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I hope you've all had a wonderful Holiday Sunday. Today I am sharing another complete remix with you. Even tho you've never seen this paperboy cap on the blog, I own it since about five years and I absolutely adore it.

Now the shoes I am wearing in this look are actually so called "party shoes", that is to say that they are meant for dressing up, for attending parties in the usual party outfits. And here I am using them as every day shoes to add some glam to an otherwise very boyish outfit. I don't think I've used them as party shoes a single time yet, but I use them plenty with these boyfriend jeans.

My beloved paperboy cap, my favourite boyfriend jeans, a thrifted jumper/sweater and glittery gold party sandals | The Cap, Boyfriend Jeans and Party Shoes - A Funky Jungle Remix || Funky Jungle, fashion and personal style blog

Do you have a piece in your wardrobe that you are not using "as intended"?

And remember that the giveaway to win a pair of Ralph Lauren Sunglasses is still open until the 13th.
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I've realized the other day that I have an enormous (for my wardrobe size) amount of button down shirts. True is, I love using them, especially in winter together with either sweaters (as talked about here) or with cardigans, like in todays look. For this fashion love, in part, I blame the fact that I am drawn to dressing like a man. There, I said it.

A (striped) button down shirt with a kerchief / small silk foulard pretending to be a reverse tie. A grey cardigan, dark wash denim, ankle booties, an emerald bag | Ain't She Dapper - Funky Jungle, fashion and personal style blog

So in the series "The Closet Conundrum" we previously went over a lot of questions you can ask yourself when you are actually already in the shop ( here and here ), in order to help you with the final decision on whether to purchase an item of clothing or not.

Today let's go over some tips on how to stay up to date fashion wise and/or keep your own style fresh and trendy on a budget. Some of these things can be done before or without setting foot in a shop or visiting a retailer website respectively.

10 Ways to Save Money on Clothing and Still be Trendy

1. Thrifting

I've already talked in some detail about the reasons why thrifting rocks and gave some practical tips. For me, it's hands down one of the best ways to score some wonderful pieces for little money. It is entirely possible that I put it at number one because I am inspired by the ace Jil Sander crop jacket I scored for 5 bucks earlier today. Along with thrift shops I will also put flea markets and garage sales as well as Ebay in this category.

2. Buy Anti-Seasonal

Contrary to produce, which you absolutely should buy seasonal (and local if possible) in fashion it's more money savvy to buy anti-seasonal, that is during the last days of the sales of the season that's just fading out. It requires a bit of knowing what is going to stay and what will come in terms of silhouettes, colors, patterns and items but you can absolutely stay on trend. I however especially recommend this when we are talking about basics and classic investment pieces.

3. Scoop out discount codes

Nowadays, especially online, shops are running various discount codes (X % off, free shipping, 2 or 3 for 1 etc) all darn year long. There are entire sites dedicated to send you newsletters with the latest, other than those the shops send themselves. I do not actually recommend signing up for those unless you have an iron clad will and/or love mailbox clutter. Doing a quick search with the terms "Shop X discount codes" will work just as well most of the times.

Personally, I have cancelled most of the discount/shop newsletters I was getting, keeping only those shops I love and buy from regularly, but for you it might work better to keep in the loop.

4. Check the extreme clearance rack / last days of sale

It's my favorite section and my favorite days, I can't help it. For me it has much of the same appeal as thrifting. During last days of sales shops will often mark down up to 70% and clearance often reduces the price even further because they are trying to get rid of that last of its kind. They are basically begging you to take their stuff. Now, it is true that a lot of times they should rather pay you for taking the left over crap, but not always. Ya know, it does happen that there's that thing you've been looking for all your life, in your size, at a mere fraction of the price you would have paid 4 months ago.

Don't stop believing!

5. Clothing swaps

Once you are done with your wardrobe purge, find a like minded individual (in my case, the first adress are my sisters) and swap the clothing you each don't like anymore. You can also host an entire swap party if you have more than one friend. I know in a lot of areas these are also organized as events, for example among fashion bloggers. And there are several online sites dedicated to this concept, like for example Swap Style, Rehash, Dig'n'Swap, Swishing (UK) or Thred Up (US only)

6. The Vimes Paradigm - Quality over Quantity

I've quoted the Vimes thing here under point 4 already, but basically in a nutshell it says "Save money by spending money, buy quality that will last instead of having to rebuy and rebuy as the cheaper stuff deconstructs"

If you can, absolutely invest in quality for those items you either

- need to use a lot

- need to project a certain image (work wear, for example)

- want to love forever and ever.

or all of the above.

