Twenty-five-year-old Los Angeles-based stylist Shauna Miller has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Good Morning America, Glamour, PerezHilton.com, and a slew of other major media outlets.
Not bad for a blog she started just eight months ago. Her secret? PennyChic.com shows readers how to put together stylish outfits at Walmart. According to Miller, we’re in a golden age for discount clothes shopping.
“Fashion 2.0, fashion right now, is about styling — which is great for people on a budget,” she says. “There’s nothing creative or cool about strutting down the street in all Prada anymore. It’s about mixing and matching. When I was in middle school, everyone wanted to be a fashion designer and now everyone wants to be a stylist. There’s something so creative about curating an outfit.”
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But seriously. Walmart? Buying clothes at Walmart? Miller says it’s actually not as bad as you think.
“I would say there’s really no difference between the quality of the stuff at Walmart and the quality of the stuff at H&M,” she says. “The quality between the middle- and the low- is very much the same.”
Of course, clothing from the top designers is of superior quality; but if you can’t afford that, according to Miller, you’re better off heading to discount stores. A few of her tips:
1. Use your imagination. One of the hardest things about shopping at Walmart is that there is almost no merchandising. Everything’s on pallets, there are no mannequins, the lighting is awful, and you’ll never see a glossy ad featuring a hot model in Walmart clothing. “When you’re going into Walmart or Kmart, try to imagine the item outside of the store,” she says. “Imagine it in your room, on you, with the coolest jewelry you have.”
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2. Bigger is Better. When you’re putting together a look with discount store clothes, going with a baggier fit than you might normally seek is often a good idea. “Sometimes when you wear clothes that have low-end design and you wear them really right, the quality isn’t good,” she says. “So buying clothes bigger and using belts and kind of tying things is a good idea.”
3. Accessorize. “I think if you have the opportunity to buy something and you’re on a budget, the best thing to go with is accessories,” she says. “Instead of wearing one chunky bead necklace, wear five of them. It really gives you a focal point and a pop to the outfit.”