7 Tips to Dress Well on a Small Budget

Hey friends!

It's been a while. How are you? That's good. I'm doing good, thanks!

I'm not a well-respected fashionista or anything, but I do like to dress well when I'm in the mood. (We have our moments, right?). And, sadly, I have many friends who don't dress well at all. Some weren't blessed as I was with a blunt and classy older sister to mentor them. Some just don't care. Some don't have the time. Some don't have the money.

I'm here to help those who, like me, want to dress well but are on a small budget. How do you do it?

1. Figure Out Your Go-to Source.
   I'm gonna pull a Donald Trump and say: CHINA! Honestly, I sometimes go as cheap as stuff from China like on AliExpress and eBay. I have a friend who only gets clothes from Thrift Stores and still rocks it. If you're comfortable with used clothing, there's always a local Buy & Sell page. I have friends who go to Walmart and Costco for clothes. My go-to cheap places are H&M and Old Navy. For Canadians there's also Ardene, Garage and Urban Planet; they're crap but pretty cheap. Those have been the cheapest sources in my experience -- China, thrift stores, buy and sell pages, grocery stores, and those cheap stores I mentioned.
2. First and foremost, figure out what is flattering for YOUR shape.
   What may look good on the girl on the cover of Vogue might not look flattering for you. And that's fine! Don't beat yourself up over it. Some people have approached me saying "Well it's easy for YOU to dress well, you have a perfect body and everything looks good on you!" False. I just figured out what suits me and from there I refuse to purchase or wear anything that doesn't flatter me.
3. Only buy it if you LOVE it, if it SUITS you, and if you WILL wear it.
   If you don't feel beautiful in it or can't name an event where you would wear it, don't buy it. Even if your friends insist that it's on sale and you just HAVE to take advantage of it, or your mom insists that it's trendy because her hair dresser's daughter has it. It's YOUR body and money and if YOU don't love it and if it doesn't flatter YOU and YOU won't wear it, don't waste your money. Even if it's a $3 Armani top. Think about it: If you buy 12 $3 tops you never wear and end up giving away as opposed to one $30 top that you do wear, you save money by just buying the $30 top.
4. Start at the cheapest stores first.
   Whenever I have something in mind, I start at cheaper stores like Old Navy or Ross. If that store doesn't have the item, I work my way up via price range. That way you KNOW you're getting that item in the lowest price. In a way, it also saves you time.
5. Make a Shopping List of what you NEED and Stick To That.
   You can even categorize it. You can categorize in terms of how soon you need it, what you need it for, etc. Go on Pinterest or look at fashion websites to figure out the season's trends and see what you like. Even TV shows can give you ideas. I always go on Pinterest or even Google and find out the trends for the upcoming season and I make a specific list from there -- like a pair of burgundy pants, or a striped shirt, or a black cardigan, etc. This might sound obvious, but how many times have I gone to the mall at Boxing Day with no purpose and bought something cuz it was cute but never wore it because I didn't really need it and it wasn't trendy?
6. Sometimes, you gotta invest.
   Some items (like shoes) are worth paying a bit more. For example: I got a pair of boots for $40. 4 months later, I had to throw them out. Then I got them in real leather and all these things that make them good quality for just under $200. 5 years later, here I am writing this post while my boots are still in good condition. Think about it: the cheap ones cost $120 a year while the good ones cost $40 a year. Figure out what items are worth investing. For me, it's the items I will wear the most often for as long as I can, like the boots. A shirt on the other hand, I might only wear for six months because then the weather will change and by the time the weather will come back to that temperature, it won't be trendy. So I usually get it for the cheapest price.
7. SALES!
   If there's a store you really love, it might be worth it to sign up for notifications on sales. My sister does that with Zara and saves a lot of money that way. Another thing is going to the sales rack. I love Tommy Hilfiger, but because it's over my budget, I go to the clearance rack and find a lot of things I love.

Anyways, I hope this helps. It's been a while since I've posted so I just published without proofreading. So don't mind any typos. I'm going to bed now. BYE!

Dear Bernie Supporters

With all my conservative political posts the past few months, y'all know I don't support socialism, Bernie Sanders, or his proposals. Having said that, I'd like to address my friends, particularly the Bernie supporters. We may disagree in our political views, but I respect you, which is something I'll probably never say for Hillary supporters. You see, the only reason why I don't support Bernie is simply because of his policies, but I know he's a good person and loves the country. Hillary, on the other hand, is a lying, power-hungry human being (on top of her flip-floppy plans).

And believe it or not, I know how you feel and I'm kinda bummed too. It's sad to see a candidate who is honest, well-meaning, with a clear record, and who truly represents the political party and what the voters want, lose to a corrupt self-serving dishonest politician. And then have insensitive, ignorant outsiders come and tell you your nominee is the nominee because people in your party were stupid enough to vote for them, even though you and your friends don't support this person. I have no idea how Hillary, who is less likely to beat Trump, got the nomination. Maybe she did win fair and square and this is just democracy. Or there is something fishy in the system. I have no idea.

I feel the same way with the Republican party. How did honest, experienced, well-meaning people like Marco Rubio or John Kasich lose to a loud-mouthed, incompetent, hated person like Donald Trump, who by the way has little to no chance of beating Hillary? People said it's because Republicans have become that stupid. And I believed it until I saw Bernie lose to Hillary. Unless Republicans are stupid enough to vote for Trump and Democrats are stupid enough to vote for Hillary, it doesn't make sense. That was when I asked myself: When did the mainstream media's voice speak louder than that of the people? When did it overrule democracy? Do most people just vote for whoever the mainstream media endorses rather than do their own research? Are they ignorant or do they not care? Or was there something in the system that wasn't right? It doesn't add up.

So, my attempt in this post is to create a sense of unity among people who want strong, honest, patriotic leaders. Regardless of whether you're a Republican or a Democrat. I know this coming fall will be mostly a vote for "the lesser of two evils" and we may disagree on who is less evil than the other. I personally believe that Hillary Clinton is worse than Donald Trump. Not because she's a Democrat, but because of the kind of person she is and what she stands for. Trump is pretty blunt about how he intends to ruin America. Hillary on the other hand does her specialty -- she lies. Who knows what damage she'll be doing? I personally don't trust her. She was negligent in Benghazi and lied about it. She put national security at risk with the email scandal and lied about it. Everything she says is a lie. How can I trust someone like that? You may disagree and say Donald Trump is worse. And that's your right and I will not be a condescending jerk about it. But I will not stop voicing my opinion about how I feel about Hillary Clinton.

At the same time, please know that I have been trying to be more respectful for those who think differently and to see things from their perspective and will keep doing that. Though I won't tailor my views to please anyone, I also won't get into heated debates over this. And so far this helped me become more pragmatic with my views and to grow to respect Bernie and his supporters. And I still respect all of you, even if you vote for Hillary Clinton. No matter who you vote for, I will still consider you my friends. I've learned that it's not worth it to lose friendships over sports teams or political parties.

Many people have tried to shut down my desire to voice my opinion of this election simply because I'm not an American citizen. My question is, my opinion should be the least threatening to anyone, BECAUSE I can't vote -- so why try to stop me from speaking up? My intentions when expressing my political views is to give people a different perspective and, for lack of a better term, let it off my chest. I know I can't vote, but that shouldn't keep me from having an opinion. Especially regarding the country whose relationship with my country is pretty important to mine. And I visit the USA quite often, so it feels like my uncle. I always say Brazil is my mother, Canada is my father, Portugal, Italy, and Japan are my grandparents, and the USA is my uncle -- not my immediate family, but still family.