Lilliana Vazquez - The Cheap Chicas Guide to Style: Secrets to Shopping Cheap and Looking Chic

THE
CHEAP CHICAS
GUIDE TO STYLE

GOTHAM BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group

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Copyright 2013 by Cheap Chica LLC

All illustrations copyright 2013 by Lina Maria Carrillo

All photographs copyright 2013 by Alison Conklin

Research by Alyssa DiSabatino

Assistant stylist: Lauren Dougherty

Cover wardrobe by H&M and Shopbop.com

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Vazques, Lilliana.

The cheap chicas guide to style: secrets to shopping cheap and looking chic/ Lilliana Vazquez with Jessica Jones. First [edition].

pages cm

ISBN: 978-0-698-14949-6

1. Womens clothing. 2. Fashion. 3. Shopping. I. Title.

TT507.V375 2013

746.92dc23 2013025951

DESIGNED BY JUDITH STAGNITTO ABBATE / ABBATE DESIGN

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

T o my Welita, who taught me
that women should never wear pants,
and to my mom, who never took them off.

Finding
My Cents of
Style

I only paid $20!

Since I started my career as a style expert, I cant tell you how many times Ive said this phrase. It happens on a daily basis, and it still brings the biggest smile to my face. I love seeing people react in total disbelief. They cant understand how the shoes or dress theyre lusting after is actually something they can afford.

As a culture obsessed with celebrity and the lives of the extravagantly wealthy, were constantly bombarded by images of things we cant have, whether its Victoria Beckhams collection of Birkin bags, Beyoncs yacht, or Mariah Careys two-thousand-square-foot closet. But we need to remember that those are just things, and things dont make you stylish. I wont name names, but there are plenty of celebrities who can afford a Birkin who have no style whatsoever. Most of the time, these things just mean you make a lot of money and you choose to spend it on fashion.

Over the course of my career, Ive figured out how to hone my style without needing these expensive things to define it. Im proud of my frugalnessso much so that Ive branded myself as the Cheap Chica. And whether youre ready to admit it or not, you, too, have a little Cheap Chica in you. But just because youre thrifty in one area doesnt mean youre stingy about everything. That, my friends, is the farthest thing from the truthalthough everyone is cheap about something. As frugal as I am about fashion, I actually dont mind spending money on things like vacations, dinners, and experiences that fit into my budget. Yet I have plenty of friends who regularly spend $1,000 a month on clothes, and if I suggest a nice dinner out... forget it! And dont even think about calling them cheap!

For some reason, its become a badge of honor to spend a months rent on a pair of shoesbut were scared of being judged for our thriftiness. Remember: Style cant be bought. It comes from confidence and creativity. To put it in easy-to-understand fashion terms: Its not the brand of jeans youre wearing that mattersits the way you put the rest of the outfit together and the way you carry yourself in those jeans that set you apart in a sea of denim, designer or not.

Fashion Fact

What bad economy? Womens apparel stores pull in $41 billion a year.

REMEMBER: STYLE CANT BE BOUGHT. IT COMES FROM CONFIDENCE AND CREATIVITY.

Sadly, we live in a world where cheap is a bad word. People turn their noses up at shopping in stores like T.J.Maxx or Payless simply because their average price point is $19.99. No, stores like these arent glamorous; theres no champagne while you shop, they wont give you a fancy shopping bag to carry home all of your purchases, and the clothes on the racks might even be in a state of disarray... but thats all fine by me, and in this book youll learn why.

Over the years, Ive learned to embrace the word cheap because its saved me from wasting my hard-earned cash. As a fashion expert, I work in an industry thats built on overspending and overconsumption, but thanks to my thriftiness, Ive never become a victim of it. Thats because I believe anyone can look like a million bucks without breaking the bankif you know where and how to shop and what to buy. Its taken years of practice and a lot of creativity to develop my frugal fashion formula, but Im finally ready to share it.

S ome people are born with money. Some are born with style. A very lucky few are born with both. And then there are those who inherit neither. I fall into the last category. To help you understand where Im coming from instead of diving right in and preaching about what you should and shouldnt wear and how you should spend your money, Im going to share with you a condensed version of my last thirty years in the hope that it will reveal a little about who I am and in turn help you to trust me enough to put your fashion life in my hands. Id love the opportunity to show you how to find your style without compromising who you are, or worse, the entire contents of your savings account.

I was born in 1980 in Fort Worth, Texasnot exactly the fashion capital of the world, but Im living proof that where youre from doesnt determine where youre going! To say that my family was of moderate means is a huge understatement. Both of my parents worked tirelessly to provide for our family, so during my early years, my aunt Blanca took care of me while my mother and father were at work.

My aunt is an incredibly talented seamstress who, to this day, still finds time to make her own clothes. She was the one who taught me how to needlepoint and how to sew a garment from a pattern. We would ride the bus to our local fabric store and spend hours looking through patterns together. I thought the women on the packets looked so stylish and chic, but at that time I didnt know anyone that actually looked like them. I always left the store wondering if there were women out there who really dressed like that. The models were tall, beautiful, and glamorouswhen I grew up I wanted to dress like them (particularly the ones on the Vogue patterns), and even more, I wanted to be like them. I would daydream about the life they had, what they did, and of course, what their closets looked like. Little did I know, Id soon have to learn how to navigate their world.