How to Feel Sexier For Less, the millennials' guide

One of the challenges we face as Millennials is this weird college into professional life transition. And for me, the most awkward part of the transition is shifting between my "I'm broke & rather style-less" lifestyle to "less broke and desperately wanting to feel sexier and more grownup" lifestyle. So after a bit of research & a bit of practice, here are a few steps to help us through this weird transition.

DEFINE YOUR STYLE // It may sound strange, but taking the time to actually sit down and chart out what YOUR personal style is can save you more money then anything else. If you're anything like me, you've found yourself in Target or Forever 21 aimlessly wandering, spotting cute things, and without any honest restraint, putting those items into your basket.
For me, this has done two things:
1. A staggering amount of clothes and accessories. Which, might sound amazing but in actuality, it's not. You never seem to have "anything to wear" right? That's because while you might have snagged that adorable pink cardigan with lace cuffs and hearts at the elbows for under $20, it doesn't fit your style. So you wear it maybe once or twice and then it just sits in your closet (or in my case, probably on the floor) being wasted & bringing you endless amounts of buyers' guilt.
2. In the last year, I've spent at least $760.11 at Target alone. (Where is where most of my clothes come from these days. So we'll go ahead and assume that most of that is clothes & accessories.) Ouch.

How this could have been avoided: If I had just spent a little time defining my personal style, rather then just grabbing things that I thought were cute, we could have easily cut that amount in half at least.
So give a few of these (one, two, three) a read & start defining your own personal style. Figure out what you feel sexy in. Is it all black with statement pieces? Is it bold, bright patterns? Chic or comfortable? Once you figure out exactly what makes YOU feel sexy, you've already tackled the largest & hardest part.

WHAT DO YOU ALREADY HAVE // Now, take a bit of time and figure out what you already have. Organize it all, and make sure everything left fits within your newly defined personal style. Now is also the time to take note of what you don't have. Do you feel really sexy in blouses with high collars but only have one? Note that. That way, next time you are in a position to shop, you know what you need. And even if that sweater with the kitty stitched on the front is just screaming your name, you'll know that while it's cute, you don't have room for it. Trust me, that alone saves you tons.

MAKE NECESSITIES INTO STATEMENT PIECES // I have terrible vision, so I have to wear either contacts or glasses all of the time. But in the past year and a half, I've switched from contacts all of the time to glasses. Why? A few reasons actually:
1. They're quite a bit cheaper. In the short term, the usually double digit or triple digit prices attached to a new pair of glasses is super off-putting for most people. But when I was last buying contacts all of the time, I would have to spend $30 a month on the box and then an average of $10-15 on contact cleaner a month. That's roughly $540 a year. Those $200 glasses are looking better and better, huh?
Now since then, these wonderful online glasses shops have popped up and glasses are even cheaper. So for that $200 price tag, I can grab a few pairs. Which leads me to my next point.
2. They are a style statement just by themselves. When you have a few different pairs of something you have to have (like glasses) it's an effortless way to add a pop of style to your everyday look. Personally, I have a sassy-cat-eye in black, a subtle-chic-tortoise and a bold-chunky-red. So no matter my outfit or mood, I'm covered.
What other necessities can you convert into a style statement?

My personal style has best been described as "pop-glam sass princess". // images found in my style moodboard on pinterest

INVEST WHEN POSSIBLE // Just like my example with the glasses, in the short term, sometimes it's really hard to validate spending more money on one piece. A white button up for instance. Every shop on the planet has a white button up. You could pop into Forever 21 and snag one for $5-7 easily. However, two washes later and that button up is done for. They're just cheaply made. Which is why on those statement pieces (glasses, white button ups, a sharp blazer, etc.) most folks will recommend you invest in a higher quality piece. In the short term, it's more expensive. But you'll have to replace it less frequently and can take comfort in knowing that you won't look sloppy after two washes.

RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUY // I've talked about spending more wisely & purposefully before and this definitely goes under that category. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've bought something on impulse before I even had time to think about researching. Lipsticks & foundations for instance: I've found myself grabbing a couple different types, brands and colors at once just because they were "cheap" (see: under $10, drug store brands) so I could test them out myself. And at the time, sure $15-$30 on makeup seemed like a great deal. But if I had stopped for .0657 seconds, pulled out my phone and read some reviews I would have known that this one specific brand tested on animals & this other one didn't last but maybe an hour. So I could have eliminated two choices, saving roughly $20. And I don't need to tell you how quickly that little bit can add up.

Just following these few steps, you can instantly cut down on what you would have spent trying to feel sexier. Define your personal style, invest in statement pieces & necessities and make sure you know what you need before you go shopping. Armed with a little knowledge about yourself and what makes YOU feel sexy, as well as reviews that align with your needs and your ethics, will make it easier and overall more enjoyable. Which is key in making this weird transition period of our lives a bit easier.

Do you have any tips for how to feel sexier for less? I would love if you share below! And someone please tell me I'm not the only one who needed a bit of a shopping rehab? Hah <3

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