Thursday, June 04, 2009

$20 Outfit Results

The $20 outfit challenge was the most popular recession challenge yet. I found it a challenge merely to round up the challenge submissions!

Carla put together a stunning blue and yellow combination. She anchored it with the cutest, thrifted, ankle-strap shoes.

Hypertigur looked so sweet in her Orangey Goodness. She compared her outfit to a prom dress, but I was reminded of the jello, whipped cream, and fruit cocktail concoction my mom makes and calls “pink stuff." Yum.

I didn’t know how I was going to handle simply.femme’s 10 (TEN!) outfit submissions, but she kindly organized them into a flickr set: Outfits for $20 or Less. She’s a real bargain shopper, making heavy use of clearance, coupons, outlet centers, and Goodwill. Her houndstooth dress (scored at a Dillard’s store closing) is stunning.

Jennschmerer submitted two outfits within one post. She’s another clearance and thrifting master. I adore the earrings and (thrifted!) shoes in her first outfit.

Tina, oh Tina, what can I say about Tina. She did an entire week of $20 or less outfits! I guess I could say she’s a shameless overachiever. But I’d only say that because I’m jealous.

Tina also got her May guest blogger, Maria, to play along.

Ohhoneyno admits she didn’t wear her outfits out, but we won’t hold that against her. Visit her blog to see her seven outfits, each under $20. Again, I’m a green-eyed monster. Especially over the Richard Chai for Target dress she found at a thrift store.

Charlotte Sometimes knows the nicest people. They give her clothes and she put together two outfits for FREE! Charlotte, can your friends be my friends?

But not only does Charlotte know the right people, but she also has some mad shopping skills. In addition to her free outfits, she also submitted some thrifty, not gifty, outfits for under $20:
- Frugal Friday
- Thrifty Thursday
- Cheap Wednesday
- and her original submission.

Kaylyn says she obsessed with shoes and chocolate. Well, I’m obsessed with the sweet flats she found at Goodwill for her $20 outfit. In fact, almost all the ensemble's elements came from Goodwill. I’m obviously visiting the wrong location.

Jane created a perfect spring look for under $20. I love that she has jumped on the statement-belt-as-a-statement-necklace wagon. (Oh, and she jumps on a trampoline, too.)

Missy shows us how to work the maxi dress trend on a budget.

Struggler’s outfit didn’t include a single thrifted item, and that’s okay. Instead, she utilized gift cards, thievery, freebies, and home décor items. You must visit her blog if only to see the creative way she reworked curtain tiebacks.

SonsuzStil created two $20 outfits using the least expensive items in her closet. I thought this was a really fun (and sensible) way to approach the challenge.

I can always count on Deborah Lee to play along with the Recession Challenges. This month, she didn’t disappoint. She created two lovely looks with one dress.

My somewhat lame attempt came in at over $20, but, hey, I tried!

There was also some $20 outfit buzz and participation over on the You Look Fab Everything Else forum.

Thank you to all who participated! If I missed your $20 outfit, let me know and I’ll update this post.

The June challenge will be issued shortly.

7 comments:

J said...

You were saving up some commentary for this piece!!! WOW!

KL said...

Thanks for taking the time to pull all the submissions together. I really enjoyed seeing what others did -- and how funny it was that the nearly unanimous downfall was at (or on) our feet!

simply.femme

Anonymous said...

im floored at the outfits everyone put together! i love thrifting, but i have never been very successful -- this inspires me to give it a try!

Anne said...

Kasmira, Thank you for your kind comments and I would love to share my friends with you. (she's only one person though and had a wardrobe clearout simultaneously to your challenge, that was spectacular timing!)
I was volunteering in a charity shop for 2 years which is how I built up an extensive clothes collection at very little cost, I have since left though so now have to do my thrifting the hard way.
I still score some bargains and as of last month I'm doing a round up of my purchases at the end of the month.
If you are interested please come over and have a look.

http://wardrobeadventures.blogspot.com/2009/05/may-purchases.html

http://wardrobeadventures.blogspot.com/

Pauline Wiles said...

Thank you for posting this round up! I have seen a few of the thrifty thrills from others, but look forward to visiting all the ones I missed.

JamNotJelly said...

This was a great post and thanks to the ladies for sharing!

Stephanie N. said...

I'm so impressed! Whew, it took a long time to look over all of those.