Never Break the Bank on These Five Fashion Items

If you’ve been keeping up with your essential fashion and style reading here on Exhibit A, you know it’s okay to spend a sh*t-load of money on these five wardrobe items. But don’t go crazy, girls; there are a few fashion things for which you should never trade your gas & electric.

Trending Colors

via TSS India

Pastels have never been nice to me. And honestly, I’ve never really loved them, either. I mean, they’re pretty and whatever, but we just don’t mesh, you know? So, even though pretty pastels are totally on trend for spring 2019, and even though I might occasionally flirt with the idea of a soft sorbet hue, I’m not going to spend a single cent on anything pastel because I know I won’t get much wear out of it.

If you’re feeling whimsical and want to add some color to your closet, go for colors you find yourself loving on the reg. Be honest with yourself about the colors you truly love. And if the color palette currently trending isn’t your bag, skip it!

Oversized Anything

Because the wildly popular “excessively oversized” trend is totally dumb. There, I said it. Like, your clothes are way too big for you; that blazer looks like it belongs to your 80-year-old-extra-broad-shouldered big and tall grandfather, and it looks straight up ridiculous. This craze can’t last much longer, (please, with the whole jar of cherries piled on top), so just don’t.

Impractical Shoes

I once went to Nordstrom to make a return and ended up coming home with five pairs of salon shoes I found on ultra-clearance. (Okay, it’s possible this has happened more than once.) Each pair was a sculptural masterpiece. Among the bunch was a bright fuschia suede YSL pump and a chunky nude patent leather Miu Miu pump with an adorable Mary Jane strap. Yes, I spent way too much, but the real problem was that I couldn’t actually wear any of these shoes for more than a few minutes without major foot pain.

Lots of girls say gorgeous shoes are worth the excruciating consequences - I am not one of those girls. See my article on why I’ll never wear heels again. Why spend a ton of money on something that - in addition to not being functional - causes terrible pain and could lead to very real physical damage to your feet? My suggestion: splurge on a killer handbag instead.

Anything Extra Of-The-Moment

Trends can be fun, but they’re also fickle. You can’t rely on them to stick around long enough to make a big investment feel worthwhile. Instagram makes us feel like we’ll simply die from lack of relevance if we don’t own that new cult bag that costs a thousand dollars, but seriously, the bag isn’t going to be as cool next season, promise. Remember the Mansur Gavriel bucket bag? That bag littered up my feed like no other in 2014; and despite some arguments that the bucket bag has become a staple, the widespread mania didn’t last for more than a year.

Biker shorts were a big runway trend for spring/summer 2019. Biker shorts? But, I don’t ride bikes…? #IDontGetIt. If I feel super inspired by a trend and want to try it out, I’d rather hunt for it secondhand or rent it. Take it from Heidi Klum, when it comes to fashion, “One day you’re in…” and so on...

Evening Wear

Fashion snobbery has forbade wearing the same evening gown more than once, and Instagram might curse you dead if you did. Imagine the horror of having multiple posts of you wearing the same dress at multiple evening events. If this matters to you, consider renting a dress from Rent the Runway (read my review) or Armarium (haven’t actually tried it yet).

If you don’t mind being a repeat wearer, make sure the dress: (1) fits you perfectly (or will with only a minor alteration); (2) makes you feel crazy in love with yourself the second you put it on; and (3) is classy and quality enough to wear multiple times over the course of several years.

#EARealBabe

Cover image via The Fashion Spot