Style Story: Dressed to Impress with a Not-so Impressive Budget

Top: Forever21

Skirt: Target

Being a student (for life...so it seems), I often feel guilty when I shop for clothes because I'm spending money I don't have. But you don't EVER have to break the bank to get your hands on stylish pieces! I often forget this when I'm drooling over other style blogs and seeing these fashion bloggers wearing pieces of clothing costing $100s/1000s. But then I walk outside with my $40 or under outfits (total) and get compliments right & left on them; I'm reminded that while it's nice to have brand name clothing, it's even nicer to have clothes that are budget-friendly, guilt-free and still fashionable.

While I'm often tempted to buy every cute and budget-friendly pieces that I see, I have to remember that even sales prices add up. It's important to have an idea of how the piece will go with clothes that already reside in your closet and visualize a few outfits before you buy anything.

I bought this adorable peplum + peter pan collar sweater ($15!) online and I thought I could pair it with:

• Faded jeans for a casual look
• Colored (pink, yellow, lilac) pants for work, date night or church
• Simple pencil skirt for a business casual look 

And then I found this cute polka-dotted pencil skirt at Target on sale ($15!) and my instant outfit ideas were to pair it with:

• A plain white T for girls night out
• A plain colored blouse for work
• The peplum sweater for a business casual look or church

I love how these two pieces turned out to be a perfect match!

Hope this helps all you fashionistas out there :)