Daily Outfit - 12/09/09

The Inspiration Calendar called for "Pair a long cardi with a fun skirt", and while I don't know if this skirt is "fun" I do enjoy the pattern. Also, I just had to wear my new favorite shoes!

Black/White Cowl-neck Dress - Lane Bryant, on sale + coupon for $28 (Sept. 2009)
Black/Gray Sweater Vest/Cardi - Simply Vera/Kohl's, on sale for $25-ish (late 2007)
Black Belt - NY & Co, on sale for $10 (2008)
Flower Necklace - Avenue, on sale for $3 (Summer 2009)
Black Shoe/Booties - Coach, more than $50, but I did buy them with my 25% off PCE (Dec. 2009)

Let's talk about these shoes. I saw them on the Coach website last week and loved how they could be worn two ways. They didn't have them in-stock at my local stores, but luckily a New Jersey store had them in my size and a couple days later they were mine!

A look at a couple of ways I have worn this same dress in the past:

Daily Outfit - 12/08/09

This week is shaping up to be the stripes and scarves week, but those are two of my favorite things so it works for me. Actually, this outfit started from the shoes up. I spotted these gorgeous Cole Haan heels yesterday at TJ Maxx while shopping at lunch (it is super dangerous working only a block away!). The real kicker is they were only $40! For a minute I thought I was dreaming! The outfit works well though because it actually goes along with the inspiration calendar also - Neutrals with a pop of color (submitted by Rose of From Sneakers to Stilettos).

Black/Cream Stripe Turtleneck - Target, $13 (Fall 2008)
Black Shirt Dress - Lane Bryant, w/ coupon for $30 (Spring 2008)
Black Belt - NY & Co, on sale for $10 (2008)
Scarf - Target, $10 (Fall 2008)
Gorgeous Burgundy Heels - Cole Haan/TJ Maxx, $40 (Dec. 2009)
Mosaic Ring - ShopKim

Also, I thought I would share what the cord and light goes to that you can see in my pictures this last week or so. It is the color light for our silver Christmas Tree. Dave has always wanted a silver tree, so when I spotted this one three years ago we just had to get it. While I would have never thought myself to be a silver tree kind of gal I do love our tree and our tradition of putting it up on Black Friday together after we get home from shopping while watching some of our fav holidays movies!

Winners!!!

Without further delay here are the winners for the recent giveaways!!

Affordable Scarves Giveaway -
Rachel & Stealing Purple

and

Famous Footwear Giveaway - Jess

Maurices Giveaway - Carol

Ladies, if you see your name/comment posted above please email me at kimberly@fabfindsunder50.com by the end of the day, Wednesday, December 9 with your full name and address. If I don't hear from you by then I will select a different winner.

Thanks for participating!!

Daily Outfits - 12/07/09 & 12/05/09

I had planned to post some winners to all of the great giveaways that were going on last week over the weekend, but it ended up being a super busy weekend. Hopefully I can get them posted today though!

I've done the belted scarf look a few time before, but had kind of forgotten about it till recently when there was a resurgence of the look amongst bloggers. It worked really with today's look too, so glad they jogged my memory!

Black/Gray Skinny Stripe Turtleneck - Kohl's, sale for $6.24 (Dec. 2009)
Gray Knit Jumper Dress - Avenue, with Promo Code for $30 (Fall 2008)
Scarf - Kohl's, sale for $15 (Dec. 2009)
Black Belt - NY & Co, sale for $10 (2008)
Tie Heels - Payless, sale for $20 (Oct. 2009)

On Saturday evening, my company held their holiday dinner so it was a great night to get dressed and a great evening out.

Dress - Catherine's, on sale + coupon for $65 (August 2009)
Black Ruffle Cardi - Kohl's, clearance for $15 (Spring 2009)
Black Ribbon Belt - came with Dress
Bow Heels - Paris Hilton/TJ Maxx, $50 (August 2009)

Have a great day!

Daily Outfit - Double Feature

Well, you can say yesterday pretty much got away from me. It was a crazy, busy day and no time to show you all what I had on, so here it is today!

Black French Cuff Shirt - QVC, $20 (Summer 2009)
Cardi - Old Navy, clearance for $15 (Fall 2008)
Royal Blue Pencil Skirt - Thrifted, $2 (Fall 2009)
Black Belt - NY & Co, on sale for $14 (June 2009)
Necklace - NY & Co, $10 (Summer 2009)
Glasses - compliments of GlassesUSA (Summer 2009)
Heels - Naughty Monkey, compliments of Solestruck (Fall 2009)

Today it really feels like winter around here so I opted to pull out the fur. When I bought this sweater it seemed a bit over the top, but that was 6 years ago and now its perfectly in style!

