My name is Alexa and I will be your concierge to affordable fashion and beauty! Let’s make one thing clear right off the bat Lex loves couture, but Lex went to an overpriced private school, has student loans out the wazoo, and lives on a STRICT budget…at home with her parents. Most of the time any label you may see me wearing is borrowed, a fantastic deal I couldn’t pass up, or a present. I am not a believer in fake it til you make it and I’m not going to pretend to be dripping in designer. You might look chic with that Chanel bag that you maxed out your credit card buying or those Louboutins that you used your rent money to buy, but who loses in the end? You! Let see how worth it those items are when you’re homeless trying to pay off your thousands of dollars worth of debt.
Do I think that you should have an entire wardrobe filled with H&M and Forever 21? No, absolutely not. Why are those stores so inexpensive? The clothing is made fast and cheap. How do I know this for a fact? I work in the apparel industry on the end that handles the production. Our company happens to lean to towards a bargain customer and I’ll be the first to tell you the price to make the garment is the most important thing. It is a trickle down effect. What we pay for the garment to be made effects how much we charge the buyer for the goods so that we can make a profit. The price we charge the buyers to buy the goods effects the retail price of the goods in the store so that the store can make a profit. What is the moral of story? You get what you pay for. If something is $19.99 in the store. It’s that cheap for a reason.
The major lesson I will teach is to learn when to splurge and when to save. Please note, my splurge suggestions will not rival a celebrity’s closet. I hope I’ve established that most of us aren’t there yet! Draw inspiration from the runway, but do not try to wear the runway before you can afford it. The way I personally shop is like this. I save on must have items that are trendy(i.e.: studded pumps, floral pants, colored denim, etc). I splurge on things that are staples in my wardrobe (i.e.: coats, boots, neutral pumps, bags, etc). Is my formula set in stone? No, but I do find that if I shop this way most of the time I do end up saving a lot of money!
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Lex Loves Couture by Alexa Alfonso 