Winning on a Budget: Fun Fashion

Juliana’s recent post on How To Win Fun Fashion was right on point! Doing something different is the real key. Lucky for us, that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank.

At my state competition, I borrowed a Sherri Hill dress that retails for more than someone would pay “on a budget,” so once again I lucked out on that one!

For Nationals, I wanted something a little more “special,” but once I had the idea in my head, nothing else would do! I couldn’t find anything that matched what I was picturing, so I enlisted the help of my mom. I designed the outfit, and she tweaked it and actually made the entire thing for me – mostly by hand! MANY hours went into this outfit – thankfully it was the National Fun Fashion Winner!!

My advice is not necessarily to make your own fun fashion outfit to save money, but putting your own spin on an existing outfit is a great way to ensure that no one else will have what you have, and you will stand out!

Find a cocktail dress that you LOVE (and would wear again for an appearance) & add a fun skirt to it. Or find some trendy sequin shorts (I’m sure you can find some inexpensive ones on eBay) & pair it with an interesting top & some FABULOUS shoes! Accessories can also play a big part in this, but that is for another post!

I loved the idea of having something to “play” with while on stage, which is why I wanted a detachable skirt. I thought it gave me that element of surprise, and something interesting to look at while I was modeling.

So really you can just add a colorful piece of fabric to your existing outfit to kick it up a notch & make it perfect for the stage! Mostly make sure that you feel sassy & confident in your fun fashion outfit. No one will know how much you paid for it, but wear it like you’re worth a million bucks!!

Ashley Smith