7. Outlets

As anyone following this blog for some time may have noticed, I am a big fan of the Mango Outlet Website, especially during last days of sales with special promo codes on top. Ah yes of course, you can on occasion stack these things. Also, my 3 recent pairs of Buffalo shoes come from one of their outlet stores. Again, Outlets are good for snagging up items at a fraction of the original retail price and again, it helps to know either what is coming, or being confident in your style.

8. Fidelity Programs

Just like a lot of supermarkets, some clothing retail stores / brands will offer customer fidelity programs. If you have one shop or brand you really dig and where you find yourself in time and time again, it might be worth your while signing up for the shop fidelity card in order to use those bonus point programs or special VIP customer discounts.

9. Plan Ahead

Anyone who isn't completely out of the loop because they lived somewhere under a rock (or on the other side of the moon) knows about the major sales events for their region / country like for example summer / winter sales or Black Friday. Some that used to be regional nowadays are worldwide, thanks to the internet and shops never passing up an opportunity to sell us more stuff. Plan your clothing budget with these dates in mind.

10. Customize

I've mentioned this before, in my post about Thrift Tips, but this works also for your own old stuff. Customize it! Change it up. Get creative. Chop, Nip, Tuck, Embellish. Nothing rocks more then expressing your own style not only by carefully selecting what you buy and methodically curating your wardrobe but also by customizing pieces in creative ways.

Find lots of ideas and tutorials on how to customize here.

Yes, there are items I will splurge on and pay full price. But they have to be worth it.

11. Bonus Tip: Student Discounts

This is not something I can make use off, so I am not an expert on it, but a lot of retailers do offer student discounts in some countries.

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Do you sometimes have days were no real coherent thought wants to form when you need it? This is one of these days for me. I find it very hard to concentrate on the matter at hand today. So please excuse me if the post is as much of a hodge podge as the look is.

Wideleg pants, short white ribbed sweater, layered flower top, triangle necklace, red shoes, red hair / Slouchy Pinstripes That You Don't See | Funky Jungle, fashion and personal style blog

Inspired by the comments on my "5 Reasons why I love Thrifting" thread, I've decided to compile my Top 5 Tips for smooth and successful thrift shopping for you so you can get the most out of your thrifting experience.

I figured, with all the thrifted items coming up continuously in my outfit posts, I give you some of the reasons why I personally love "going to pop tags" and why you should consider trying it at least twice. Once isn't enough because luck plays definitely a factor. We all know three times is a charm, so go for that.

5 Reasons why I Love Thrifting

When you are reading this I will be on my way to Germany, to visit my parents over the holidays. We are looking forward to lots of food and family time. You'll see some pictures on Instagram. And I'll see if I can get some fashionable guest appearances again.

Onto the outfit. This combination is, I admit it, weird. But I also think that, for some reason, it works. I was sceptic at first, but heck yeah, I like this look. Even more so after seeing the pictures.

You will recognize the flower print midi skirt, which I also wore here (with the same shirt actually). To accomodate for the colder temperatures I added the boots, a thrifted sweater and super cute beanie. It's not clear in these pictures, but it actually has two pon-pon (here is a very old pic from the beginnings of my Instagram adventure)

Do you like it? Let me know!

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Quando starete leggendo questo post, io sarò già in strada verso la Germania, per visitare i miei genitori durante le festività. Già mi aspetto molto cibo e tempo ben speso in famiglia. Vedrete qualche fotografia su Instagram. Vedrò se potro avere ancora qualche special guest come modella.

Arriviamo all'outfit. Questa combinazione, lo ammetto, è strana, ma penso anche che per qualche strano motivo funzioni. Ero scettica inizialmente, ma accidenti, mi piace questo look! Dopo aver visto le fotografie mi piace ancora di più.

Riconoscerete la gonna a stampa floreale, che ho indossato qui (con la stessa maglia infatti). Per adattare il look alle temperature più fredde, ho aggiunto gli stivali scamosciati, un maglioncino e una carinissima cuffietta in lana. Non è chiarissimo dalle fotografie, ma ha due pon pon (qui c'è una vecchia foto, risalente all'inizio della mia avventura su Instagram).

