ten outfits under $35, part XIII.

Welcome back to the "outfits under $35" series! This is my 13th edition of outfits under $35, and my 15th edition of cheap outfit posts. And my seventh year. 

This is quite possibly the smallest gap in between cheap outfits posts EVER. I typically take months - in some cases, almost a year - in between posts, primarily because it takes a while to plan the outfits and get all the pictures taken. However, this time, things fell together very quickly for a couple of reasons. First of all, the holiday season is a spectacular time to get some great deals on clothes. I was also more prone to buy new clothes in larger sizes because I'm pregnant. Finally, because I'm pregnant, there's a bit of a sense of urgency to complete this blog post before I can't fit into any of the clothes on my list. 

I would like this blog be a lesson to you that you do NOT have to go out and buy a whole new maternity wardrobe when you're pregnant. Anything new I bought was simply vetted a little more closely: is it oversized enough so I can wear it? If I purchase it in a larger size, will it still work for me when I'm not pregnant? In regards to pants, can I make them work with button extenders and/or those stretchy belly things? So here's how I kept my inexpensive style and created a workable maternity wardrobe in pregnancy months five, six, and seven.

 

(If you're curious, take a look at my old stories and see how my style (and bargaining prowess) has evolved since 2013!)

 

$40 or less
$30 or less
under $35, part I
under $35, part II
under $35, part III
under $35, part IV
under $35, part V
under $35, part VI 
under $35, part VII
under $35, part VIII

under $35, part IX

under $35, part X  
under $35, part XI 

under $35, part XII 
You can also see some of my specific rules in these older posts if you're really curious, but let's get down to business: here are ten more outfits, $35 or less. 

shirt – Beautique – $11.25 (clearance + 25% off)

jeans – Maurices – $23.50

shoes – DSW – FREE! (were $40, $100 off)

pearl ring – gift from Mom/Grandma

TOTAL: $34.75

I got this shirt during a clearance sale at one of my favourite local boutiques. It's called Beautique, and it's located in Brandon, SD. I love it because a) they have great stuff, b) they have great sales, and c) shipping is always free. Plus, Brandon is close enough to consider it shopping local, and it's definitely shopping small. I love embroidery, so I'm pretty much sold on anything with embroidery. Especially if it's in the clearance section. (See: the shirt in the third picture for exactly the same deal.) My purple shoes were a hell of a deal with DSW: if you bought a certain number of items, you could get up to $100 off your order. So I did, meaning I really didn't pay anything for these shoes. Plus, I didn't own any purple shoes... time to remedy that, right?? My teeny pearl ring is hard to see in this photo, but it was my great grandmother's engagement ring. My grandma gave it to my mom, who then gave it to me. I never met my great grandmother, but it's neat to have this little piece of family history I can wear.

dress – Closet Revival – Providence – $26

booties – DSW – FREE! (was $80, had coupons/discounts)

Lake Poinsett sea glass necklace – Michael’s/Etsy – about $6 for supplies

TOTAL: $32

I actually bought this dress off a mannequin in a store window. That NEVER happens. Mom and I were in Providence, Rhode Island on a fall trip and saw this dress in a consignment store window. I brought it home with me, obviously. It's hard to tell in the photo, but my Lake Poinsett sea glass necklace is embellished with a teeny South Dakota-shaped charm. 

shirt – Beautique – $17.99

jeans  – AE – FREE! (free jean coupon, was $70)

shoes – Modcloth – $16.79 (additional 40% off clearance)

TOTAL: $34.78

Like the shirt in the first picture, this embroidered shirt came from the clearance section of Beautique, the boutique in Brandon. I love it for all the same reasons as the shirt in the first picture, so no need to repeat myself. I got these jeans with my favourite American Eagle perk: the free jeans coupon.

dress – Maurices – $22.19

boots – DSW – FREE! (was $50, had $50 off coupon)

belt – Country Peddler – FREE! (was $5, used credit)

headband - DSW - $12.50

TOTAL: $34.69

 
Here I am, in my natural habitat at work. This plaid dress is actually a super long shirt, but the thing reaches my past knees. It would be a ridiculous shirt on a 5'5" person such as myself, so a dress it is. Did you know that DSW sells not just shoes and bags, but hair accessories too? I didn't until I bought this headband on a whim. I really super like it, but I don't have many occasions fancy enough to merit wearing such a headband. So I wear it to work. With former shirts-turned-dresses. It works for me.

cardigan – Modcloth – $19.99 (on sale + 50% off coupon)

pants – Maurices – $10 (on sale + $15 off)

shoes– DSW – FREE! (were $60, $100 off)

necklace – Tyanas – $5 (clearance)

