Pinterest- the gateway drug

I shall warn you all….Pinterest is a gateway drug  to shopaholism. Yes I already had signs of being a shopaholic very early on in life, but once I was introduced to Pinterest it was all down hill from there. I not only live in a very fashion forward city where I see new trends all the time, but I am addicted to Pinterest, where trends are brought to my attention and then thrown in my face over and over and over again telling me “YOU NEED THIS IN ORDER TO LIVE A HAPPY LIFE”.

Now, I’m all about being a trend SETTER, not always a follower, but in my opinion personal STYLE is more of an expression of yourself than whether or not you follow or set trends. It’s how you wear current trends, how you put outfits together that is the art of it all.

I’m sure many of you can relate with me on being PINspired to go shopping (see what I did there?). The main problem is most of us just don’t have endless amounts of money to go out and buy everything we see on Pinterest.

Here are the things that I consider so as not to go out and buy every single new trend:

1. Is it practical? Something you could wear with many different outfits, a neutral color, not too dressy (for those of us who aren’t getting dressed for cocktail parties on a daily basis), comfortable, something you’d want to wear every day, something that would be flattering on you…

2. Is it something you could foresee as still being fashionable in years to come? A classic staple. Not overly trendy.

3. Can you stop thinking about it? If you see a trend and find yourself noticing every other person who has it and being extremely envious of them and lay awake at night lusting after it, just do yourself a favor… get it! You can have it too ya know! As long as you’re selective with the things you want to splurge on, it’s ok!

4. Can you find something similar to it for cheaper than what’s shown on Pinterest? Don’t just click on the Pinterest link and buy it for hundreds of dollars. Take your time to look around and see if you can find similar trends at cheaper stores. The trend isn’t going anywhere for a while, just relax and wait until you see the best deal. (This has always been the most difficult feat for me. When I want something I want it NOW).

So– following all these rules, there were two trends I went for in the past few weeks.

A. Combat boots

B. Aztec print sweater

I’ve always been a fan of both boots and chunky sweaters in fall/winter time, but I LOVE the aztec print I’m seeing around. Also can’t get enough of combat boots. I just think they can look cute with so many different things, even with dresses or skirts and tights.

In the first picture shown, I am wearing an open front aztec print sweater from Urban Outfitters (can be purchased here). I will admit they have these everywhere and very similar styles at places like Forever 21 where you can get them even cheaper than I did (similar look).

I DID do a good job though on bargain shopping for these combat boots shown in the second two pictures. A place called Lexy Couture in the Burbank Town Center mall is just full of crazy cheap trendy shoes. Not only do these look like they could be expensive leather boots, but they’re super comfortable as well. It was buy one get one half off, so I also got a pair of black combat boots as well. Two pairs of combat boots for 50 bucks! Gotta give myself a pat on the back for that one. (Shown with oversized navy knit sweater from Gap, Jeans from Urban Outfitters, Necklace from J.Crew)

What are the trends you can’t get enough of this fall season?