Since maxi dresses are all the rage these days, we thought this trick from Blueprint magazine might come in handy for the crafty fashionista:

To vary the look of a long, tiered dress, you can use shank buttons or safety pins to bustle up the longest layer. Learn how here.

Try it with this dress from Forever21.com...
Catalina Dress
$22.80
Long strapless summer dress features a mix of floral and geometric print, upper shirred elastic detail, ruffled skirt hem.

One of The Budget Babe's favorite pastimes is hunting for what everyone calls "designer looks for less"—but more and more these days, we're finding exact copies of designer looks...and it certainly makes you wonder: How do these copycats get away with this? Aren't there laws against this kind of stuff?

Well, we did a little research and found our answers at Counterfeitchic.com. The blog's author, Susan Scafidi, is a law school professor and well-versed in the arena of fashion & fakes. Here are her easily digestible answers to some of our most burning questions regarding designer looks-alikes and the law...Read on!!

1. Doesn’t intellectual property law protect fashion?
2. Counterfeits, knock-offs, replicas, copies, high street versions – what’s the difference?
3. If counterfeit handbags, sunglasses, DVDs, etc. are illegal, why are they so easy to find online and on the street?