Dear Neiman Marcus,
Thank you for continually sending me emails filled with the riches and spoils of the expensive life. I also love getting your magazine full of drool worthy clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.
In your email today, I wondered if you knew exactly who I was? While the girl in the picture is a lot skinnier than I am, she perfectly captured my personal, going-out style: simple, sophisticated, with a twist of trend.
Sadly, I cannot justify spending $1315 (not including the bag or applicable taxes and shipping charges) on that outfit. Instead, I have come up with some affordable alternatives.
I hope you love them!!
Love Always,
Fashion Chronicles
The key to successfully replicating a high-end look with cheap clothes is to still use pricier pieces. Below I recommend not cheaping out on the bag and the BF Blazer. The BF Blazer because the structure of a cheap blazer, looks cheap and is a dead giveaway. Always buy bags on sale so you can own a higher-end bag at a really good price.
Cotton Boyfriend Blazer, light-weight for spring: Club Monaco provides runway knockoffs and their Luca Blazer in black would work well with this look and won’t look cheap. And if you’re a student, you get 20% off at Club Monaco!
White t-shirt with added belt: Forever 21 is great for cheap white t-shirts. Use this one, remove the white belt and replace with your own black belt. The best news? This T costs $10.80! Take that Neiman Marcus (their, albeit silk, top is $215–ouch!)!
Striped Skirt: While the Kate Spade skirt is gorgeous, this $39 Arden B. knockoff will look just as good. To be honest, I am not 100% sold on the band, but it would be covered by the longer, Forever 21 t-shirt. I do, however, love that the skirt dips down in the back as mini’s tend to hike up at the back. Good call Arden B.!
Tall Black Shoes: I am a slave for shoes so have two options for you from Aldo for under $110.
Black Messenger Bag: Personally, I have a bigger chest so I don’t wear cross-body bags unless I am sporting a hoody, puffy vest and lulu lemons while running errands. But, if you dig it, there’s a great 40% off sale going on at Samsara and their Suzuki Pebble Handbag would achieve the same messenger look for under $90 (regular price $150).
Necklace: I have a clear necklace similar to the one pictured on the Neiman Marcus model. If you don’t, go somewhere like Aldo Accessories to find one.
So there you go, similar look for the fraction of the cost. And remember ladies, just because it’s in style doesn’t mean that it’s your style. Choose the one that works for you to guarantee optimal classic, chic, contemporary style.
