Celebrity Looks For Less

The wildly popular Dolce & Gabbana stars that graced the Fall/Winter 2012 runways are popping up on magazine covers and red carpets everywhere. Yakini is back with an amazing look for less in not just one, but three celebrity inspired outfits. Check out her blog, Style Me Prissy, to see how she styled her stars!

About her look, Yakini wrote “This look was inspired by the Fall 2011 RTW sheer star print yellow gown. Kim Kardashian donned the silk chiffon frock while doing a magazine photo shoot in Malibu and I really liked the free and billowy feel of the dress. I also loved the ultra feminine front ribbon tie.

When I found a star print vintage tea dress on eBay (GBP 24.99) my heart went pitter-patter! It’s so dainty and pretty! I added pops of color with suede mustard heels (thrifted) and accessories that consisted of a skinny belt, slim clutch, and scarf (all from Target). The day I took photos there happened to be a gorgeous fall breeze blowing that was perfect as I was able to stay true to the flowy, airy feel that this outfit inspired in me.”

Steal the Real – Fendi Anna Colorblock Shoulder Bag

The Fendi Colorblock Piccolo shoulder bag is so fun for fall/winter, but the price tag is a little (a lot) out of my price range! This satchel retails at Barney’s New York for $2,050! I don’t think I could ever add anything to my wardrobe that has a price tag with a comma in it lol. Luckily, HandbagHeaven.com has an amazing look for less for only $40.76, for a difference of $2,010 from the real!

The Bella Colorblock Satchel, available in brown or gray, has retro inspired details, a simple satchel shape with a foldover top flap, and a shoulder length strap. This soft leatherette bag’s colorblock design mixes contrasting colors in chic exotic croc leatherette. A silver metal and enamel faux buckle detail hides the magnetic snap front closure and an exterior back pocket fully zips to keep your cell phone safely stowed.

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Reader Look For Less – Angela

Angela is back with another amazing look for less. I copied her LeToya Luckett look for less the day after she submitted her outfit post. What Angela does best is take basics that most of us have in our closets already and pair them in a way that is oh-so-stylish! You can wear this look with any color skinny jeans, but I just happened to pick up some rust colored skinnies yesterday so I’ll definitely be trying this look soon.

About her look, Angela wrote “I loved this outfit when I saw Melanie Fiona rock it at Rip the Runway earlier this year! I had all of the pieces, but I decided to make it a more casual look instead. You can’t see it in the picture, but the blazer has brown suede patches on the elbows, which I love. The leopard print scarf probably has no place in this outfit, but I LOVE this scarf so I’m always trying to incorporate it somehow lol. I can’t remember the exact price of each piece, but I can assure you that everything was under $50 :-)”

• Red pants – Old Navy $20
• White shirt – Walmart $8
• Gray blazer – H&M $30
• Leopard print scarf – H&M $12
• Flats – Steve Madden $40
• Jewelry – Forever 21 $5

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American Express $250 Holiday Gift Card Giveaway

We have a winner for our American Express $250 holiday gift card giveaway! And the winner is… Tabathia B! Congratulations and we’ll contact you shortly to get you set up with your prize. I can’t wait to hear what you spend your gift card on, and don’t forget to “shop smart” this holiday season! Thanks so much to everyone that entered.

And now for my challenge! American Express was nice enough to send me a $250 gift card as well, in addition to 40,000 Membership Reward points. My goal was to shop for 5 loved ones and pick up one gift from a small business on Small Business Saturday. I can’t tell you who I shopped for because they may read this post and ruin the surprise, but I can tell you that I shopped for a beauty maven, college student, a fashionista, a techie, and a baker.

I had no idea how far a $250 gift card and 40,000 membership rewards points could go! I thought I was just going to pick up one gift each for my 5 friends and family, but I was able to go all out for each of them. 40,000 Membership Reward points is approximately $400, and you can cash them in on so many amazing gifts and/or gift cards. To keep it simple, I hooked up my rewards account to my Amazon.com account and had a blast cashing in my points.

I was also excited to spend a little at one of my favorite small businesses, Pink Thread Boutique, on these amazing Spike Chandelier Earrings. Check out Lindsey’s shop for an amazing selection of on-trend, yet affordable fashion.

