Fashion Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

Do You Spend $12,000 Each Year To Look Good?

Last Updated: May 1, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 59 Comments

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The other day I came across an article that said men and women spend around $15,000 in their lifetime to look good.

At first that amount of money seemed like a lot, but when I really thought about it, $15,000 really did not seem like enough at all.

When you include, beauty products, hair cuts, spa treatments, clothing and so on, the number is probably much higher than $15,000 in your whole entire life.

In fact, I came across another article that said the number is actually around $12,000 per YEAR (according to Siren Magazine). $12,000 a year sounds like way too much to me though. [Read more…]

Setting a Clothing Budget

Last Updated: December 15, 2014 BY Jordann - 37 Comments

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When I first decided to start getting out of debt, one of the things that I had to seriously consider eliminating was my clothing budget. I really didn’t want to at first. I was fresh out of University, and my wardrobe was looking pretty pathetic as it was. I really wanted to spend a lot of cash on buying new, grown up clothes to suit my new, grown up personality.

Unfortunately, the first time I calculated my payment on my $27,000 in student loan debt, I knew that my dreams of having a beautiful wardrobe were probably going to be crushed before they were ever achieved. I just didn’t have enough cash to pay my rent, my car payments, and my student loans, while still investing in a gorgeous wardrobe.

So, I resolved to do something about my debt, and as I started to slash all of my discretionary spending, clothing turned out to be one of the things that was eliminated as well.

Now, almost 17 months later, my student loans are paid off. Part of this was my strictly controlled clothing spending. I tried out a few tactics, but eventually I was able to settle on a way to keep adding slowly to my wardrobe, while paying off a huge chunk of my overall $38,000 in debt. Here are a few ways to set a clothing budget. [Read more…]

Is Buying Expensive Clothing Worth It

Last Updated: October 19, 2016 BY Jordann - 39 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today’s post about whether expensive clothes are worth it is from my awesome staff writer Jordann. Are expensive clothes worth it? You’ll learn about the difference between cheap and expensive clothes. Are expensive clothes worth it? Enjoy!

Like lots of people, I love clothing. I’m not a clothes horse per say, after all, I tend to have a minimalist wardrobe, but I definitely appreciate a piece of well crafted clothing that fits properly, is well made, and priced right.

I’m pretty careful about what I buy these days. Back when I was a starving student I would only buy the cheapest clothing.

I didn’t have a lot of money to spend and I just couldn’t justify dropping a huge portion of my piddly clothing budget on a single expensive piece of clothing with a credit card. The downside of this strategy was that my clothes didn’t last long before they shrunk, got holes, or were otherwise compromised.

[Read more…]

Preparing Your Minimalist Wardrobe for Spring

Last Updated: April 2, 2020 BY Jordann - 35 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I try my best to maintain a minimalist wardrobe. I avoid duplicates, I make sure everything I buy is versatile, and I agonize over purchases to make sure that I’m buying what I really need, and not just something I want. This is key to becoming a minimalist.

Due to this, I’ve managed to keep my wardrobe under control this past year, even though I’ve been making more money than ever before and my expenses have never been lower.

That said, every Spring I still go through a little extra preparation to make sure that my wardrobe is up to date and as minimalist and it can be. Here are a few steps I make sure to go through.

[Read more…]

Do’s and Don’ts of Saving on Fashion

Last Updated: September 11, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

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Today I have a post from the lovely Kendal at HassleFreeSavings.com

Though temperatures are still breaking records where I live, fashion magazines and websites are already pushing fall styles. Despite the heat, I find myself salivating over tailored blazers, oversized sweaters and jewel-toned jeans while reaching for the A/C dial.

As a bargain shopper, it’s my prerogative to save on clothes and accessories, yet I’m guilty of some serious purchase fails. On the cusp of my favorite season, it’s a good time to go over some do’s and don’ts for saving on fashion.

DO Make a Budget
Do you justify shopping binges with a promise not to shop during the next month? Yeah, me too. And it never works, does it? If this sounds familiar, it’s time to stop kidding yourself and dedicate part of your budget to fashion. Withdraw this workable, predetermined amount in cash every month and cut yourself off when it’s gone. This not only keeps you from breaking promises, but will also force you to be more thoughtful about which items you’re willing to exchange for cash. [Read more…]

Bargain Beauty

Last Updated: December 19, 2015 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

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Today I have a post from a beauty blog that I really love. Her tutorials are very easy to follow and she makes everything seem super easy. I’ll let her take over my blog now…

Hi, I’m Elle, from ElleSees, a beauty-based lifestyle blog. I feature beauty tips and tricks to get the celeb looks without the price and so much more. I’m on a pretty tight budget, so how do I save money when it comes to beauty products?

