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Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- Chambray Shirt

March 29, 2018 by Katie Haller

One of my many wardrobe staples in my closet is my chambray button-down shirt.  It’s one of those clothing pieces that you should have in your closet because it’s so versatile.  I wear mine with skirts, jeans, leggings, even as a cover-up over dresses and tops.  On one of my recent thrift store trips to Savers, I found an H&M chambray top for $3.50.  I really fell in love with how flowy and soft the material was. My other chambray shirt is stiff and although it looks great, it’s not always super comfortable.  I also love how this top is a lighter color, which is perfect for spring.
For today’s post, I have 3 different spring outfits wearing my chambray shirt.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link will result in a small commission for this blog.  Thank you for your support!

Denim on Denim
  
Denim on Denim
 Denim on Denim
I’ve been obsessed with mixing denim right now.  I never thought that I would like this look so much, but I think with the 2 different washes, you can pull it off.  I styled my top by tying it, which is really popular right now.  I kept is simple and wore some nude pumps and my black satchel purse. 

Chambray top over a black dress with a pop of color
Chambray top over a black dress with a pop of color
 Over a Dress
I always love to wear my button down shirts opened as a cover up.  I think it’s a nice alternative to always wearing my jean jacket.  To add a little color, I styled it with my coral purse.  For shoes I’m wearing my cognac peep toed booties, which are great shoes for transitioning into spring. 
Chambray shirt with white jeans and a pop of leopard
Chambray shirt with white jeans and a pop of leopard
White with a pop of Leopard
This look has to be my favorite.  I love how the white jeans look with the wash of this top.  I stuck with simple nude flats as my shoes and added my leopard clutch so it wouldn’t feel too boring. 
Hopefully you have some inspiration for styling your chambray shirts this spring.  Below I’ve linked all the similar items that I’m wearing, which most of them are all under $30!!

Shop my Looks


Filed in: Affordable Fashion, Making the Most of your Wardrobe, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- 3 Ways to Wear a Blanket Scarf in Spring

March 19, 2018 by Katie Haller

As you may have noticed already, I’m a big fan of accessories.  Just like all of my clothes, I like my accessories to be versatile so I can wear them all the time in different ways.  I also like to think outside the box and wear most of my clothes throughout any season.  I recently bought a blanket scarf, but I was a little afraid that it was too late in the season to wear it.  That’s why I decided I would put together a few spring outfits with my new scarf.  

 The transitional seasons are all about the layers.  A blanket scarf is a perfect way to layer up your look.  It’s so easy to through on with a t-shirt or dress.  It’s taken me a while to find the perfect blanket scarf at the right price.  They always seem to be so pricey to me, especially in the fall.  I decided that I would hold out for the right price.  I was happy when I came across the store ILYMIX through Instagram.  Their scarves are everything I was looking for in a blanket scarf and their prices are right too!  I bought this scarf (HERE) during their 50% off Valentine’s sale.   I liked the pink and grey palette.  I felt that they would be good colors to wear year-round. 
*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a small commission.  Thank you for your support!
Today, I’m sharing 3 looks wearing my new blanket scarf that would be perfect for spring. 

Top- Zappos (similar) || Pants- Target (similar) || Shoes- Target (similar) || Purse- Last Call Neiman Marcus (similar) 

Dress- thrifted from Savers (similar) || Chambray shirt- H&M thrifted from Savers (similar) || Booties- Burlington Coat Factory (exact) || Purse- Same as above

Top- Forever 21 (similar) || Jeans- Old Navy-thrifted from Savers (similar) || Shoes- Madden Girl thrifted from ThredUp (similar) || Purse- Same as above

The weather in Las Vegas is warming up pretty quickly, so I may not get to wear all these spring looks very much this year, but I’m sure a lot of you still have a couple more months of unpredictable cold weather, so hopefully you can use these looks as a guide.

Filed in: Making the Most of your Wardrobe, outfits • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

How to Wear a Dress After you Shrink it??

March 2, 2018 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || How to wear a dress after you have shrunk it in the dryer?I am totally guilty of shrining my clothes in the dryer.  No matter how hard I try to pull certain pieces of clothing out of the washer to hang dry, one always gets left behind.  Sometimes I get lucky and it doesn’t shrink up, but every once in awhile that cute summer dress I bought turns into a tunic.  So what do you do with your clothes when that happened?  Do you get rid of them, or do you try to still wear them?  For me, I try to still wear them.  I hate to get rid of clothes that still have life left in them.

Today I want to share 3 ways that you can wear a dress after it’s been shrunk in the dryer.  This dress below was from my fill-a-bag sale at Goodwill a while ago.  After I picked out a few cute things that I wanted, I just started stuffing clothes in the bag without trying them on.  I picked out this striped dress and when I tried it on at home, I realized that someone must have shrunk it in the dryer and ended up giving it away.  Well, I always believe that someone’s trash can be someone else’s treasure, and since the dress was basically free, I wanted to get some use out of it.  Here are 3 ways that I like to wear my shorter dresses.  

