Posts with tag money

Winter weddings are hot, even if the weather is cold. December is making a run at becoming the new June, and with good reason. What bride doesn't find a Winter Wonderland incredibly romantic? Plus, kids are out of school for Christmas break, making travel easier on families who are invited.

One of our biggest frustrations is looking at our closet, which is packed with clothes, and having nothing to wear. Without doubt, we could walk into a friend's closet and find several great outfits, and probably, a friend could do the same in ours. So, why not have a swapping party and let everyone end up with a new outfit?

If you're trying to incorporate some vintage appeal into your daily style, you might luck out and have pieces that were handed down to you from grandmothers or aunts. Or, perhaps you have a talent for shopping in thrift stores and have found a few authentic items that you just love. But some of us aren't so lucky or talented.

We're all worried about what's in our wallets. Or, rather, what's not in there. But we don't want to look less stylish than we have in past years. After all, we do have a reputation to uphold! And so, this week, we're going to help you out, searching for stylish steals under $50.

Sooooooo... The news is not so good for your future shopping sprees. Even Anna Wintour has been recycling her looks lately. So if you have to have one dress for the season, why not make it one that is not only super chic, but that you can literally wear over 30 ways? Strapless, butterfly sleeves, tie-neck, as a skirt...and one size fits sizes 2-14.

The Signature Wrap Dress to the rescue! Some celeb fans of the floaty and slinky fashion solution include Jordin Sparks, who wore it on American Idol, Patricia Clarkson, Naomi Watts, and Rosie Perez. Check out the website www.butterbynadia.com for the truly amazing variety. About $260.

In today's economy, we're all doing what we can to stretch a buck. We don't want to skimp on our beauty routines, but this isn't exactly the best time to splurge on new products. In fact, we're trying to make the products we have last as long as possible.

Cosmopolitan had a few great suggestions for keeping up on your beauty routine while keeping the costs down ... way down. We put a few of our favorite tips in the gallery, but we'd love to hear how you're being a budget beauty in the comments!

We're watching: Wall Street collapse
We're wearing: Hand-me-downs
We're eating: Ramen noodles
We're drinking: Tap water
We're thinking: This way we'll still have shoe money
Not over it: Sarah Palin wigs

Next time you feel crappy about yourself because you don't measure up to Hollywood types, remember this: in addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year celebrities spend on clothing, some rack up huge beauty bills -- like Jennifer Aniston, who drops $20,000 a month just to look good.

Now that the former Friends star is engaged to a John Mayer, she's working hard to keep up with the younger competition. Take a look at her biggest budget breakers:

• Personal training and private yoga instruction: $3,000
• Private chef who prepares organic, high-protein, low-fat meals: $3,500
• "Anti-cellulite spa sculpting" treatments: $1,000 per session

Holy crap. That's more than most people spend in a month -- on everything (mortgages, car payments, college tuition, blah blah blah). No wonder Jen looks so great!

Gisele isn't one of the celebrities whose fashion line is going nowhere. Her Ipanema sandals collection earns the supermodel a reported $6 million a year. But, she's still going to need to sell a lot more flip flops if she wants to cover the cost of the new private jet she just bought.

Beth Ditto has signed on to be the new face of Evans, a fashion plus size retail giant. She'll be designing a line of clothes in the size range of 14-32.

At the risk of sounding a little bit nutso, we definitely think there is an art to packing the ultimate beach bag. If you can pack it up with essentials and still keep it light, then you've got the knack.

Wouldn't it be awesome to run your own company? Then your performance reviews would go like this:

Giorgio: Great job this year, buddy! You really raised the bar!
Armani: Why yes, thank you. You weren't too bad yourself.
Giorgio: Oh, stop. You're too kind.
Armani: Have I ever told you how attractive you are?
Giorgio: That's so sweet. Here's a 364.5-million-dollar raise.

In reality, according to WWD, Armani got the cash after he "paid himself a dividend of 100 million euros, or $126 million, and pocketed an additional 175 million euros, or $220.5 million, through a share transaction within his own company."

I'm not entirely sure what that means, except to say that if Giorgio Armani wasn't completely loaded before, he is now. That man is unstoppable.

As you may have noticed from our diligent coverage of fall fashion week, come springtime, hemlines will be a little lower -- a reverse from the short-skirt trend we've seen over the past few seasons. As a fashion choice, I think this is a great look -- part of the move away from the brash, in-your-face 80s thing that held on for way too long.

But does it mean bad news for the stock market?

It seems that there's a popular theory amongst financial types that when hemlines drop, so does the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This, say some analysts, has held true this summer, when short skirts were very in, and the Dow hit 14,000 (which is a good thing, apparently).

Now, with stocks crashing due to the high number of foreclosures in recent weeks -- especially in conjunction with the new looks at fashion week -- some are saying this theory has proved itself yet again.

Granted, the theory is often disputed -- including by some who say that it's actually fashion that follows financial trends (and not the other way around), which makes more sense. However, it would be funny if the world were run according to the length women's skirts and dresses.

It's official: you can be addicted to anything.

Along with email, the Internet -- and, course, drugs and alcohol (the old standbys) -- you can apparently also be addicted to luxury. At least that's the story from a 26-year-old South Korean woman who's suspected of embezzling $1.4 million just so she could purchase designer shoes, bags and clothing.

The woman apparently works for an agricultural co-op by day -- a company from which she was slowly stealing what should have been company utility and tax payments. By night, she was a high-dollar fashion diva, who -- according to police reports -- owned hundreds of pairs of designer shoes.

Now you know how much money you'd have to make if you wanted to live your designer fashion fantasies.