Californicated: The Thrifty Wedding Edition

I know I have been away from the blog for far too long, but sometimes life just gets in the way of important things like fashion and writing. I simply couldn't find the time to write during my amazing, action-packed trip to California, and when I got back to dear old Minnesota, things like finding a job and dealing with some major life drama kept rising to the top of my priority list. Also, the fact that our computer imploded has made it a bit more difficult to do things like check my email and update the blog.


Although the entire point of this blog is to prove how you don't have to sacrifice fashion and personal style just because you are poor, there are times when Real Life Problems are more important than figuring out what you're going to wear that day or how to keep your hair from frizzing out in the humidity. Rich people can pay other people (lawyers, chefs, personal assistants, accountants) to deal with their Real Life Problems, so they can focus on the newest gladiator sandal styles to update their summer wardrobe, but poor chicks have to deal with their own problems, and sometimes that shit takes time.


Enough whining. Let's talk about the two most amazing fashion discoveries I made on my vacation:


Number One: Super Cheap Wedding Attire


The main reason for my journey back to the homeland was for one of my bestest friend's wedding in San Diego. While trying to decide WTF to wear to the wedding before we left, I began leafing through my closet with dismay. Sure, I have lots of cute dresses, but most of them are either too casual for a wedding or the kind of fancy-but-dingy that I find very charming in thrifted clothes, but may be a little too quirky to be wedding-appropriate. Then, I stumbled upon an old bridesmaids' dress that my friend Meagan had given me last time I was in San Diego. While I thought the dress was cute, I had no idea when I would have an opportunity to wear it, but as you know, I'm not one to pass up free clothing, so I took it home with me and it sat in my closet ever since, until Nikki's wedding:

Pretty cute, right? Of course, not all bridesmaids' dresses are this cute, but I like the idea of recycling the ones that are, and wearing them to another wedding. I added my thrifted pink pumps from the Goodwill Outlet that have been featured on the blog many times before, and a couple flowers from my friend Adam's yard, and voila!: a wedding outfit for a total cost of $1.50.

As you can see, the boyfriend looked pretty adorable as well. His entire outfit is also thrifted and probably cost less than $30.

I was also very impressed with my friend Adam and his boyfriend Robbie's ability to put together an adorable look with pieces from Marshall's and Walmart that was not only awesome and thrifty, but also matchy and 4th of July weekend appropriate:

Dude, they are so cute. I want to vomit a little.

Nowadays, even being a guest at a wedding can cost a fortune, but a combination of thrifting and recycling (non-hideous) bridesmaids' dresses can at least keep your outfit costs to minimum without having to sacrifice style.

And for tips on how to save money on wedding gifts, I found this LearnVest article to be very helpful. Check it out!

Number Two: My New Online Shopping Obsession

After admiring (and threatening to steal) several items of clothing from her, my perenially adorable friend Bekah turned me onto a new online shopping obsession (like I need another one) while I was in Oakland: Go Jane.

Here are couple of Bekah's looks from Go Jane that I was begging to borrow:

The print of this top is awesome, and the style is incredibly flattering on any figure.

I love the girly dress with zipper-happy accessories!

I highly recommend checking out Go Jane. Their prices are reasonable, and while there are quite a few ugly items, there are so many that are super cute and flattering on curvy frames. They also have super cute shoes, which is always a good thing.

I will make a Polyvore set with some of my favorite items from Go Jane soon, but the public library computer won't let me right now...

Speaking of which, time to go computer shopping.

Thanks for reading! And I promise I will start posting with more regularity again.
<3-hallee