TOTAL: $34.99

 
Modcloth has some truly remarkable sales if you are lucky enough to catch them at the right time - AND if you're lucky enough for your size to be in stock. They also have tons of rainbow stuff, which is not only good for Pride Month (June), but all year long. The shoes are SO incredible comfortable; it's like wearing squishy slippers to work. 

dress – Saving Paige – $30.40 (clearance + 15% off)

booties – DSW – FREE! (was $80, had coupons/discounts)

earrings – Etsy – $3.95

TOTAL: $34.35

  
Maxi dresses are so tricky. They're incredibly comfortable and acceptable to wear to work, but if they're not cut in exactly the right way for your body, you inevitably look pregnant. In this photo, I actually am pregnant, so I suppose it is fine to look as though I am. My earrings are hard to see, but the are tiny little white lucky cats. Ever since visiting Chinatown in San Francisco for the first time, I have a serious love for lucky cats.

jacket – Next Door Boutique – $23.50 (50% off)

jeans – AE – FREE! (free jean coupon, was $90)

shoes – DSW – FREE! (were $60, $100 off)

necklace – Modcloth – $10.19 (clearance + 15% off)

TOTAL: $33.69

Every May, Mom and I go to the Tulip Festival in Orange City, Iowa. It's so great, even though it's raining 90% of the time. But we love it, and we've been going for years. During our annual pilgrimage, we are sure to visit the fun stores lining downtown Orange City. One of them is called Next Door Boutique, where I never fail to find something I can't live without. This past May (2019), the lucky find was this jacket. I almost had myself talked out of it for fear of looking like Sergeant Pepper, but Mom insisted I did not. Thank goodness, because this jacket has become a true wardrobe staple. The jeans came from another free jean coupon from American Eagle. My secret to getting all these free jeans? Buying American Eagle jeans/pants on super clearance still earns you credit for free jeans. Then, I use the free jean coupon to buy the super expensive jeans for which I never would pay full price. (What you can't see is these jeans are held together by pregnancy button extenders, but that can be our secret.) 


cardigan – Amazon – $13.77 (5% discount)

pants – Maurices – $19.79

booties – DSW – FREE! (gift card!)

book page earrings – gift from Tomi

TOTAL: $33.56

I am not ashamed to admit I have an entire rainbow of these snap button cardigans. I love them so much. As a librarian, I'm predisposed to cardigans anyway, so it was really meant to be. These pants are incredibly soft and comfortable - one of the few pairs of regular pants I can happily wear this far into pregnancy. My earrings are amazing: they were a Christmas gift from my brother's girlfriend Tomi, and they're tiny folded up book pages. So basically, my outfit screams 
"librarian." Which is pretty much my goal for every outfit.

dress – Modcloth – $29.97 (final sale)

booties – DSW – FREE! (gift card!)

druzy and rhodonite bracelet – Etsy – about $3 for supplies

TOTAL: $32.97

  
This dress came from the same kind of sale as my rainbow cardigan a few pictures back. This dress was originally some outrageous price like $125 - a price I would NEVER pay for a casual dress. But $29.97? Absolutely. It's a tad tight at this stage in pregnancy, but then again, so is every item of clothing I own. When you're seven months pregnant, you just can't expect that much from your clothes. In any case, this dress should fit beautifully after I have the baby. The bracelet is one I made after seeing some very expensive versions available to purchase on Etsy. The things you can do with a pair of needle-nosed pliers.

shirt – Target – $2.99 (save $20)

jeans – Maurices – $27.30

boots – TOMS – FREE! (post office lost)

lapis slice and moonstone bracelet – Etsy – about $4 for supplies

TOTAL: $34.29

Target has some pretty stellar deals on clothes if you catch them at the right time. The deal was something like "spend $50, get $20 off," and I was in dire need of maternity pants at the time. Therefore, with that $20 off, I paid very little for this red shirt. Funny story about the boots: I ordered them ages ago from the TOMS website... and they never showed up. I checked the tracking, and it said someone had picked up the shoes at the post office at 6am one day. The post office isn't open at 6am. I talked to the Luverne post office, and they had no idea what happened. They suggested I call TOMS and ask for a refund, which I did, and they granted. Fast forward two months, and the shoes miraculously appeared. I called TOMS to let them know the shoes arrived, and they were generous enough to let me keep my refund. So... free boots. I made this bracelet as well, with the same pair of trusty pliers.

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This concludes the eighth edition of outfits under $35! The next installment will certainly not follow so quickly, as I have all but exhausted my supply of inexpensive clothing that actually fits me. So I hope this holds you over for a while until I'm back, post-baby!