My Mother’s Pearls
I found a really old crochet-flower-patterned dress in my closet that I received from my mom a long time ago. The pearl necklace is from her as well. I have a bunch of pearl strands that I’ve received from my beautiful and stylish mom. Will post later.
Hope that everyone is having a beautiful weekend!
XOXO
How To Get The Cheap Girl Fashion, Beauty and Style Updates
Hello CGs,
I hope that everyone is having a fantastic weekend. In case you don’t have the opportunity to check my blog on a daily basis, I just want to share a few ways that you can get daily updates:
Email or news reader: http://feeds.feedburner.com/thecheapgirl/cyuS
* Click on the link above or sign up through the side bar on the right hand side of the website.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Across-Canada/The-Cheap-Girl/139771343914?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheCheapGirl
Feel free to sign up for one or sign up for all 
Thank you very much for all your support! <3
XOXO
Free Preview of Jeremy Gutsche’s Exploiting Chaos
Hi CGs,
Are you a designer, a fashion or beauty stylista, a social media expert, an innovator or are you simply looking to be inspired to find the next big thing? I want to share a fabulous inspirational book called Exploiting Chaos by Innovation Expert Jeremy Gutsche of Trendhunter.com. This book will inspire and show you how to harness the culture of chaos with chapters on innovation, perspective, trend hunting etc. Available starting September 1st, 2009, The Cheap Girl readers have been offered an exclusive, free sneak peek.
And we love freebies! So take a look and see if this book is right for you!
Stay ahead of the trends and download the free preview today!
The Cheap Girl on Budget Fashion
The secret to frugal dressing? Borrow it
A library of designer gowns? Sort of. A Vancouver shop lends out its wares for a fraction of their cost
Whether you’re a casual style observer or fervent fashionista, the red carpet-worthy looks splashed across TV, websites and magazines may be as close as many will get to actually scoping out high-end designer duds – much less wearing them.
But Klay Kaulbach is hoping to help make the fantasy a realities of women who dream of donning a high-end glamour gown for a night out a reality – and without the hefty price tag.
At duJour Boutique & Gallery in Vancouver, customers have the option of borrowing everything from day dresses to cocktail numbers for a fraction of the cost of buying them off the rack.
Kaulbach and his partner Johan Lotz were inspired to start the business after a visit to New York last summer, afterand seeing a news report about a store there with a similar concept.
Kaulbach said They thought the idea of women renting dresses was “brilliant” – although at duJour, they prefer to call it “borrowing” or “lending.”
The business opened its doors last December – right in the midst of the economic slump.
“We did have our hesitations after things started to take a downturn, but at the same time, the concept kind of lends itself to women who may be experiencing those effects,” he said.
“The fact that women are able to borrow the dresses as well as purchase them, it sort of falls in line with the recession and saving money – allowing women to remain fabulous for a significantly lesser cost.”
There are about 300 dresses available, from minis to floor length, strapless and halter gowns, with sizes ranging from 0 to 24. duJour offers a three-night, four-day borrow fee starting at around $40 and rising to about $350. (The fee is based on the retail cost of the dresses, which ranges from $100 to $4,800.)
While there are both day dresses and evening dresses on the lower end of the borrow scale, something like a black, spaghetti-strap, floor-length silk pleated Gucci gown which retails for around $3,200 would be in the upper range.
With the exception of a couple of small collections, most dresses in the store have the buy-and-borrow fee option, Kaulbach said. After a dress is borrowed, the purchase price will drop, he added.
Kaulbach said most customers shop at the store for special events, with a substantial turnout among shoppers on the hunt for dresses for graduation and the Juno Awards, which were held in Vancouver this year.
But why would customers opt to borrow dresses with fees that fall within the range where they could potentially find lower-priced alternatives elsewhere to buy? Kaulbach believes one of the reasons is variety.
“A lot of women will wear a dress once, put it in their closet and they never have the opportunity or make the opportunity to wear it again,” he said. “It gives them the opportunity to expand their wardrobe without breaking the bank.”
Oliva De Leon-Gan, founder of The Cheap Girl, a Toronto-based blog which provides details and updates on fashion, beauty and style bargains, said she likes the concept of borrowing designer items, which she said helps makes high-end fashion more accessible.
The 27-year-old fashion lover describes herself as frugal and has a self-imposed rule not to spend more than $50 on trends that will likely last just a season.
De Leon-Gan thinks even when the economy is back up at full steam, people who may have become more budget-conscious won’t suddenly shift gears.
While consumers may be keeping a tighter grip on their pocketbooks in this turbulent economy, an inaugural event in Toronto was geared toward enticing the fashionable and the frugal to open their wallets and support the local industry.
At the recent Frugal Fashion Week, designers, labels and boutiques who are members of the city’s stylish West Queen West retail community were among the featured attractions.
In addition to some stores and vendors offering significant discounts, Frugal Fashion Week featured events included a shop crawl, silent auction and guerrilla fashion shows. A portion of the proceeds was to go to Windfall, a clothing bank.
“Basically, it is to encourage spending during the recession because of course when everybody hears ‘recession’ they start clamming up and they start saving their money and closing their wallet,” said Frugal Fashion Week creator and producer Gillian Downes. “Then of course it’s sort of that backlash when you slowly start to notice a lot of boutiques and stores closing down.”
Downes said the event’s aim was also to highlight the local concept and showcase designers and stores who aren’t typically seen during Fashion Week. She said they are already gearing up for next year’s event.
As for the impact of the recession, Downes said she thinks it will change the way people shop.
“I think we’re actually going to start thinking more about our money and how we spend it and what are we actually getting back for it instead of just going out saying ‘I want a $100,000 car’ and here it is,” she said.
“I think we’re going to stop and think about what money we’re handing over. And I hope that’s a trend that actually lasts. I think that’s a good trend.”
The article can be viewed from the following links:
Special thanks to Lauren La Rose from The Canadian Press for the feature.
The Cheap Girl Turns 1 Today
Happy 1st Birthday to The Cheap Girl. Thank you so much for visiting often, for the lovely emails and for everyone who supported me on this venture. It has been such a great journey. I’ve met so many people and I am so thankful to everyone. Much love to T for fixing every hiccup. Hugs to all the vendors for their generosity and to my loyal readers, love LOVE you all.
I will continue my very best to bring my readers the most fabulous fashion and beauty deals as well as style updates. This blog has slightly evolved over the past year and it will continue to change according to what YOU want to see. Feel free to send me a shout out if you like, dislike or if you would like to see something added or if you just want to say bonjour! I am open to all suggestions
Thank you to all and have a beautiful Thursday!!!!
XOXOXOXO
Oliva
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Jen from Lush Canada
Nadia from Ice.com
Caryl Baker Visage Toronto Eaton Centre
