer! A friendly warning: you will be seeing a lot of these boat shoes. I got them from Country Peddler, and they match pretty much anything. Plus, I love boat shoes. I made the bracelet during a brief spurt of bracelet creativity last year. I love it, but it’s one of those that’s fairly difficult to fasten by yourself, so it doesn’t get as much wear as I would like.

dress – Lauriebelles – $32.40 (10% off)
shoes - DSW - FREE! ($29.99, $20.15 discount and $10 off)
bracelet – Michael’s/Etsy – about $2 for supplies
TOTAL: $34.40

This yellow dress is on heavy rotation in my closet. It’s the perfect length, perfect color, perfect everything (except it doesn’t have pockets, but I suppose I can’t have everything). My bracelet is super simple: lapis lazuli and gold beads on wire and chain.


shirt – Target – $17.99
pants – Target – $16 (sale + 20% off)
heels – Modcloth – FREE! (came with weird heel, couldn’t exchange, full credit)
TOTAL: $33.99

Target recently did a revamp of their clothing line, and they brought in a whole bunch of menswear-inspired pieces. As one who leans more toward the broad-shouldered side, menswear can be challenging for me, but I am totally into this shirt. Skinny cargo pants are a thing now, too, and I love them. I would wear them to work every day if I could (and, if we’re being honest, I basically do).

shirt – Maurices – $10.80 (20% off + $15 in coupons)
jeans – AE – FREE! (jeans reward coupon – was $90!)
Birkenstocks – $23.75 ($50 Honey coupon + 5% off)
TOTAL: $34.55

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS AMAZING DEAL. American Eagle has this loyalty program where if you buy five pairs of jeans, they’ll send you a coupon for a free pair. Five pairs of jeans sounds like a lot, but let’s consider: I can buy jeans for both James and me, and American Eagle counts “jeans” as basically all pants (like the green cargo pants you will see later on). I can also get these jeans on crazy sales, like buy one get one half off and 30% off on top of that. Anyway, this pair of jeans was a freebie: and they were originally $90! YES!! This outfit is full of amazing sales – I belong to this website called Honey that can find you coupon codes online. If the site you’re using doesn’t have a code, Honey can often give you a percentage back, which you can then redeem for things like Amazon gift cards. I bought a pair of Ray-Bans over Black Friday, and Honey was running a ridiculous special where you could get a whole ton of bonus points. And that is how I earned a $50 Amazon gift card (plus my 5% off for being a Prime member) and got real Birkenstocks for under $25.

shirt – Old Navy – $8.50 (50% off)
shorts – Maurices – $10.50 (25% off + $15 in coupons)
sandals – Target – $11.50 (buy one get one 50% off)
bracelet – Etsy/Michaels – about $4 for supplies
TOTAL: $34.50

I don’t always have a lot of luck at Old Navy, but every now and again, I find something pretty great. This tank top was on some kind of flash sale in the store – plus, it’s got a flamingo on it. Awesome. These shorts are the most comfortable shorts to ever walk into my closet, and I’d wear them all the time if I could. The bracelet is one I made with leopard jasper stones while experimenting with elastic. So far, it hasn’t fallen apart, so I’d call it a success!

dress – Ragstock – $19.99
shoes – Target – $12.50 (buy one get one 50% off)
TOTAL: $32.49

One of the perks of being a librarian is that you get to wear dresses with cats on them and no one really gives you a second look. I bought this dress at Ragstock when I was supposed to be looking for something nice to wear to a (GULP) visitation. I never found anything for the visitation, but now I have an awesome cat dress.

cardigan – Country Peddler – FREE! ($15, used credit)
jeans– AE – $34.98 (buy one get one half off – from the FREE jeans!)
boat shoes – Country Peddler – FREE! (was $22, used credit)
dino necklace – gift 
TOTAL: $34.98

So remember those jeans I got for free a few outfits back? WELL. Turns out that you can use your coupon for a free pair of jeans and still get another pair as part of the buy one get one half off sale… so I got these for 50% off their regular price. The necklace is a brontosaurus and a gift from my amazing friend Allison. Dinosaur jewelry is the best kind.

shirt – Ragstock – $6
shorts – Maurices – $10.50 (25% off + $15 in coupons)
 sandals – Target – $11.50 (buy one get one 50% off)
Scandinavian bracelet – Lucky Day – $5
TOTAL: $33

Yes, this is my second cat item from Ragstock, and I’m totally cool with it. The bracelet is made from a Scandinavian sweater (!!!) – how cool is that?! I got it at what's called the Lucky Day sale - an occasional sale in a super cool barn near my parents' place. The shorts, you may notice, are duplicates of the green ones you saw earlier, but they are AMAZING. So why not buy them in every color? Especially when they are $10.50 and there are only two colors.

dress – Modcloth – $26.99 (40% off clearance)
shoes - DSW - FREE! ($29.99, $20.15 and $10 off)
bracelet – Etsy/Michaels – about $8 for supplies
TOTAL: $34.99

Once in a while, Modcloth will have massive clearance sales, and I can get some really great things. This dress is one of those great things. I wore this dress when I met John Green (!!!) at the library. The bracelet is Frankensteined from two bracelets I never wore – so now I have one cool bracelet that I love to wear.


shirt – Country Peddler – FREE! (was $6, used credit)
pants – AE – $29 (originally $70, flash sale)
boat shoes – Country Peddler – FREE! (was $22, used credit)
sea glass necklace – Michael’s/Etsy – about $6 for supplies
TOTAL: $35

American Eagle has really been doing right by me lately. These jeggings were originally $70, but they were on a flash sale around Christmas for $29. They are the perfect work pants: comfortable, sturdy, and still nice enough to make me look polished. I made the necklace from Lake Poinsett beach glass – if you look closely, you’ll be able to see a tiny South Dakota charm wrapped around the glass.

-----

Well, it may be another year before I get around to another cheap outfit blog, but this sure was fun! Thanks for sticking with me.