Che ne dite? Vi piace?

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Wenn Ihr diesen Artikel lest, bin ich auf dem Weg nach Deutschland, wo ich meine Familie ueber die Festtage besuche. Uns erwarten viel Essen und Familienzeit. Mit Sicherheit werdet Ihr davon ein paar Fotos auf Instagram sehen. Werde auch mal schauen ob ich wieder einen Gastauftritt organisieren kann.

Und nun zum Outfit. Diese Kombination ist, ich gebe es zu, etwas seltsam, aber ich finde aus irgendeinem Grund funktioniert sie. Am Anfang war ich skeptisch, aber ja, mir gefaellt dieser Look! Und noch mehr nachdem ich die Fotos gesehen habe.

Den Rock erkennt Ihr vielleicht wieder, den hatte ich hier zuletzt an (uebrigens mit der gleichen Bluse). Um das ganze wintergemaess zu stylen habe ich dazu Velourstiefel, einen Pullover (Second Hand) und meine supersuesse graue Muetze angezogen. Man sieht es auf diesen Bildern leider nicht, aber die Muetze hat zwei Pon-Pon (hier ist ein altes Foto von den Anfaengen meines Instagram-Abenteuers)

Was haltet Ihr davon? Gefaellt es Euch?

Outfit Sources

Skirt / Gonna / Rock - Zara (another floral midi *here*, I also like these *butterfly* or *swan* print ones )

Sweater / Maglione / Pullover - thrifted

Shirt / Camicia / Hemd - thrifted

Boots / Stivali / Stiefel - Pittarosso (very old - similar *here*)

Beanie - H&M (old)

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Today I am showing you the kind of look I usually wear for Christmas Dinners and the likes. It is a simple formula that works well time and time again - black pants, dressy top, fitted jacket. You could easily replace the pants with a fitted, monochrome skirt if that's more your thing.

I wore this for an informal lunch at my in-laws today. It is still warm enough during the days to allow for bare legs and I am going to absolutely do this till the last minute.
This shirt dress you've seen before in this post. Today I've changed it up ever so slightly. Different shoes (seen also here) and a different bag (first seen here), the sleeves let down, not belted and with a very light top in a contrasting print layered below.
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Oggi ho indossato questo per un pranzo informale dai miei suoceri. Fa ancora abbastanza caldo per permettersi di andare in giro con le gambe nude ed io ho intenzione di fare proprio questo fino all'ultimo minuto.
Il vestito a camicia l'avete già visto in questo post. Oggi ho leggermente cambiato l'abbinamento. Scarpe diverse (viste ancora qui) e una borsa diversa (dapprima vista qui), le maniche lasciate giù, niente cintura e sotto un top leggerissimo con stampa diversa da quella dell'abito.
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Das hatte ich heute fuer eine Einladung zum Mittagessen bei den Schwiegereltern an. Hier ist es zur Zeit tagsueber noch warm genug fuer nackte Beine und ich habe vor, dass bis zur letzten Minute auszunutzen.
Dieses Blusenkleid habt Ihr hier in diesem Post schon einmal gesehen. Heute habe ich nur ein paar kleine Aenderungen vorgenommen. Andere Schuhe (hier schon gesehen), die aber doch nicht soooo anders sind und eine andere Tasche (hier zum ersten Mal), die Aermel nicht aufgerollt, den Guertel abgemacht und darunter ein leichtes Top in kontrastierendem Muster.

Color Bombing

I don't color block. I color bomb. Because I grew tired of "adding a pop of color" ;-)

Also, I need to cut my hair. On the back I can already make a tiny tiny ponytail.

You know this wrap blouse with hearts print. You know the pants. And certainly you do know the shoes. Some of you may have seen the bag already on Instagram.

Things are a bit off here, so for a little while you'll get even less text from me then you are used to. Sorry.
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Io non uso il colore a blocchi. Io uso le bombe di colore. Questo anche perché mi sono stancata di "aggiungere un pizzico di colore" ;-)

Inoltre devo anche tagliare i capelli. Dietro posso già fare una piccola piccola coda.

Conoscete questa blusa con stampa a cuori. Conoscete anche i pantaloni. E certamente conoscete le scarpe. La borsa forse alcuni di voi l'hanno vista su Instagram.

