If there is one thing I have learned how to do well since leaving college it is shopping cheap. It used to be that I would pass my time between classes stocking up on designer jeans and over-priced coffee concoctions. That, of course, was when my parents were footing the bill and I could tell my mom I bought 2 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts and an oh-so-necessary text book for the price I really spend on some new oh-so-sexy boots.

Those days are long gone.

Now the only person reviewing (with a mixture of shock and horror) and paying my credit card bills is me, so I had no choice but to do a little switcheroo on my spending habits. That doesn’t mean, however, that my love for fashion has changed. At first that made things difficult; it isn’t easy having an obsession with the latest runway styles on a post-graduation limited budget. But I soon found it was possible to be tre fabulous on a tight budget.

And here are the stores to visit:

Kohls: This store didn’t need the new Simply Vera by Vera Wang to be a go-to for women on a budget. Even before the uber fabulous line made its way into stores across the country (and my closet, obvi), Kohls had beautiful and stylish clothes at super affordable prices. Mix and match this stuff and it won’t be hard to make people think it’s from Neiman’s.

Target: Obviously. Take your pick of awesome clothes from their GO designers to their staples like Mossimo and Isaac Mizrahi; this store really does have it all. And taking weekly shopping trips will not kill the budget (or force you to choose between eating and dressing). Read More »

Vera Wang is joining the ranks of celeb designers who create clothing for the common folk. Somehow, I am a bit surprised by this announcement. Sure, we are all used to Isaac for Target or SJP for Steve and Barry’s, but Vera Wang for Kohls? That’s like Prada creating a ready wear line for WalMart.

The New York Times reports Wang’s line will be available in September for cut-rate prices. This will serve as a rebirth of sorts for Kohls.

“Kohl’s intends to make Ms. Wang the public face of its reinvention. For her part, Ms. Wang says that her relationship with Kohl’s is more than a marriage of convenience. Like many successful entrepreneurs before her, she has reached a crossroads: her business has grown so rapidly and in so many directions that she lacks the resources — especially cash — to keep expanding it on her own.”

So, basically, nowadays, you almost have to create an inexpensive line that sells to the masses in order to survive as a designer. I guess that works to our benefit in the long run.

Will it be a success or not? Only two months till we find out.