Bad economy over?

I ran home today after a long day and was excited to see my Marie Claire magazine in the mail. I grabbed it and jumped in the bathtub. I wasn't a quarter way through when I noticed that the very expensive clothing, shoes and accessories are starting to sneak their way back into magazines. Within a few pages, I saw $800 shoes, $300 sunglasses and a $1200 bag. This is great if you are a Real Housewife of New York! What about the real people?

Last year Marie Claire had an issue that focused on completely affordable fashion in the tough economy. I thoroughly enjoyed that issue. I read it cover to cover and dog eared almost every page. Now they still have a Splurge vs. Steal page but even some of the steals are over $200 items. They also have a Look Great for Under $100 page. This page is great. I wish there were 20 more pages like them. Does advertising extremely expensive fashion contribute to our country's debt? Do women read these magazines and think to themselves that they must be the only ones not dropping this kind of cash on a pair of shoes? Don't get caught in that trap.

Some of my new favorite, totally affordable fashion lines are She Said, I "heart" Ronson and Bisou Bisou at JCPenney. Norma Kamali has great stuff on the walmart.com site. Target gets a new high fashion guest designer almost weekly and Kohls has Vera Wang. There is cute stuff everywhere. Look at this adorable top from She Said at Penneys. Wear it with a cute black pencil skirt and ankle booties, with leggings or jeans. It is on the site for $29.99. Use code APR10SUR for 15% off.

So to all of you women, the rest of us aren't out here spending that kind of money. You can look just as cute on a budget!

Living a BIG life

I tivo-ed Kirstie Alley's "Big Life" and sat down to watch all 4 episodes today. I was surprised at how funny and humble she is. She talked about how much she is beating herself up about gaining all the weight back that she lost just a few years ago. I can totally related to the self esteem blow that weight gain causes especially when you are successful at getting it off only to gain it back. The one thing that I noticed about her is that she wears huge, billowy clothing at all times. They look like moo-moos at times. She might feel better if she wore some stylish clothing more often. Just because we might be a little plus size, doesn't mean we can't dress well for our body. So to all of you "fluffy" ladies, get out there and try some of these new styles and let your inner self shine!

Some of the fun things I want this spring are:

• Even more strapy platform sandals! My philosophy is that shoes ALWAYS fit! I have about 4 new pairs of these this spring season and I keep finding more. I found these (Pictured) at DSW shoes for $39.95. I got them in gray and black. I also had a promotional code so I got both of them for just a little over $50. I love them! They are so comfortable and make legs look long and lean. Wear them with skinny jeans, walking shorts and dresses!
  
• Cat's eye sunglasses are making a comeback. Nothing says glamour like these do! Some of the most wonderful women wear them - Marilyn Monroe, Jackie O and Scarlett Johansson wore them with such style.
• A crisp, white blazer. I have always stayed away from white but I am really drawn to this look this spring. They look adorable with shorts, jeans and over a sundress. Look for great ones at www.newport-news.com. They have great promotional codes as well.
  
• A great, big, patent leather bag in a bold, bright color. I love the ones from Gianni Bini and they are a great price. I keep checking Ebay to see if they are cheaper. I want to get a color that I would never get like lime green or royal blue. The bight yellow is awesome too!
• Everyone is wearing tops and dresses with one bare shoulder showing. I need to go try on this style. I think the right style might work.
  
• A big, chunky colorful watch. The clear ones from DKNY are adorable! They are $85 each which isn't bad at all for these. They come in such fun colors - even purple!