You may look at my pictures and think I have always had it together fashion wise. The truth is I grew up in a time when the plus size woman was not celebrated in fashion. So being a plus size teenager and young adult in a small town that only had Lane Bryant and the Avenue, two stores that were not only marketed to women my Grandmother’s age at the time but were not affordable to a girl who was far from rich.
So I had to get creative with my clothes to make them look somewhat stylish. Unfortunately during these days Walmart and Target didn’t have their size inclusion or fashionable departments they have now. So I would look to discount stores like the Simply Fashions and Roses Discount stores that kept the plus size women in mind not only trendwise but affordable. My mom would give me $100 for the school year and I would have to figure out how to not only make it stretch but make it cute. They really should’ve had social media back in those days because I would’ve been instafamous with how I created outfits out of $10. That is why I was excited about collaborating with Roses Discount Store to take their $25 Giftcard Challenge.
While Roses sells many things they have a very good clothing section that includes plus size fashion. So I decided to focus my challenge on showing women that may not have many options in their town or the budget how they can still look fashionable with $25 by heading to discount stores like Roses. Head over to my Instagram page for a reel showing you how I mixed and matched a few pieces from Roses.
If you use the following tips you to can create a Chic Fall/Winter Outfit on a Budget:
- Look for Staple Pieces – Staple pieces are items that will never go out of style and basics to building multiple outfits from one item. For this challenge I picked this $8 Turtleneck. Turtlenecks never go out of style for Fall and Winter fashion. I suggest sticking with basic colors like white, cream, or black if you plan to use it to make multiple outfits. Other great staple pieces to have is a basic white v-neck t-shirt (no pockets), white button up shirt, black shirt, classic pair of jeans, black jeans or leggings, and long sleeve white t-shirt for layering.
- Cardigans – Adding a solid color cardigan and one with a few different colors in it are good itema to invest in. Not only can you use it to add as a pop of color but you can use it to match with different items to be able to create different looks with the same cardigan. I picked this $10 neutral colored shawl that is versatile. It doesn’t have buttons so I could wear it open or add a belt to cinch my waist and give it a jacket effect. Roses had a lot of great options from long cardigans to more colorful ones but I went with the neutral one because I knew I had a few brown color boots this season that I can pair with this cardigan to either dress it up or down.
- Accessories – So if you are doing the math I still have $7 to spend so I headed over to their accessory section to look for a belt, hat, tights or statement necklace. While they had some great options for this challenge I opted for a pair of $7 trendy colored leggings that I could create another outfit and I already had a cute leopard belt in my closet. But to my point accessories can really make a basic outfit look chic. The belt really brought my look together and I was able to make the outfit look trendy by using a leopard print belt but a brown belt would’ve worked too.
- Bonus Tip – Another thing to keep in mind is material. Make sure you are looking at the quality and stay away from those materials that will quickly look worn because these are inexpensive items so it may not be the best quality but if you choose the right items they can last you a long time!
Next time you go to Roses or your local discount department store apply these tips and see if you can come up with a chic outfit for less than $25. I hope you find this helpful and remember no matter what size you are or what your budget is, you can be chic and fashionable as long as you feel good about yourself. Confidence can make you look and feel like a million bucks.