• Polka Dot Mini Cooler – PBTeen.com $59.00
• Red Rain Boots – Target $29.99
• JewelMint Gift Card – JewelMint.com $29.99
• Zoya Color Box Set in Bold Greige – Zoya.com $24.00
• Holiday Mint M&Ms – Amazon.com $2.50
• iPod Nano – Amazon.com $139.00
• Acrylic Deluxe 7-Drawer Jewelry Chest – Amazon.com $81.95
• Kindle Touch 3G – Amazon.com $149.00
• Pampered Chef Chocolate – PamperedChef.com $7.50
• Amazon.com Gift Card – Amazon.com $25.00
• 9 Pack InstaGram Magnets – StickyGram.com $14.99
• Spike Chandelier Earrings – PinkThreadBoutique.com $17.00
• Orange Wallet Clutch – HandbagHeaven.com $35.96
• 3 Month BirchBox Subscription – Birchbox.com $30.00

I picked up everything above and still had a bit of change left over. Remember, the challenge was to get all I could, without going over my budget. My $250 gift card purchases came to $248.43 and my $400 in Reward Points (all spent at Amazon.com) came to a total of $397.45!

Have you finished up your Christmas shopping yet? Have any great gift ideas you’d like to share?

Disclosure – this is a paid sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Steal the Real – Rebecca Minkoff Sexy Pleated Dress

Most of you probably already know that Rebecca Minkoff is by far my favorite handbag designer, but what you may not know, is that she also designs clothes. Her sexy pleated dress is so fun and the perfect party dress for the holidays. This dress is a bit out of my price range retailing for $428.00 at ShopBop.com; however, you’re in luck, we found a look for much less at Lulus.com!

Show off the cutouts at the neckline and shoulder straps that make the Surprise Surprise dress, available in pink and teal, a glam slam. What I like best about this dress is it’s price tag of only $36.50!

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JC Penney Giveaway – The Art of Gifting Contest

I had so much fun creating this Polyvore set for JC Penney featuring their Worthington Double-Breasted Coat! Have you entered their Art of Gifting contest yet? Share the love this season by creating a Polyvore set for a friend, and you both could win a Worthington Double-Breasted Coat from JC Penney! This contest ends December 5th at midnight EST!

Disclosure – this is a paid sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Ready, set, go! The ideeli.com riding boots mega sale starts now including styles from Etienne Aigner, Steve Madden, Miz Mooz and more!

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The holiday shopping season is in full effect. Have you started knocking out your gift list yet? Have you even started a list lol? I really hoped I could say “one and done” this year by having all of my presents purchased and wrapped by December 1, but I had no such luck! I may not be on schedule, but I will still take the time do my homework and shop smart this, and every, holiday season!

I’ve teamed up with American Express to offer up a “Holiday Shopping Challenge” for a chance to win the gift card of your choice valued at $250! The goal is to educate my savvy readers, and for my readers to educate each other, on the benefits of smart shopping. The following are a few of my tips for staying within your budget this holiday season.

Holiday Budget Shopping Tips

• Always Know Your Limits – Start with an overall budget and then come up with an itemized spending limit per each person on your list.
• Track your spending. It helps to have a spreadsheet that subtracts each dollar spent against your total budget.
• Online Shopping – I find that a lot of times I can get a better deal online as the market tends to offer more competitive prices. When ordering online, wait for free shipping and if possible, free return shipping.
• Do Your Homework – Most merchants offer price matching. I always search for deals online for the best price and call a merchant to see if they would honor the same price and they usually will to get your business.
• Membership Rewards – One of my best tips is to get paid for shopping – earn rewards, not finance charges. I put all of my shopping dollars (gas, food, literally everything) on my American Express Rewards Card. I pay it off at the end of the month so that I do not incur finance charges (which is easy by staying within my budget), and earn Membership Reward points on all dollars spent, so they are essentially “paying me” to use their card. The rewards I earn can be put towards saving on future purchases. Membership rewards are an amazing way to stretch my holiday shopping budget even further.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the spirit of holiday shopping with all of the beautiful lights, music and smell in every store. For this reason alone, I try my best to get all of my shopping online so that I do not give in to temptation. In fact, I don’t even bother with Black Friday deals when I can usually get a better deal on Cyber Monday, with free shipping, and avoid the crazy crowds.

My Holiday Shopping Challenge

When I host these contests, I always get so jealous of my readers and wish I could win the giveaways too. Well guess what, American Express is also giving me a $250 gift card and 40,000 membership rewards. My challenge is to cash in my gift card and points on 5 of my loved ones, without going over this budget. Check back next week to find out who won this contest and check out what I picked up for my friends and family, including an item I purchased at Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is the day we celebrated the “Shop Small” movement that drove shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.

How To Win

Leave a separate comment for each entry below (comments must be approved). US residence only please. Contest ends at 11:59 pm PST December 8th and a winner will be selected at random on December 9th.

Required (once): Share your personal tips for staying within your holiday budget for a chance to win a gift card of your choice valued at $250!

Additional Chances to Win (optional): – Tweet and/or Facebook a budget tip (up to once daily) and comment to this post to let us know you have done so.

Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry.

Disclosure – this is a paid sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.

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