10 Items for $50 or Less to Spruce Up your Wardrobe
Written by Ali Straka Thursday, December 30 2010
We all experience the winter blues – and that feeling often extends to our closets. What to do when your wardrobe is in need of fashion resuscitation? Inject life into your look without busting your budget. The following 10 items will instantly spruce up your style quotient and your attitude:
10. Revamp your Make-up
When you’re feeling in a rut, sometimes the answer is not fixing what’s in your closet, but switching up what’s in your beauty bag. Every woman has her make-up routine, and after a while those products can feel, well, routine. Change up your beauty bag, and you’ll change up your outlook. Swamping out neutral shadows for darker, shimmery shades, gliding on a bold red or dark vamp lipstick, or trying out trendy nail lacquers can instantly accentuate your outfit and make you feel special. Confidence is the ultimate wardrobe sprucer.
Try these: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Blackberry (a dark wine color), $6; Essie Nail Polish in Chinchilly (an über-stylish gray shade), $8; Nars Semi-Matte Lipstick in Jungle Red (a bright, perfect red), $24; Too Faced Smoky Eye Kit, $35.
9. Haute Hosiery
Want a style update, but not feeling so brave? An easy way to liven up an outfit is by adding interesting leg wear. Try patterned hose as an interesting alternative to basic black, or ditch the safe color choices for plum, red, or teal tights. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, try wearing knee-high socks or ankle-high socks with heels.
Try these: Hue Geo Mosiac Tights, $12.50; Anthropologie Opaque Tights in navy, red, yellow, green, or purple, $12.50; Autumn Essentials socks from ModCloth, $19.99.
8. Bright Cardigan
Add a pop of eye-catching color with a cardigan. Work with what’s already in your closet by layering a statement garment with your tried-and-true basics. You’ll instantly update your look without busting your budget.
Try these: Delia’s Drea Animal Print Cardigan, $19.99; Old Navy Facet-Button Cardigans, $19.99-25.99.
7. Bold Booties
Women love their shoes, and it’s no secret why: You can be adventurous and daring about what you wear on your feet no matter your dress size or your budget size. Add spice to any outfit – from a prim and proper work ensemble to a laid-back T-shirt and jeans combo – by adding bold booties. Must-have footwear right now includes leopard-print booties, Army-inspired desert booties, and lace-up wedge booties.
Try these: Open-Toe Booties in berry, cobalt blue, and purple, $15; Leopard Print Booties, $32.99; ModCloth’s Montclair Boot, $44.99; If You’re So Inclined Wedge, $44.99.
6. Surplus Jacket
Army inspiration is everywhere this season, and one of the must-haves is a surplus jacket. Regardless of whether you prefer feminine or preppy, an Army green surplus jacket adds a rough juxtaposition to women’s outfits. Wear it casually with boyfriend jeans and a V-neck, try it over your office button-downs with cigarette pants, or wear it over a dress and cinch it with a belt.
Try this: I Heart Ronson Army Jacket, $39.99; Urban Renewal Army Surplus Jacket, $39.99; Old Navy Sherpa-Trim “Citizen Surplus” Jacket, $43.99.
5. Metallic Oxfords
Classic Oxford flats re-emerged this season in every color and print imaginable, but the options that will add the most modern spin to your wardrobe are metallic Oxfords. They can be dressed up or down, and work well with preppy or edgy outfits. The menswear-inspired shoes will instantly add quirky kick to any closet needing life-support.
Try these: In the Gold Flat, $39.99; Deena & Ozzy Glitter Oxford, $48.
4. Cargo Pants
Loving the Army look? Try switching out your jeans or khakis for on-trend cargo pants. But don’t borrow cargos from your son or husband; the fashionable take on cargos is to keep them slim, fitted, and feminine. This military-inspired fashion is comfortable, easy to wear, and available at wallet-friendly prices.
Try these: Silence & Noise Army Cargo Pant, $24.99; Belle Zip-Hem Stretch Cargo Pant, $39.99; BLANK NYC Skinny Cargo Pants, $49.92.
3. A Touch of Velvet
Soft and supple velvet instantly adds a dose of luxury to any wardrobe, and it’s a hot material for winter fashions. But beware of overdoing it: Wear too much and your outfit can quickly jump from classy to tacky. Ease your way into this fashion by wearing small doses of velvet, like a headband or ballet flat. If you want to go bigger, try sporting a velvet blazer in a jewel-toned or neutral color. Reserve crushed velvet for small items.
Try these: AmiClubwear Blue Velvet Heels, $9.99; Qupid Crushed Velvet Ballet Flat, $14.50; Apt. 9 Velvet Blazer, $39.99; Juicy Couture Velvet Bow Headband, $45.
2. Statement Necklace
Jewelry completes an outfit, and a big and bold statement necklace has the power to truly make an outfit go from drab to fab. They can be worn with basics like T-shirts and little black dresses, or statement necklaces can complement a chic silk blouse or printed dress. The options are endless. Don’t be afraid to try something distinctive and chunky: The bigger the better!
Try this: MixIt Grey Pearl and Metal Statement Necklace, $24.99; Tarnish Ruffle Statement Necklace, $38; The Limited Pearl Bead and Chain Necklace, $44.90.
1. Motorcycle Jacket
Few items can bring a shout to your closet like a motorcycle jacket. Moto jackets instantly add edge and style. Available in a menagerie of materials — leather, tweed, fleece, cotton — they’re versatile, chic wardrobe-changers. Wear with a floral dress, a ruffled blouse, or prim button-down, and you’ll instantly adjust the attitude you project.
Try these: Forever 21 Fleece-Trim Moto Jacket, $34.80; a.n.a Drapeneck Moto Jacket, $42.99; I Heart Ronson Tweed Moto Jacket, $44.99.
Ali Straka is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She majored in magazine journalism with a minor in textile and apparel management. She used her experience as a college student to contribute to developing products from University Chic in addition to writing regularly for the site. In her free time, Ali muses about fashion, interior design, and all things pop culture on her blog According to Ali. She hails from the North Shore suburbs of Chicago.