Le cose vanno un po' così qui, per cui per un po' leggerete ancora meno testo da parte mia di quanto non siate abituate a leggere. Mi dispiace.
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Ich farbblocke nicht. Ich farbbombe. Auch weil mir das "hinzufuegen von einem Touch Farbe" etwas langweilig geworden ist ;-)

Ausserdem muss ich meine Haare schneiden lassen. Am Hinterkopf kann ich schon einen winzigkleinen Pferdeschwanz machen.

Ihr kennt diese Wickelbluse mit Herzchen Muster. Ihr kennt diese Hose. Und mit Sicherheit kennt Ihr diese Schuhe. Die Tasche haben einige vielleicht schon auf Instagram gesehen

Die Dinge laufen hier zur Zeit etwas aus der Reihe, und als Konsequenz werdet Ihr in den kommenden Tagen noch weniger Text als gewohnt lesen. 'Tschuldigung.

I want to recolor the bench

I want to recolor the bench because for one, it needs it and two the color just doesn't go so well with my outfit. This is a date night look. Feminine, a bit lady like, romantic, 50ies vibe and all that. I am wearing my new Zara midi skirt with floral print that I bought during summer sales, a cashmere pull that I thrifted for 1,50€, a pair of thrifted wedge sandals that already have become a favorite and my new striped bag, which I am using as a clutch here.

This is my first and only midi skirt, because I always figured the length wasn't working on me, but I think it is not a problem, especially with heels. Always worth trying things again from time to time.

Also, I am wearing pink!
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Voglio ricolorare la panchina perché innanzitutto ne ha bisogno e poi il colore non va tanto bene con il mio outfit. Quest è un look "date night". Femminile, un po' bon ton, romantico, un po retrò, eccetera. Indosso la mia nuova gonna midi con fantasia floreale di Zara, acquistata durante i saldi estivi, un maglioncino in cashmere trovato di seconda mano per 1,50€, un paio di sandali con zeppe di seconda mano che sono già entrati tra i miei preferiti e la mia nuova borsa a righe, qui portata come pochette.

Questo è la mia prima e unica gonna midi, perché originariamente pensavo che la lunghezza non mi stesse bene, però non sembra affatto essere un problema, soprattutto con le scarpe alte.

E poi indosso il rosa!
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Ich moechte die Bank neu anstreichen weil, naja erstens weil sie es noetig hat und zweitens weil sich die Farbe mit meinem Outfit nicht so gut vertraegt. Das hier ist fuer mich ein "Date Night" Look. Weiblich, ein bisschen Dame, romantisch, 50ies Flair und all das. Ich trage meinen neuen Zara Midi Rock mit Blumenprint den ich im Sommerschlussverkauf erstanden habe, einen Second Hand Kashmir Pulli der mich 1,50€ gekostet hat, ein paar Second Hand Sandalen mit Keilabsatz die gerade auf der Beliebtheitsskala nach oben wandern und meine neue gestreifte Tasche, die ich hier als Clutch benutze.

Das ist mein erster und einziger Midi Rock, da ich immer davon ausgegangen bin, dass mir die Laenge nicht steht, aber es scheint nicht der Fall zu sein, zumindest wenn ich dazu Schuhe mit Absatz trage. Es lohnt sich, Dinge immer mal wieder neu zu probieren.

Und ich trage rosa!

The Meeting of Attention Pieces

As you can see I felt really adventurous the other day. I put some pink near my hair! That is something I had wanted to try for awhile, so when I saw this fantastic flamingo scarf I figured it would be a good way to test the waters. Looking at the pictures I think it works rather well.

And just in case anyone missed that scarf, I had the clutch to pull em in. A flashy metallic light blue. Electric. Born to catch the eye. The blouse wasn't that bad either, a thin stripes pattern, ruffles, puffy sleeves and then knotted on top of it. In contrast, the shoes with their little cute bow and low heel were rather tame. By the way, those are my wedding shoes.

Overkill? Or just right?

Come potete vedere, mi sentivo avventurosa l'altro giorno. Ho indossato qualcosa di rosa vicino ai miei capelli! Volevo provarci già da un po di tempo, così quando ho visto questa sciarpa fantastica con i fenicotteri, mi sono detta che poteva essere un buon modo per sperimentare la cosa.

