Cents of Couture

Quality time

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 23:29:52 -0400

Sorry we haven’t posted in a while, but Ellie and I were spending some quality time together this 4th of July weekend at the beach!

Ellie wore a cute bikini she got from H&M for just $5!

Expect to see some great posts in the coming weeks! Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful 4th of July! Happy birthday America!

Splashing Colors

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:45:00 -0400

Today I’m wearing the world’s most boring outfit. I failed to accessorice and be fashion forward, but I wanted to show you how to splash colors together. In the past, I would have never worn a bright blue cardigan with black leggings. But mixing a bright color with anything black makes my outfit go from bore to semi-bore.

YAY or NAY?

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:00:34 -0400

I love my country and I love see-through tops but is this American flag themed top pushing the fashion boundaries?

J.Crew Sample Sale Review

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:37:52 -0400

I made it over to the J.Crew sample sale after work around 6pm. I was super excited and ready to find some great deals.

When I got over there, the line was long. It went by pretty fast, but I still ended up waiting outside for about 20-25 minutes. Once I got inside, I was happy to find that the room was filled with racks and racks of clothes. They had a section for shoes in the back and a section for accessories. Here are some pictures below. I don’t think photography was allowed so I had to sneak in some shots.

The line outside

Racks and racks of clothes

Shoes

Accessories

So here’s the review: Although there were racks and rack of clothes, I was disappointed and walked out with nothing. I was expecting some great deals at the sample sale, but the prices were still pretty steep and nothing really caught my eye. The dresses were still $50, even though they were plain cotton dresses. The shirts ranged $35 and up, but because it was a sample sale, a lot of the pieces probably came from photo shoots and mannequins, and they were all marked up with writing on the back. I was excited about the accessories. J.Crew always has some cute but ridiculously expensive jewelry pieces, but the sale didn’t offer much of a discount. The bracelets were $25 and up and the necklaces were $60 and up. Oh, and the shoes were still priced at $100.

I left the sale after 30 minutes, disappointed and empty handed. But it was a good experience, and I definitely plan on going to more sample sales so stay tuned for my reviews!

H&M: Daily Steals

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:01:00 -0400

I’m not a tube top person, simply because the tube top has garnered such a negative/non-classy reputation over the years.

Example:

And if you didn’t think that was bad enough, there’s this:

Tube tops just never got their chance to show the world how classy they can actually be so H&M decided to give it a reputation make-over.

Top a white tube top with chic, flowy shorts with a blazer and you’ve got an outfit for a day at work. Never thought you’d wear a tube top to work, did ya?

H&M Tube Top: $5.95

Fruit-of-Loom V-Neck Tees

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:09:00 -0400

White plain v-neck tee from fruit-of-loom and Hanes are da bomb-hizzy and they are essential for the summer. I wear them over Soffee shorts, jean shorts, cut-offs, you name it.

They usually come 3-5 in a package and if you’re a girl and around my size you should buy a Men’s S. The price range is $9.99 for shirts that you can literally wear everyday with anything.

On a side note, I love this model’s forearms. Mmmm.

Photo

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:47:07 -0400

High-waisted Denim Shorts

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:27:58 -0400

I’m currently obsessed with high-waisted denim shorts topped with an out-of-the-box blazer. High-waisted denim shorts are great for shorter girls since it elongates our short little legs…actually, now that I think about it, it helps taller girls to elongate their already long legs even further. Damn me for never drinking milk as a child.

Anyhow, check out how to rock high-waisted denim shorts with vintage blazers!

C:lookbook

Where to buy affordable high-waisted denim shorts:

H&M-$39.90

Top Shop- $28

Coalnterryvintage.com-$48

J.Crew Sample Sale starts tomorrow!

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:43:00 -0400

J.Crew can be so ridiculously overpriced sometimes, but I’m sure you can snag some great deals at the sample sale. Up to 60% off! Definitely check it out if you’re in NYC.

June 14th-18th

260 Fifth Avenue NY,NY

Bikinis DO NOT have to be Expensive

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:10:53 -0400

Ever walked into a store, saw a an extremely cute bikini, flipped over the price tag, then proceeded to pass out from its outrageous price, get rushed to the hospital, and wake up thinking, “how the hell do two pieces of cloth that cover 20% of my body cost THAT much?!” You’re in luck because I’ve been there and have the medical bills to prove it. Let’s take a look at some bikinis that look fabulous and are affordable.

H&M

Top: $14.94

Bottom: $12.95

Kenneth Cole (@ Macy’s)

Sale: $38.99

Allen B (@ JcPenny)

Top: $24.99 (SALE)

Bottom: $24.99 (SALE)

ABS

Sale: $34.99

Love this design and look, just not on this model!

Get ready for summer with affordable half-naked wear!

Helmut Lang and Theory Sample Sale

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:49:47 -0400

If you’re in NYC, sign up for this sample sale! It kind of sucks that you need to pay for admission, but if you get there early enough, you may be able to get your hands on a really great piece of clothing. Helmut Lang and Theory are not cheap, but sample sales usually have crazy mark downs. So if you’re in NYC and free on June 15th, check it out!

Gilt City gives you the inside scoop on sales/deals at high end places. You can sign up for emails from your nearest city.

