The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Off the Rack: March Highlights at Forever 21




After my trip to Payless, I paid a visit to Forever 21 to see what was new for spring. The clothes were organized to highlight some of spring's key trends, including tribal, florals, and nautical. You couldn't miss the eye-catching colors and bold prints, from geometric to animal print, in the tribal section; silhouettes included ponchos, linen shorts and daring crop-tops. Next to that, ditsy print dresses and bohemian blouses in pretty pastels created a feminine, garden party oasis. The nautical/Americana section was marked by stripes in navy, white and red, plus plaid, gingham and lightwash denim. I bought a navy and red sweater (which you'll see after the jump) and I'll probably go back for more. Other highlights included a day-to-night Chanel inspired jacket, lightweight chunky knits in spring colors like nude and pink, and lots of maxi-skirts, which honestly aren't my style but I can see lots of fashion bloggers scooping them up! I purchased a tan trench (see me wearing it on Facebook) to test-drive this classic look which has been called a wardrobe essential by just about every style expert on the planet. All I can say is, what took me so long?

Click through for more photos.

Off the Rack: Spring Designer Series Shoes at Payless




If you follow me on Twitter, you may have caught my tweets earlier this week about my love of the designer series shoes at Payless. Christian Siriano's snakeskin wedge sandals and fierce cage heels looked amazing for the price, and Isabel Toledo's eccentric styles were funky and sure to please urban artsy types. But what really made my heart skip a beat were the colorful, preppy-global wedges by Lela Rose. I couldn't decide which pair I loved more, the "Bolivar," a green fabric wedge with woven wedge heel or the "Loreto," a navy fabric wedge with faux leather and wood striped heel. At $49.99 a pair, I decided to wait and think about it before making a purchase.

Have you bought anything from Payless lately?

The Look for Less: Proenza Schouler PS1 Spring Edition

The large leather Proenza Schouler PS1 satchel in green is $1,955 at Net-A-Porter.



Proenza Schouler at ShopStyle



Bearing in mind the obvious differences in quality, you can get a similar inspired-by design with Mossimo for Target's messenger bag in olive, $34.99. I saw these in person and think they look great for the price. Click any image to shop.



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