Fur Trim Cardi - Express, on sale for $50 (regularly $300+!) (2003)
White Slub Knit Tee - Dots, $8 (Nov 2009)
Jeans - Lee Comfort Waist No Gap Jeans, JC Penney, on sale for $25 (Jan. 2009)
Belt - NY & Co, $10-ish (2008)
Necklace - Tiffany & Co, gifted for my 23 birthday
"Flirty Friday" Socks - Betsey Johnson, TJ Maxx, part of a 7 pair set for $20 (Nov. 2009)*
Black Flats - Payless, $20 (2007)

* How fun are these Days of the Week Socks?! I spied the set on Black Friday and just had to get them. Other fun days include Manic Monday, Wild Wednesday and more!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Daily Outfit - 12/02/09

It seemed like a good day to be comfy and what better way to do that to wear a big t-shirt cleverly disquised as a dress. Also, I decided to stick with black with pop of color (from the scarf and layered-up berry tights) vs. the black & white with pops of color the Outfit Inspiration Calendar called for.

Black LS Tee - Dots, $7 (Nov. 2009)
Black with Gray Flower Dress - Walmart, online clearance for $8 (Nov. 2009)
Scarf of Many Colors - For Love/Forever 21, $8 (Late Winter 2009)
Berry Tights - Avenue, on sale for $5 (Nov. 2008)
Black Open Weave Tights - Dots, $6 (Nov. 2009)
Watch Pendant - compliments of Maurices
Black Boots - Target, $38 (2006)

Daily Outfit - 12/01/09

The first day of December, can you believe it? Glad I finally got around to pulling a few winter things out of storage since its going to be in the 20's later this week. Oh well, I will enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather today while it lasts.

Black/White Cardi - Nine West/Marshalls, $30 (2008)
Black Belt - NY & Co, on sale for $14 (Spring 2009)
Necklace - made by me (Spring 2009)
Tweed Short - Target, clearance for $15-ish (2007)
Black Booties - Kmart, $30 (Jan. 2009)

Reader Question - Help me with this sweater!

I was hoping to get your thoughts on a sweater that I loved in the store but am not loving so much in reality (and it's too late to return it!). It's a shawl-collar sweater from Kohl's. I have been wearing a lace cami underneath, which looks great in the morning, but by the time I get to work, the collar has unrolled itself to the point you can no longer see anything underneath, and I don't really like the way it looks on me. So I spend the whole day readjusting it, which is totally annoying. Do you have any suggestions for other ways I could wear it? The picture is attached.
Thanks so much for your help, and I love your blog!!
-Lisa

Lisa, thanks for your email and so glad to hear you are loving on FFUF! That is a gorgeous sweater, so let's see if we can make this work for you.

My first recommendation for keeping the shawl collar perfectly put is to invest in some Fashion Tape. Let me just say this stuff has been a life saver for me on more than one occasion! I keep some at home and at work because you never know when you will loose a button or rip out a hem. In additon to being great for fashion emergencies it is also great for keeping stuff where it is suppose to be. Simply affix the collar down with a couple of strips to keep it from rolling up. (Also, ladies, this makes a great holiday gift or stocking stuffer for all the gals on your list - they will wonder what they did before they had fashion tape!)

Clockwise from top left:
Hollywood Intuition Fashion Tape - Clear - Target, $8.99
Fashion Tape - QVC, $16.50
Hollywood Red Carpet Assortment - Hollywood Fashion Tape, $9.99

Also, with shawl collars like this I think they look great layered over a turtleneck, especially a striped one. Additionally, these collars are a great way to showcase all of the fun bib, statement necklaces that are everywhere right now in fashion. Simply layer a round neck tee underneath the sweater and add an eye-catching necklace.

Striped Turtleneck - Ann Taylor Loft, $29
Long Sleeve Tee (shown in Chaulk & Navy) - American Eagle, $17.50
Jet-Tone Beaded Bib Necklace - Kohl's, $13.40
Buoyant Bib Necklace - Anthroplogie, $19.95
Peacock Bib Necklace - NY & Co, $12.47

Lisa, I hope these quick ideas help you make your sweater work better for you in the future! Have fun styling it up!