Nel caso in cui la sciarpa passasse inosservata, avevo la pochette per attirare l'attenzione. Un blu chiaro metallico. Elettrico. Nata per catturare lo sguardo. La camicia poi non è niente male, fantasia a righe sottili, volant, maniche a sbuffo e poi annodata. In contrasto, le scarpe con i loro piccoli fiocchi carini e i tacchi bassi sono quasi modeste. Tra l'altro, queste sono le mie scarpe del matrimonio.

Fin troppo? O la misura giusto?

Wie Ihr sehen koennt, war ich abenteuerlustig letztens. Ich habe was in pink in der Naehe meiner Haare getragen! Das ist ja etwas, was ich schon seit einiger Zeit mal versuchen wollte, und wie ich dann diesen tollen Flamingo Schal gesehen habe, dachte ich mir das ist doch ne gute Methode das mal anzutesten. Und wenn ich mir die Bilder so anschaue, bin ich eigentlich recht zufrieden damit.

Und im Fall das jemand den Flamingo Schal uebersehen hat, hatte ich noch die Clutch. Metallic Effect in hellblau. Elektrisch. Geboren um Blicke auf sich zu ziehen. Auch die Bluse war nicht schlecht mit den duennen Streifen als Muster, Rueschen, Puffaermeln und geknotet. Im Gegensatz dazu waren die Schuhe mit den ihren kleinen Schleifen und niedrigem Absatz doch eher zurueckhaltend. Uebrigens sind das die Schuhe, die ich auf meiner Hochzeit anhatte.

Zuviel des Guten? Oder gerade richtig?

Here Number 5 has nothing to do with Chanel, but all with Lou Bega. Do you remember his song "Mambo Number 5" from ca. 1999 (a remake of an instrumental from 1952)? I don't know why but I had it spinning around in my head. Round, round baby round round.

Qui il numero 5 non ha niente a che fare con Chanel, ma tutto con Lou Bega. Vi ricordate la sua canzone "Mambo Number 5" del 1999, che poi era un remake di un brano strumentale dell'anno 1952? Non so perchè ma mi girava per la testa. Round round baby round round.

Die Nummer 5 hat hier gar nichts zu tun mit Chanel, sondern mit Lou Bega. Erinnert Ihr Euch noch an sein Lied "Mambo Number 5" von ca. 1999 (ein Remake eines Instrumentalstueckes von 1952)? Keine Ahnung wieso, aber das hatte ich den ganzen Tag im Kopf. Round round Baby round round.

I went to meet up with Daniela and her American friend who was in town for a week. We had a quick lunch and then a small shopping session in a new shop inside the shopping center. It is our go to place for meeting because it is one of the most convinient for parking in the city. And yes, I got myself a little something.

Di recente mi sono incontrata con Daniela e la sua amica americana che era in città per una settimana. Abbiamo fatto un pranzo veloce, poi siamo andati a curiosare in un nuovo negozio dentro il centro commerciale. E' il posto dove ci incontriamo di solito anche perché è uno dei posti più comodi per parcheggiare in città. E si, ho preso qualcosa di piccolo.

Vor kurzem habe ich mich mit Daniela und ihrer amerikanischen Freundin, die fuer eine Woche zu Besuch war, getroffen. Wir haben kurz etwas gegessen und danach gab es eine kleine Shopping Session in einem neuen Laden im Einkaufszentrum. Dort treffen wir uns normalerweise, vor allem auch wegen der Parkmoeglichkeiten. Und ja, ich habe mir auch eine Kleinigkeit gegoennt.

I've already told you about meeting up with Daniela on the 1st of May and thankfully the weather supported our plan to do a nice outdoor photo shoot. There was a thunderstorm building, but by the time it started to rain we were already heading home.

We took the pictures in one of the city parks. I actually had not been here before, so this was two new things wrapped into one for me. It is astonishing how sometimes you do not know the things that exist right around your corner, but it also fortifies my resolution to work on discovering them.

The park is quite large, has three small ponds, two playgrounds for children, ample grass areas for people wanting to sunbath (which they did in droves that day) and in an area slightly hidden there was a group of men playing cricket.

Despite the park being full we managed to not have too much intrusion into our photo backgrounds.

Enjoying ice cream decoratively on a rock

Older Posts Home

10 Ways to Save Money on Clothing and Still be Trendy

Color Bombing

I want to recolor the bench

The Meeting of Attention Pieces

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