Cheap Challenge! 6 Outfits Under $50 Each
It's not that we've made a hard-and-fast rule against wearing a single brand head to toe (nevermind all from a single season!), but our daily outfits have shaped up that way. Typically, our style is a mix of big, saved-up-for-it-for-ages buys and dirt-cheap complements, but when duty calls (i.e. another installment of Cheap Challenge), we'll put our old habits aside. We set up the constraints: one store per editor, one trip to get everything, and two complete (save for the shoes and tights), on-trend outfits for $50 a look. And after hitting H&M, Target, and Uniqlo, our three editors came back with six outfits they'd be proud to wear — even all at once! Hey — it is time for new resolutions, after all. Rules are meant to be broken!
Connie Wang, global editor — H&M
"I always underestimate H&M's seasonal sales, and find myself, mouth-agape, in the aisles just flabbergasted at how cheap the items that I've been wanting to buy all season actually are. Take for instance, these printed trousers — I've been making a point of stopping by H&M since spring to pick up a few pairs. And now that they're all under $20, I went absolutely bonkers (additional brocade, floral, and checked pairs, not shown). The mohair sweater gave this look a slightly '50s feel and is made with the fuzziest, softest yarn. Additional surprise discounts were taken off at the register, and I was left with a $18 surplus that I could have used to "splurge" on a necklace or a clutch...or — let's be real — another pair of pants."
"Though this dress and jacket are definitely from H&M's spring collection, there's something really subversive-feeling about wearing pastels during the winter. I'd wear these with glittery tights and boots to my holiday parties paired with obnoxious rhinestone jewels. And fine — I went over $3, but these clip-on rose earrings were too cool not to get."
Connie Wang, global editor — H&M
"I always underestimate H&M's seasonal sales, and find myself, mouth-agape, in the aisles just flabbergasted at how cheap the items that I've been wanting to buy all season actually are. Take for instance, these printed trousers — I've been making a point of stopping by H&M since spring to pick up a few pairs. And now that they're all under $20, I went absolutely bonkers (additional brocade, floral, and checked pairs, not shown). The mohair sweater gave this look a slightly '50s feel and is made with the fuzziest, softest yarn. Additional surprise discounts were taken off at the register, and I was left with a $18 surplus that I could have used to "splurge" on a necklace or a clutch...or — let's be real — another pair of pants."
"Though this dress and jacket are definitely from H&M's spring collection, there's something really subversive-feeling about wearing pastels during the winter. I'd wear these with glittery tights and boots to my holiday parties paired with obnoxious rhinestone jewels. And fine — I went over $3, but these clip-on rose earrings were too cool not to get."
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