Fell Off the Wagon: Shopping

This whole blog is about me being broke and trying to find a way to live/eat all while paying off my ridiculous student loans. I've been going strong for a while now but I am only human and not only am I human, I am a girl and there's only so long I can stay strong when it comes to shopping.

Some things you should know about me; I never throw clothes away. EVER. I have clothes from high school. If it still fits and is basically clean then it's mine forever and ever and ever. Unfortunately I am in an interesting period of my life. Adult puberty. I am going from a teenager/early 20-something to a 26 year old professional woman. The way that I dressed when I was 19 no longer reflects the person I am. Me at 19 = slip on ratty vans, tight cigarette pants, and Obey t-shirts. Think this:

Now, there is nothing wrong with this outfit or style of clothing (although, it could be argued that a pear shaped chick like me should stay away from cigarette pants but I digress) but it no longer is what I'm about. I still have these clothes but as the years go by I don't wear them as much and while my closet is filled with clothes my actual wardrobe is very small. I can't really pin point my style but I'm starting to drift more towards classic clothes and finer fabrics. Sometimes I border on preppy which is an entirely new thing for me. Here's some examples:

Photo courtesy of A Well Traveled Woman.

Photo from Pinterest

Due to my non-exisistent shopping budget I've just worked with what I've had and dealt with feeling unfashionable and sad (cue sad female drama). But I finally broke and my busted old cardigan is all to blame.

Despite living in Texas and dealing with unimaginable heat 9 months out of the year I am in love with sweaters. Cardigans, boyfriend sweaters, hoodies, and pull overs I own and love, love, love them all. I have one black button up cardigan that I wear constantly that is as near death that a piece of clothing can be. I've owned it since high school, it's missing a button, it's faded and peeling (is that the correct term?), and at one point I dropped it in my parking lot on a rainy day, ran it over with my car, and found it 8 hours later.

One day last week I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I chucked the old sweater in the trash and dragged my boyfriend to Highland Mall. Now, if you live in Austin you know Highland Mall is on it's last leg. I think there are like 5 stores remaining in it and there are constantly riots there (charming, right?). I figured I could swing by the mall, pick out a cheap sweater from the clearance Dilliards, and move on with my life. But like most things in my life this didn't go as planned. The only store left that had anything CLOSE to what I was looking for was Wet Seal. I  haven't shopped there since high school but beggars can't be choosers and it turned out to be a treasure trove of cheap, awesome finds.

Wet Seal is apparently so hard up for customers in this sad, empty mall that half the store was on clearance and they had a special deal where you buy one clearance item you get another for only a penny. I lost my mind a little. I bought a brand new black, lightweight button up, a thick gray cable knit sweater, a boyfriend style long striped cardigan, a striped flowing tank, a pair of southwest style slip on shoes, black strappy sandals, 2 pairs of panties, and silky gray camisole. All for only $32.48. That's 9 pieces of clothing for less than what my boyfriend and I spent at Taco Tuesday at Quality Seafood (best day to go IMO).

Now, I know I can't go shopping like this all the time but being able to pick up some new items for cheap made me feel so much better. My next plan of attack on my wardrobe is to buy a sewing machine and try to jazz up what I already own.

Here's a fashion show so you can see what I bought (all images from the internet because I'm too fucking lazy to take pictures).

Photo courtesy of Color Me Blue.

Tiny screenshot of sweater (but in black).

 I love this little slip ons so much. Comfortable and perfect for Texas summers. 

Haven't worn these yet but I'm excited to pair them with a fun summer dress.

Follow me on Pinterest so you can keep up with my future projects and inspiration. I have a bunch of new DIY in the works (it be coming sooner but I have to spend money on lame things like the dentist and car parts).