10 Classic Fashions No Woman Can Do Without

Written by Shirley Pierce and Janet Behmer


A fashion savvy Australian Aborigine once said, "The more you know,repparttar less you need." Translation: It's better to know your way aroundrepparttar 131097 classics than have a closet crammed with clothing that is already so "five minutes ago". It's smart to stock up on classics, no matter your personal style. Think Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Catherine Deneuve: always, simple, chic and impeccably dressed.

Once you haverepparttar 131098 classics, you can go anywhere. If you buy pieces that are well-made and in good fabrics, they'll wear better, feel better and, of course, look better on you. The fabrics to look for are lightweight wool gabardine, silk, cotton, linen, cashmere, and textured microfibers. Go that extra mile and make sure everything fits, especiallyrepparttar 131099 tailored pieces. Go to a tailor if something needs to be altered. It's worthrepparttar 131100 money. Now for those of you who are notrepparttar 131101 "classic" type, you can still do your own thing. Try a Chanel jacket with jeans or a leather bomber with a chiffon skirt.

If you're downtown hip with a touch of "goth", just add a leather jacket torepparttar 131102 classics along with leather pants and animal print accessories.

If you'rerepparttar 131103 artistic, creative type, throw on some ethnic or artful pieces to giverepparttar 131104 classics your own special style. Think Peruvian hand-knit sweaters, chunky bracelets or African necklaces.

Classics are also good if you're on a budget. They last longer and you'll have fewer mad dashes torepparttar 131105 mall to buy a piece just for one evening. If you don't believe us, try on a little black dress or a solid color suit. Add a scarf, several necklaces or different belts. See how many different looks you have?

5 Dressing Tips To Help You Look Like A Million On A Minimum Wage

Written by Shirley Pierce and Janet Behmer


What kind of woman likes to go bargain shopping? Any woman who wants more bang for her buck and just about any woman with a reflection and a pulse.

And because we help women of all shapes, sizes and economic backgrounds, we know that bargain shopping is a must for a lot of women. New clothing is a luxury they just can’t afford.

However, economics aside, every woman, no matter how little she has, wants to buy herself something new. So, read on and learn how to enjoyrepparttar splurge with none ofrepparttar 131095 guilt.

Here arerepparttar 131096 five ways to look like a million on a minimum wage.

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK

Let us marvel you with our psychic powers. How much prep time do you put in before you go shopping? We know what your answer is going to be. Zip. Right? You just get that primal urge or that extra space on your credit card and off you go. All we ask is that you take two seconds to take a deep breath what you need, how much money you have, what’s in, what’s out

Your first step is to go shopping in your own closet so you can make a mental or written note of what you want to add to it. See what needs to be replaced or if there are any basics you’re still missing like tops to go under blazers or shoes that go with everything. You knowrepparttar 131097 drill. Then try to think of a few classic pieces that might help to stretch what you already have like a white shirt with a French cuff or a little black dress.

2. KNOW WHAT TO BUY

What should a shopper look for when buying a “bargain”? Checkrepparttar 131098 merchandise carefully. Is it well constructed? Arerepparttar 131099 seams stitched properly? Are there loose threads? If there is a pattern, does it match atrepparttar 131100 seams? If a store is selling seconds that are slightly flawed or irregular, there should be a sign or a tag fromrepparttar 131101 manufacturer telling you so.

If merchandise is marked down, make sure you know why. Check for rips, tears, dirt or make-up smears. If you find a problem that’s easily cleaned or repaired, check withrepparttar 131102 sales people to see if you can haverepparttar 131103 item at an even bigger discount.

3. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

The best time to find bargains? Discount stores offer bargains all year round. But you can catch great buys at your favorite retail watering hole faster than you can say ... holiday. And there’s a slew of them. If you can time your urges, try to make them coincide withrepparttar 131104 following dates.

HOLIDAY SALES -- President’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter/Spring Week, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, The Day After Thanksgiving(A big one!), After Christmas and After New Year’s.

And there’s more! In addition torepparttar 131105 racks that every store keeps permanently stocked with sale items, each individual store or chain has developed their own schedule of advertised sales.

STORE SALES — Liquidation Sales, Fire Sales, Manager’s Sales, Summer’s End Sales, Winter’s End Sales, Anniversary Sale, Inventory Sale and Closing Sales. (Some stores userepparttar 131106 “Going Out of Business” banner to get you in for jacked-up prices. Some have been going out of business for years.)

Then every few weeks some stores will have a “take an extra 25% off” sale just forrepparttar 131107 heck of it. So, if you’ve seen a “must have” item but it falls intorepparttar 131108 “can’t afford” column, just keep your calendar and local paper handy. Don’t just checkrepparttar 131109 advertising pages. Flip quickly torepparttar 131110 business section. Ifrepparttar 131111 economy is down, stores will be usingrepparttar 131112 “sales” bait to get you in.

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