Daily Outfit - 11/30/09

This black dress has unintentionally become my "Monday Dress" - this is the third Monday in a row I have worn it. However, after the 4-day weekend I wasn't feeling very creative. Luckily, I had this awesome new cardigan and necklace to wear today making the outfit an easy one to pull together. Plus, it keeps with the Outfit Inspiration Calendar for the day (Add some "Michelle Flair" to your outfit layering on a cardi).

Speaking of Outfit Inspiration Calendar, I posted the new December one over the weekend. Hope you see some ideas you like!

Black Dress - Target, clearance for $12.50 (Jan. 2009)
Cardi - compliments of Lane Bryant (Nov. 2009)
Necklace - compliments of Maurices (Nov. 2009) (Make sure you enter for a chance to win a $20 Gift Certificate, click here)
Purple Belt - Kohls, clearance for $9 (2009)
Purple Heels - Nine West/Endless.com, on sale for $55 (Fall 2008)

A look at the past two Mondays featuring this dress:

Don't forget to enter all of the great giveaways (Affordable Scarves, Famous Footwear and Maurices) currently going on at Fab Finds Under $50. Look above (just below the blog header) for quick links to all of the posts.

Happy Cyber Monday, everyone!!

December Inspiration Calendar

Can you believe it's time for another Outfit Inspiration Calendar? This is the 8th month now that I have been doing this. I hope that you find it entertaining and maybe even use it for a day or two (or more) to help decide what to wear. This month's inspiration is pulled from some reader submissions (thanks, gals), looks I spied in magazines and looks I created on Looklet (the majority of the looks) and include a mix of dressy and casual looks for Monday - Saturday.

Speaking of Looklet - - have you tried out this site yet? It is a lot like electronic paper dolls! I love it!

All looks go Monday - Wednesday, left to right on the top row and Thursday - Saturday, left to right in the bottom row in the collages below.

Week 1 - December 1 - 5:

Tuesday, 12/1 - Black Top with a Dramatic Skirt
Wednesday, 12/2 - Black & White Combo with Pops of Colors in your Accessories
Thursday, 12/3 - Mix of Patterns and Textures
Friday, 12/4 - Color Mix: Brown & Gray (submitted by Megan aka Green Violet, check out her blog here)
Saturday, 12/5 - Mix of Denim & Leopard

Week 2 - December 7 - 12:

Monday, 12/7 - Layer textured tights over a colorful pair and add a scarf
Tuesday, 12/8 - Neutrals with a pop of color (submitted by Rose of From Sneakers to Stilettos)
Wednesday, 12/9 - Pair a long cardi with a fun skirt
Thursday, 12/10 - Belt a Patterned Dress
Friday, 12/11 - Layer on the necklaces with a feminine top
Saturday, 12/12 - Layer up the neutrals and finish off with cowboy boots (American Eagle Look submitted by Jo of My Fav F Words)

Week 3 - December 14 - 19:

Monday, 12/14 - Dressy Plaid
Tuesday, 12/15 - Non-Preppy Argyle (submitted by Everything is Better Tinted Purple)
Wednesday, 12/16 - Pair a Patterned Cardi with a Pretty Graphic Tee
Thursday, 12/17 - Pattern Mix: Plaid & Stripes
Friday, 12/18 - Belt a Puffy Vest and Go Casual (American Eagle Look submitted by Jo of My Fav F Words)
Saturday, 12/19 - Go Holiday Casual Chic (submitted by Shoegal)

Week 4 - December 21 - 26:

Monday, 12/21 - Pair up some basics and add some hot shoes! (submitted by Rose of From Sneakers to Stilettos)
Tuesday, 12/22 - Go Preppy Glam!
Wednesday, 12/23 - Keep it simple with black pants and bright, printed top
Thursay, 12/24 - Feminize a boyfriend cardi with accents including a scarf and pink
Friday, 12/25 - Keep is casual with black and white with pops of color
Saturday, 12/26 - Pair Black with Red Roses

Week 5 - December 28 - 31:

Monday, 12/28 - Color Mix: Purple, Navy & Black
Tuesday, 12/29 - Pair a Bold Dress & Booties
Wednesday, 12/30 - Pair a Capelet with wideleg pants
Thursday, 12/31 - Go Glam for New Years Eve

Also, don't forget, if you are inspired by the calendar and want to share a picture or polyvore set/collage of an outfit you wore join our Flickr group.

*Don't forget to sync your Blackberry, iPhone or other PDA and Google Calendar for easy access to this month's inspiration!

To check out past months' Inspiration Calendars click on the quick links in the left hand column.