Dupes–There is almost always a dupe or knockoff of a more expensive beauty product. Try the drugstore generic of a favorite beauty or hair product. Usually they’re made in the same factory! Not in the mood to treasure hunt and try? Search for ____dupe (ex. Mac lipstick dupe) and you’ll easily find a comparable product for a fraction of the price.Here’s how:

Drugstore--Most of the products I use are drugstore! The quality of what you’ll find is so much better than it used to be. Try Wet N Wild shadows, Revlon lipsticks, and Covergirl mascara, just to name a few.
DIY–When I saw a brown sugar scrub for $65 (seriously) I knew I could easily make my own. And I do for many hair, skin, and body products. Check those out here.
Returns–Is there anything worse than spending your money on a new lipstick only to hate it once you bring it home? Luckily, many stores allow returns, even with opened & used products! Try Sephora, Ulta, drugstores, Wal-Mart and Target. Keep the receipt!
Monthly Subscriptions–One way to sample new beauty products is to try a monthly subscription service, such as Birchbox or MyGlam. Some are even free–try influenster.com
Beauty Swap–If you have a lot of good friends who use beauty products, try a beauty swap. What doesn’t work for you might be perfect for someone else! Makeup can be easily disinfected (click here for a post on how to).
Sell, Donate, or Repurpose–See link above for more details!
Multipurpose Products–I love it when I can use a product for more than one thing. Conditioner easily becomes shaving lotion, baby wipes make great makeup removers, and lipstick can be blush!
Choose Wisely–I love drugstore products, but I do spend money on my haircut and color. But drugstore mascaras are always better than high-end brands. If you have finicky skin, a name-brand foundation is a wise investment. Drugstore shampoos work just as well as the fancy ones.

What bargain beauty tips do you have?

Michelle’s comment: I’ve honestly never even THOUGHT about looking up dupes! That is such a great idea. I’m going to start doing that. And I recently signed up for influenster and received my first box. I love everything that I got, and best of all, it was all free.

Work Wear

Last Updated: April 14, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 32 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I’ve been a little lazy with what I wear to work lately. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the cold, the fact that I’m lazy or I don’t know what. I really want to change this though, because I am a firm believer that when you dress well, you work well. Anyone else dressing a little lazier these days?

I also want to dress well because I feel like I’m also representing my firm when I’m in my classes. Almost everyone dresses very nice to my classes because they are all coming right after work. I want to be trying harder!

My work is kind of business semi-casual-formal. When I say semi-casual-formal, I mean anything besides jeans/shorts. I usually just try and wear some sort of button up or nice shirt with a blazer, and nice black or grey pants. But not this month, this month I’ve been super lazy. I always wear nice pants, but my choice for tops has been bad. Let’s just say that I’ve been wearing my Northface sweaters a little too much this month already.

Usually I dress like the pictures above, but lately I’ve been lazy.

Also, I’ve been thinking about taking a picture of what I wear everyday and posting it on here in some kind of weekly round-up. I feel like this will help because of course I wouldn’t want to take a picture of me when I’m having a lazy work day, so hopefully this will make me try harder. Also, of course since I blog anonymously, my pictures will have my head not included in everyone, so hopefully that’s not too weird.

February Goal: Take a picture everyday that I work.

I work mainly independently in my office, so my outfits aren’t a huge deal, but when I meet with clients, it’s much different. When we have client meetings, we have to dress more business-formal corporate. Nice pants/skirt, button up, blazer, and the like. I work in the financial services industry, and that means that there aren’t very many females or people my age in my line of work. So what I wear is definitely very important for how I want to be seen/portrayed.

There are also things that I would never wear. What are some things that you can’t wear/do when at work?

This doesn’t apply to every industry, but in mine (financial analysis services), it does:

Super short skirts – I think the standard is that it should be no shorter than 2 inches past your knee. I definitely break this rule a lot, but I never go too too short. I’m a short person, so kind-of short skirts don’t look bad on me.
Shorts – I would never and could never wear shorts to work, not even on a super casual day. My work would look at me like I’m crazy.
Heels that I would wear to the club/bar – Stuff that I could wear out, I probably shouldn’t wear to work. If I have to ask myself if it’s too bar-like, then it probably is. Of course some heels serve a double purpose, but not all do.
Crazy nail polish – My nails are usually pretty plain (since I work full-time and would hate taking the polish off after 1 day on the weekend), so this usually doesn’t bother me since I’m used to it by now. Green glitter probably wouldn’t be good…
Tops that show cleavage – Since I work with mostly men, it would be extremely unprofessional if I did this. My boobs shouldn’t be hanging out everywhere and look like they’re going to knock someone out. I want to come across as mature and intelligent.
Tops that are so tight that it looks like one of the buttons will pop an eye out.

A lot of this also applies to interviews. For business interviews, usually the best outfit choice is something boring. I know, not fun. You don’t want to distract the person who is interviewing you with something crazy that you have on. Of course different rules apply to different places. When I worked in retail, of course you had to dress cute and the only rule really was you couldn’t wear something that you could possibly wear to the gym.

What’s your work’s dress code? Do you agree that when you dress well, you work/act well? Of course I’d love to wear pajamas to work everyday, but I’d probably fall asleep!