Thank you all for participating in our Coach Shoe Giveaway and our Online Warehouse Sale. You can still take 20% off your entire order at The Recessionista Shop when you use the code WAREHOUSE at checkout. Only three more days left to take advantage of the sale!

Without further delay, Monday’s fashion lesson…updating your wardrobe on a dime
(ok maybe a little more than a dime, but we’re doing it Recessionista-style, we promise)

Buy a few classic items that fit perfectly or have your favorite items tailored – When we posted about jeans last week, we mentioned how they need to fit your perfectly. This goes for all of your clothing. You look better and feel better when your pants, shirts and dresses fits. If you have any of the classic items we’ve mentioned below, pull them out of your closet and try them on. If you don’t feel comfortable in them, assess the situation. Can they be tailored to fit you? Are they too out of style? While we’d love to tear through your closet a la Stacy London from What Not to Wear, you’re going to have to make the executive decision as to what stays and what goes. We worked really hard to narrow down our list of must-haves to the absolute bare essentials and here is what we came up with:

We’ve stayed away from bright colors. You can always bring color to your wardrobe with accessories (we’ll get to that in a second). Lucky for us, this Fall blacks, browns and blues are in the fashion forecast. Using neutrals and classic colors will ensure that you can mix and match your wardrobe to create several different outfits (we’ll get to that too!).

Accessorize – A necklace, a scarf and/or a hat can transform one outfit into another. Accessories are less expensive than going out and purchasing a new wardrobe. We are not recommending that you spend the money you’ve been saving for new shirts on jewelry instead. There needs to be balance. But when you’re looking for a quick way to update an outfit and your wallet has plans (that don’t include buying a new outfit), a new scarf or necklace might give you just what you need. (And your wallet can keep doing what it has to do!) With Fall arriving, it’s the perfect time to invest in some scarves. They are a personal favorite of ours. You can really go in any direction you’d like with a scarf, frilly and feminine or modern metropolitan…the possibilities are endless. And for even more options, you can tie them differently. Check out this iVillage article that has 7 different ways to tie a scarf!

Mix and match – With as much as I adore dresses, if you’re trying to expand your wardrobe, they do not allow diversity. When you’re a recessionista, you need to be able to mix and match–it makes 2 outfits look like four, and no one can argue that this is a bad thing. When you’re purchasing your absolute-bare-essential-must-haves, thing about how interchangeable they are. While you are going for diversity, they can’t be so diverse that they look tacky together.Your essentials should be very similar in style so that they are interchangeable. If you already have plenty of clothing that fits you, but you still feel like you can’t find anything to wear, it’s time for some Fall cleaning. Organize your clothing first by style (e.g. casual, semi-casual, semi-formal, formal, business), then by color. It will help you visualize exactly what can be worn with what– you may have more clothing options than you think.

Now excuse me while I go take my own advice…

Last, but certainly not least, the winner of the Coach shoes is…

#85 Ayo G

Please send us your shoe size and shipping information to recessionistaparty(at)gmail.com, no later than midnight today to claim your shoes!

Do you have any essentials that you think need to be added to the list? Share the advice, fellow recessionistas!

Since we’re talking about headbands, how about cheap and easy ways to store the lovelies?

Decorative Bolster Pillows from Banner Boutique.

Or re-purpose your empty oatmeal carton into something fabulous.  An easy tutorial found here.  In helping my S-I-L get a display ready for a boutique, I made one myself and it was super easy and turned out perfect!

See how cute?

(source)

Thanks to a reader for leaving this link on making your own headband

And another easy tutorial found here.

Speaking of headbands, I’d like to give one to a commenter on yesterday’s post.

Sheryl Coe Says:

I LOVE seeing women in headbands. I’m just not sure it I can pull them off, or have enough guts too! (sigh) Sometimes I just wish I was more daring in my wardrobe/accessory choices, because I am SO digging the zipper flower headband styles right now.

Sheryl – email me your info….a zipper headband is coming your way!

And I’m giving another one to the first person to successfully answer the following three questions about me correctly.  You can submit as many entries as you like but all three questions must have the correct answers in the same comment.  Make sense?

With your first entry, please visit our shop and tell me your favorite headband along with your answers.

Questions and your trying to answer them about me not  you:

1. What did I eat for breakfast?
2. What book am I currently reading?
3. When is my birthday?

Good luck and have a great weekend!

It’s no secret that headbands are the hot accessory item right now.  In fact, I’ve been shocked at some of the flamboyant headbands currently filling the fashion.  Go see for yourself here and here.

Just like the scarves, headbands are a very inexpensive way to spice up your spring wardrobe.  For under $10, you can completely transform an entire outfit.  Just like every great trend, we have a Hollywood Elite to thank, and I’m sure we can give a generous one to the fictional Blair Waldorf and her Upper East Side posse for truly rockin’ the headband scene.

Now don’t be mistaken, headbands ARE indeed for everyone.  Think you can’t pull it off? Think again.  Even the semi-plain, boring, non-fashion conscious people like myself can sport the do, and sport it well.  In fact, I even go as far as sometimes sharing headbands with my 7 year old!  How’s that for fashionable?

Go check out the new headband arrivals over at The Recessionista Shop.  My personal favorites are this, this and this.  Not only are they super cute but, even better, they don’t hurt my head.

And don’t forget the “blogparty” 20% coupon code that is valid through the weekend.  This makes all the new headbands under $8!  What a deal, indeed.

Now, tell me, are you a headband fan?  Simple?  The bigger the better? Or a mixture between the two?  (teaser….u may want to comment today….)

W.o.w.z.e.r.s! At this rate I might just have to restrain myself from giving everything away. You all are so kind and well, just plain great! To be honest, I’m slightly overwhelmed. You see, we just relaunched this newly designed blog this week (two days ago to be exact) and s h e n a n i g a n s….I’m in awe. (Merci Amy).

Yesterday, as I was reading through your excitement and overwhelming love for the three lovely handbags chosen for our giveaway, particularly the Lucky Slouch, I had myself thinking about accessories and the art of adorning a woman. Have you ever wondered why women love pretty things?

As I contemplate this question, let me take you down memory lane for just a moment…

Exactly two years ago, I decided to go against all advice from a former hairstylist (a male who considered himself a feminine expert) and went short – really short. I always wanted to sport a short and sassy cut but my befuddled (that’s what I like to think) coiffurist was adamant that I never go that short. “You will look like a giraffe with your long neck, ” were his exact words. And for so long I believed him. Thankfully I came to my senses and disregarded all his advice.

I never imagined that by cutting off the hair I had spent years growing, the hair that screamed WOMAN, I would feel more feminine and more beautiful. And perhaps it wasn’t so much the hair as the fact that I truly embraced the art of accessorizing.

Instead of small and simple, I chose big and bold earrings that screamed style and sass. I began wearing necklaces and bracelets and felt oh so womanly. Only one problem— I hated paying for them! It seemed like everything I wanted held an outrageous price. And with a Recessionista mind, well, I’m kinda cheap when it comes to price. I just wondered why good accessories weren’t more affordable.

We’re really hoping to solve that dilemma for everyone–so let us know:

What accessory is it that you simply can’t live without?

What fashion item do you love, but hate to buy?

And if there was one item you could request at a Recessionista price, what would it be?

**** To all you Lucky Slouch lovers…..what would you think if we made a few of those lovely bags available to buy…right here, right now? Want your chance to win a super chic handbag? Keep scrolling down.