GUEST POST: DRESS TO THE NINES ON A DIME – A GUIDE FOR FRUGAL SHOPPERS

The fashion world is known for its high prices.  Scan the prices listed in any high fashion magazine and you might wonder if there is any hope for someone of average means to dress to impress.  Shopping for clothes can deplete your resources fairly quickly, so it’s important to have a few tricks up your sleeves like utilizing consumer-savings sites such as CouponCraving.com, especially for large retailers like Macy’s.  But what can you do to save money when it’s time to go shopping for clothes?  Give the following tips a try the next time you want to update your wardrobe.

  • Set a budget:  Marie Claire suggests, before you go shopping for the latest styles, set a realistic budget for what you can afford to spend.  Think about all aspects of your wardrobe that you might need to update, casual and formal wear, work attire, shoes.  Plan ahead how much you will spend on these items, or whether you actually need to spend anything.  Do your shoes really need updating yet?  Don’t forget to factor in your other expenses as well.  It wouldn’t do to forego paying your utilities in favor of that new pair of pants.  By having this in mind ahead of time, you will be less likely to splurge on something you can’t really afford.
  • Do It Yourself:  Often we look to celebrities for the latest in fashion.  But what they’re wearing are often the items we are least likely to be able to afford.  Instead, it’s a good idea to look at what you already have in your wardrobe for things that can be modified to mimic the latest styles.  InStyle gives three examples of celebrity looks that can be copied with what you already have in your closet; two suggestions for changing skirts, and one idea for adding decorative dots to a pair of flats.  With this tip you’ll spend much less money than if you actually went to a department store looking for something comparable to what you saw in the pages of a magazine.
  • Mix and Match:  If you do end up going shopping, as will likely happen at some point, there are many stores that offer quality clothes for reasonable prices.  Think of H&M and J Crew.  As GQ points out, it’s important to buy items that can work well with many different things in your closet.  Mixing and matching your new clothes will help you save money.  Avoid buying something that has only one match in your wardrobe.

Fashionable clothes always cost some money, but there are ways to avoid spending all your hard-earned cash on just a few items.  Make sure you follow these tips the next time you’re thinking of planning a trip to the mall.  You’ll be happy with what you’re wearing as well as with what you saved.

JESS THOMPSON

LEVI’S PRINT WORKSHOP!

This afternoon I went down to Levi’s Jeans store on Regent St to see what their Print Workshop #printlondon was all about. Now I don’t know if you know but I’m totally down for anything hands on creative, especially when it has anything to do with personalising/customising clothes or accessories, so as you can imagine I was super excited about this one.

There’s a full on screen printing and heat press in the Levi’s Flagship store until the 3rd August. The interactive project is a collaboration with renowned Graphic Artist Anthony Burril who came up with a series of London inspired slogans/quotes of six words or less to be printed on to tees in store; starting with today’s quote “WORDS HAVE POWER”. A selection of quotes and different colour tees are available to buy off the shelf in store, with an exclusive print being sold at the pop-up store in Box Park Shoreditch. However if you fancy getting hands on he’s passed the buck on to the members of the public to tweet London inspired slogans to @levis_uk including the hash tag #printlondon; as of tomorrow the public will be able to screen print chosen tweeted quotes. Levi’s have already tweeted tomorrows quote by @Kittus “LONDON HAPPENS HARDER” I want this so bad but its only available for one day! Get tweeting your quotes, you never know you might just see one walking down Oxford St!

Don’t forget to tweet your quote of 6 words or less to @levis_uk with the hash tag #printlondon, alternatively if you don’t have a twitter acount you can always pop into the store and leave your quote/s on the pin board.

GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM THUMBS UP!

prom backdrops/prom backdrops for sale

Last week I was introduced to Thumbs Up; a gift and gadget developer, developing products for lifestyle and tech. A lot of their products are targeted to the i-market, really fun and innovative gadgets that enhance the usage of the i-products (iPhone, iPad, etc). The Eyescope for iPad, available from Autumn 2012, is a clip on case that has an attachable lens to give you an extra 8x optical zoom for less than £40! There’s already one of these available for the iPhone, I might get into it! Flashback iPhone cases are a great stocking filler/Secret Santa gift priced just under £10, choose from an old school calculator, G4 camera, pill case, and old school games consoles.

For photography fans/budding photographers there are Camera Lens Cups available in black and white for £14.99, they come with a cover that you can either use to keep your drink warm or fly free; or you can use it as a lil tray for your biccies! Other products include the Padintosh, retro Mac computer clip on case for the iPad; Vega silicon watches with coloured glow in the dark faces; and a Casino Dining Set available from August for £14.99

Thumbs Up is a definite must for Christmas gifts!

THE SCENT OF DEPARTURE

A new collection of fragrances has been developed by perfumer Gerald Ghislain along with creative partner Magali Senequier. The concept is a fragrance for each if your favourite destinations around the world, taking certain elements and bottling it up. Both music and scents are great reminders of a certain person, place and/or time so The Scent of Departure is a genius concept. The 1.7 oz skyscraper bottle was inspired by a luggage tag, and features the 3 IATA code letters of the city it represents; LDN for London, CDG for Paris (Charles de Gaule), NYC for New York City, HKG for Hong Kong, and so on and so forth.

We managed to speak to Gerald Ghislain, who mentioned there would be additional fragrances added to the collection “Las Vegas is all about the money and the glam so I based this fragrance on a cocktail, and Iceland white smoke for the volcano and it’s incredibly flat over there with no greenery.”

Our personal faves were Vienna (fresh mint cut grass, water flowers with pastries, vanilla, licorice, chocolate, and coffee); Bali (manderin and lemon notes with white florals, amber wood, and final touches of creamy vanilla); and Abu Dhabi (a mix of antiquity and modernity, notes of bergamot, jasmine, and amber).

The Scent of Departure is available from Harvey Nichols and TheScentofDeparture.com now, £35 50ml EDT.

GET FIT FOR 2012: COMBAT AEROBICS

So I’ve finally got round to telling you guys about these classes I’ve been taking part in at Nuffield Health gym, the first one I’ve done is the Combat Aerobics which is taught by a lady called Jackie. She shows you everything from Boxing, Muay Thai, Capoeira, Kickboxing, etc all mixed martial arts moves. Last week she taught us how to do a perfect “fly kick” all for exercise purposes of course! This particular class is great for those who want a full body tone up. The boxing works out the arms and waist (if you do it correctly) and the kicks and other MMA moves tone up the legs and glutes (ass).

I’ll definitely be taking this class up weekly as one of my goals was to find my waistline, think this’ll do the trick!

For more information on classes, locations, or anything else Nuffield Health click here.