High Style Can Be Found At Penny-Pinching Prices
Savvy Shoppers Mix Frugality With Fashion
Last updated Saturday, August 16, 2008 5:07 PM CDT in Living
By Teresa Wiltz
The Washington Post
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The outlook for fall and winter: bleak and bleaker.
Even in the best of economic times, a $1,200 Prada frock would give us pause. Big pause. We mention this because we have a habit of grabbing the most expensive outfit on the rack, only to recoil in horror at the price tag. Champagne taste, Heineken budget. We recently spotted a most fabulous LBD - little black dress - and did the requisite recoil. Still, we've been lusting after it ever since. Lusting will be all that we do. Because these days, even springing for a $120 Prada knockoff feels like a splurge.
The good news: Frugality and fashion aren't mutually exclusive.
The celebrity tabs have even coined a new word for someone who copes fashionably during troubled times: the recessionista.
Back in the '90s, fashion folks got hip to the fact that the average woman can't afford a four-digit dress. Sharon Stone showing up at the Oscars in a Gap T-shirt and a Valentino skirt certainly helped the cause. Most of the time, professional fashionistas advocate mixing "high" with "low" items - like tossing a Hanes tee underneath a sweet little Chanel jacket. Isaac Mizrahi and Target; Vera Wang and Kohl's. Cheap became chic.
Now it's a necessity.
If you've absolutely, positively, got to have something new, look to our more egalitarian retailers for a little sustenance this fall: neo-conservative duds a la the Sixties-era ladies of AMC's "Mad Men"; ruffled blouses a la Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl"; rugged shearling jackets and coats.
And remember, this too shall pass.
(We hope.)
Product information:
Isaac Mizrahi for Target: tie-front cardigan, $35, cotton chintz dress, $40, menswear T-strap pumps, $33.
Club Monaco: cotton Sophie dress with full skirt, $179; Sarah pencil skirt, $129, and Ruby merino sweater, $99. Available at ClubMonaco.com.
Simply Vera Vera Wang for Kohl's: Smocked-neck top swirl print, $54; straight-leg denim medium wash, $50; long Diamaru leather gloves, $75; nylon satchel, $89; Oleander double-strap platform shoes, $80. Also available at Kohls.com.
Gap: shearling jacket, $348; black skinny jeans, $88; belted hoodie, $58. Also available at Gap.com.
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