Daphne Guinness on a budget

and we all thought "Daphne Guinness" and "budget" were mutually esclusive concepts... I came across this very interesting blog where Daphne frequently contributes. This has got to be my favorite post from it:

Guilt-Free Shopping

January 28, 2008 on 2:14 pm | In - Daphne | Comments Off

My friend and I were chatting over a Coca-Cola in New York City about fashion. We were on the seventh floor at Bergdorf Goodman discussing how clothing shops around the world are too big with the same products — it’s identical inventory with a different label. In fact, I get a bit freaked out in shops with too much product – it’s overwhelming. Nothing has character anymore, unless of course its couture, and that costs a fortune.

Since I didn’t make it to the couture fashion shows in Paris this week, I made a bet with my friend that I could get a couture look very similar to what’s on the runway for under $200.00. My friend said there was no way I could go out shopping in New York City and find a chic, couture look for under $200.00.

So, I decided to shake off the couture label for a couple of days and prove her wrong. I took her up on the challenge and found that bargain shopping is fun when you’re in the mood. You can get a great look when you dismiss labels, keep it simple, neat, and clean.

I succeeded in finding a jacket on sale for $75.99 (was originally $249.99) at a small Indian shop in Soho. I like to look for really eclectic places. When I walk in, I either get a strong feeling that this is a great place, or the complete opposite, and get creeped out. The jacket was made in India, very simple, made of silk, all black with hot pink trimmed cuffs. This shop also sold mini sterling silver skulls. I bought eight and threaded them on a piece of black ribbon to wear as a bracelet ($25.00).

I paired this with a dress from some overwhelming shop that was $30.00. Very simple, clean lines and short. The key is to find the most basic pieces in huge shops like H&M, Forever 21, and TopShop. I needed to find really tall shoes for a low price, so I went to a random adult shop in NYC on the way back uptown to find silver platforms (closed-toe shoes). Believe it or not, sex shops sell really great platform shoes that aren’t that difficult to walk in for $29.00 (was originally 59.99). Then I bought a pair of black opaque Spanks ($38.00) and I had a chic outfit for a night out in NYC.

I won the bet! You can look great with a budget.

Total Price: $197.99

Top 5 Pieces of Advice:
1. Don’t go overboard to look good
2. Find clean and neat lined clothing
3. Bargain shop/Look for sales
4. Accessorize by stacking bracelets or creating a look with ribbon
5. Find pieces that will look good to throw over black pants and a white shirt

-Daphne

from starworksny.com

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How amazing is this advice? the queen of couture-fierceness-mixing-gareth-pugh-and-alaia-with-bespoke-louboutin-stripper-shoes herself has spoken. You literally don't have to be rich to look stylish and amazing, and I'm not talking about cleaning out Zara/H&M/blah blah blah... I'm not dissing their clothes but absolutely ***EVERYONE**** has that shit! case in point: triple Zaras within a 1km radius. W-T-F.

It's time to get creative.