Join Gilt City HERE and get 20% off your first purchase!

Photo

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:15:32 -0400

Jeans with Bottom Zippers

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:36:59 -0400

I love jeans with bottom zippers, so here’s my entire butt exposed to show you the bottom zippers to my new white jeans from Zara!

Zara White Jeans-$39.90

Purple Shorts

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:48:00 -0400

A couple days ago, Ellie posted about colorful skinny jeans which we’re both crazy about. Since summer is just around the corner, have some fun with these colorful SHORTS!

I had my eye on these for a while. My purple shorts are from Zara, and they have other great colors as well. There’s a bright pink/orange pair that also caught my eye, which I may have to go back and buy.

I paired my purple shorts with a light denim shirt from Banana Republic and a gray and white striped tank top from American Apparel. The denim shirt was originally $69.50, but I found it on sale online. I was a little hesitant to buy it since I did not want to pay the shipping and wasn’t sure how it was going to fit. I wanted the shirt to be a little bigger but wasn’t sure if the medium would be too baggy. I work in NYC and there are a lot of stores near my office (this gets dangerous at times) and one day after work, I stopped by the Banana Republic nearby. Luckily, they were having a 40% Happy Hour Sale and had the shirt. So in the end, I got an additional 40% off the sale price and paid $29.99!

Here’s my outfit - I tried it with two different pairs of shoes and I think it creates two very different looks. In the first, I’m wearing gray canvas sneakers, and this gives my outfit more of a casual vibe. In the second picture, I’m wearing metallic gladiator sandals, and it makes my outfit much dressier.

(Sorry the picture quality is not that great. I just snapped these from my phone on my way out. )

So which look did I end up going with? I wore this outfit out with the sandals because I thought it complemented the outfit better. But yes! Go and cop a pair of colorful shorts. They will be a great addition to your summer wardrobe. And, another thing - unless you REALLY need it, wait and see if the item you’re looking to buy goes on sale. There’s no need to pay full price all the time.

Fashion Yes or No?

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 17:12:11 -0400

Oh Hilary Duff, you have come so fashionably far from your Lizzy Mcguire days and while I think your style has gone from 0 to 5, I can’t decide if your atm outing outfit is a fashion doozy or winner. It’s like classy meets trailer park. The blazer, the top, sunglasses, the bag are all wins and then your eyes start going down and you see strange tacky heels, and ripped booty jean shorts.

I say a fashion NO NO!

We LOVE Hello Kitty! How cute is this!

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:17:00 -0400

We LOVE Hello Kitty! How cute is this!

Photo

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:15:51 -0400

How to brighten up a dark dress

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:02:00 -0400

My outfit for the day isn’t anything special but I’ll show you how to embellish a plain little black summer dress with a little zing and zang.

The dress is a simple and very plain black summer number. So to zaz it up a bit I put on a multi-colored/patterned thin scarf to give the dress a little more life. I didn’t want to put on a bright colored cardigan on since the scarf already gives it the bam the dress needed. I went ahead and put on a navy cardigan and finished the outfit with some bangles. I’m not a huge jewelry person but I do love bracelets, especially ones that look handmade and so I just put a bunch of different ones on to decorate myself a little more.

To finish the outfit, I wore some hot pink sandals from Steve Madden to give the bottom half of my outfit a little bit more funk.

Dress: H&M, $12.95

Cardigan: H&M $12.95

Scarf: H&M $9.95

Shoes: Steve Madden

Accessories: Bracelets

Colorful Skinny Jeans

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:17:00 -0400

My fellow fashion blogging partner, Jen, rocks colorful skinny jeans like there’s no tomorrow. Do not be afraid of bright colors, especially in the summer. Rocking a breezy blue pair of bottoms topped with a black v-neck and a printed mute colored scarf is fashion forward, simple, and chic!

SNSD had the right idea but those tacky tops are killing me. On a side note,these 9 girls are the only girls in the world who can’t fill in skinny jeans. They have enough room in those pants to fit another leg. Anyway, back to topic!

When rocking bright colored skinny pants, you gotta wear something simple on top. Nothing loud, matchy, or with graphic designs.PLEASE NO GRAPHIC DESIGNED SHIRTS. Simple and classy is where you should be heading. Let’s take a look at how to rock colorful jeans.

How to do it right:

C:fashionfloret.tumblr.com

Ashley Tisdale:

Bunch of celebs being cool in colored pants:

J Brand Colored Low Rise Pencil Jeans are fabulous but super expensive, so here’s some alternatives that won’t make you broke.

J Brand, $330:

Quicksilver, $26.40!

ASOS, $64.63

Urban Outfitters (BDG), $58

Forever 21, $13.50

Feel free to rock them with heels, flats, sandals, wedges, but NO UGGS! Also, remember it’s okay to spend a little extra on pants since you can wear it until they die.

Hope you enjoyed today’s colorful skinny jeans post!

Banana & Grape Combo

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:56:00 -0400

For the summertime, do not be afraid to join different colors together. The more you doubt two bright colors go together, the more certain it is in the fashion world. I love how these two contrast yet compliment each other. Finished off with a beige pair of pumps, you’ve got yourself an amazing outfit and a look that will brighten up any room.