“Elegance is refusal” -Coco Chanel

As a lover of fashion for most of my life, I had this fantasy that when I became an “adult,” my walk-in closet, which all adults obviously have, would be filled with the designer duds I salivated over in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. The price of these items never once crossed my naive little mind, and unfortunately for me, my parents just laughed and never set me straight about my somewhat unrealistic expectations. Reality hit me hard when I realized one cannot click her heels three times and magically find herself with Louboutins on her feet and a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress on her body – real life isn’t that kind. 

Luckily for me, or not so lucky for me (depends at which age you were to ask me this question), my mother is a fantastic bargain shopper. And I don’t mean those extreme couponing people you see on TV, but a woman who can smell a department store sale a mile away and pay less for a complete outfit than I have been known to pay for a single item. As a child I hated her “never pay retail” mantra but as a money-conscious college student, I began to see her side. I can still wear my favorite designers, but I don’t have to sell my kidney to do so.

Now that I am in college, it’s hard not to see the pull of fast fashion. Forever 21 and H&M, etc. will get you trendy clothes and you usually pay next to nothing for them. You spend $50 at Forever 21 and you’re walking away with at least four different outfit combos, as opposed to going to Nordstrom and trying to spend $50. You could probably get a pair of socks. But with fast fashion, you get what you pay for. That $17 dress may look like the one you saw in a magazine but it probably won’t last the entire year and then you’ll need to buy another dress to replace it.

Right: Dakota blouse ($22, Reg: $69)L&T Jeans ($50, Reg:$80) Center: TwoFace jumper ($30, Reg:$79)

 Left: Urban shirt ($20, Reg:$40) AE Jeans($25.99, Reg:$49) (Alexandra Carlino)

Now let’s say out of the million junk emails you get everyday, you see one from Nordstrom that’s offering you a 15% coupon off sale and clearance items. You take your coupon to the store, or you shop online, and after some browsing, you find a Free People jacket that you had admired, but couldn’t afford. The original price was $200 and you end up paying less than $100. They’re practically giving away the clothes. That jacket will probably last longer than a year and will be able to stand the wear and tear of everyday use, as opposed to a jacket you picked up at H&M. You may have paid more for that jacket than you would have at another store, but the point is to buy less of high-end merchandise than more low-end merchandise. 

I constantly keep my eye out for emails from my favorite stores and when I see a good deal, I don’t hesitate to try to use it. When people think of bargain shopping they tend to think of a $5.99-and-under bin at the local Wal-Mart, but that is just not the case. There is no better feeling than buying something on sale. Most of my conversations usually start with, “You’ll never guess how much I paid for this. No really, guess.” Paying retail is overrated; you can build a fabulous wardrobe without breaking the bank. John Maeda, a famous artist, once said, “If you’re going to have less things, they have to be great things.”