It doesn't really require much style savvy or sartorial dexterity to walk into Barneys and emerge bearing an amazing outfit. If you really want to see if a self-proclaimed fashion pro is worth his/her salt, take 'em to the discount shops.
To really flex our bargain-hunting muscles, three of our editors headed over to Marshall's, T.J. Maxx, and Strawberry to see if they could put together two head-to-toe looks in one go… for under $50 each. We succeeded and failed in relative degrees, but we'll say this: Shopping with such a time and resource crunch was a blast. Click through to judge for yourself — how'd we do?
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Connie Wang, global editor — T.J.Maxx
"Most days, I'll be able to look down and say that the majority of the clothing I have on was dirt cheap... but finding a head-to-outfit under $50 in one place at one time is definitely a challenge. At T.J. Maxx, I found tons of awesome pieces, but unfortunately, putting them together would have put me at way past $50. Obviously, I failed this particular challenge by ringing in at $51.97 (without shoes, either), but I feel alright about going two dollars over because this is an outfit I would wear all the time. With the gossamer plaid, the textured herringbone, and the retro sunglasses, I was not-so-subtly channeling Dries Van Noten's last show."
To really flex our bargain-hunting muscles, three of our editors headed over to Marshall's, T.J. Maxx, and Strawberry to see if they could put together two head-to-toe looks in one go… for under $50 each. We succeeded and failed in relative degrees, but we'll say this: Shopping with such a time and resource crunch was a blast. Click through to judge for yourself — how'd we do?
Connie Wang, global editor — T.J.Maxx
"Most days, I'll be able to look down and say that the majority of the clothing I have on was dirt cheap... but finding a head-to-outfit under $50 in one place at one time is definitely a challenge. At T.J. Maxx, I found tons of awesome pieces, but unfortunately, putting them together would have put me at way past $50. Obviously, I failed this particular challenge by ringing in at $51.97 (without shoes, either), but I feel alright about going two dollars over because this is an outfit I would wear all the time. With the gossamer plaid, the textured herringbone, and the retro sunglasses, I was not-so-subtly channeling Dries Van Noten's last show."