1.)  Wear it with tights.  I love the look of tights in the winter.  They might be uncomfortable, but they suck in your legs and smooth everything out, making your legs look flawless.  When I add tights to this dress, I feel like it gives it a Parisian look. 
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Stripe dress with black tights and booties

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Stripe dress with black tights and booties

2.) Wear it with leggings.  Wearing this dress as a tunic with leggings gives it a more casual feel.  I love throwing on leggings and boots under a dress for work.  It always gives the appearance that I dressed up, but really I feel like I’m wearing pajamas. 
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || dress with leggings and boots

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || dress with leggings and boots

3.) Risk it and wear it on its own.  Sometimes in the summertime, it gets so hot that I don’t care how short my dress is.  If you do wear a short dress, I recommend wearing it with flat shoes.  I also like to wear some shorts under my shorter dresses.  What I do is take an old pair of leggings that I never wear and cut them to wear as bike shorts under my dresses.  This is a great trick for moms with little ones and definitely teachers, specially preschool teachers!

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Stripe dress with flats and denim jacket
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Stripe dress with flats and denim jacket

*This post contains affiliate links.

So there you have it.  There is no need to get rid of a dress that you really love just because it shrank up in the dryer.  Try out these tips and see how you like them.

If you don’t have any cute dress that you’ve shrunk up on your own.  Here are some fun stripe dresses that you could style up.  All under $20!!

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN

Filed in: Affordable Fashion, Making the Most of your Wardrobe, outfits, Thrifty Tips • by Katie Haller • Leave a Comment

Making the Most of Your Wardrobe- Leopard Pocket Cardigan

January 9, 2018 by Katie Haller

3 ways to wear a cardiganOne of my favorite clothing items in my closet for winter are long cardigans.  I love them and I could wear them everyday.  That’s why I have to get creative with how I wear my cardigans.  My latest favorite cardi is from PinkBlush.  I love it because it’s different than all my other cardigans.  It’s made out of a soft velour material, which is super warm and cozy.  Another unique thing about this cardigan is the leopard pockets.  I thought that was a fun touch.  As much as I love this cardigan, it’s a little more trendy than my other cardi’s in my closet.  A trendy cardi like this can get old fast if you don’t find new ways to wear it.  Luckily it goes with almost anything.  I’ve put together 3 casual looks for today’s post wearing this PinkBlush cardigan.

*This post is part of a collaboration with PinkBlush.  Although I was gifted this item, all my opinions are 100% my own. 

Look #1
I wore a simple neutral-colored shirt under the cardigan with jeans and flats.  It’s very simple and easy to wear.

PinkBlush leopard pocket cardigan

PinkBlush leopard pocket cardigan

Look #2
I wore all black underneath for this look.  I always love to wear leggings and boots in the winter.  A long cardigan like this is the perfect way to complete a legging look like this.

PinkBlush leopard pocket cardigan

PinkBlush leopard pocket cardigan

Look #3
Of course, I had to style this cardigan with a striped top.  Whenever I want to mix up my patterns, I always go with a stripe leopard combination.  I wore distress jeans and booties to complete the look.

PinkBlush leopard pocket cardigan

PinkBlush leopard pocket cardigan

Filed in: Making the Most of your Wardrobe, Mom Style, outfits, Pink Blush • by Katie Haller • 5 Comments

Year of Color- Making the Most of Your Wardrobe – Orange Cardigan

November 17, 2017 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life-3 Orange Cadigan Thanksgiving Outfits

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchasing through a link, I will make a small commission.  Thank you for your support!

I can’t believe that it’s already mid-November!  Christmas is right around the corner, but first, it’s one of my favorite holidays… Thanksgiving!  I love Thanksgiving because it’s a holiday devoted to eating yummy food, being with family and friends and reflecting on what you’re thankful for.  I hate that Thanksgiving gets overshadowed by Christmas.  I like to take it one holiday at a time. 

Just like every holiday, I love to come up with fun festive outfits.  Since Thanksgiving is still a fall holiday, I like to wear some sort of fall color…like orange, which happens to be the color for November’s Year of Color linkup!  

A Year of Color Link Party

I don’t own a lot of oranges, but I do like it.  Last spring I found this H&M cardigan at Savers on one of my thrifting trips.  I really liked the rust orange color.  I felt like it would be perfect for fall.  Today I have put together 3 fall outfits that would be perfect for wearing for Thanksgiving.


Sometimes you might want to be a little dressier for Thanksgiving, so I picked a stripe swing dress for this look.  A swing dress is perfect for eating a big meal because it’s extremely comfortable.  It’s also perfect if you’re in you’re early stages of being pregnant or postpartum.  It hides your tummy perfectly.  I like to wear tights with my dresses when it gets cold out.  I love the way the tights look with my black booties.  I choose to mix it up a little and add a leopard clutch.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with stripes and leopard

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with stripes and leopard

This next look is more casual.  Just like the swing dress above, I love my swing tank tops.  They are super casual and comfortable.  I like to tuck mine in and layer a cardi over it.  To accessorize I added a statement necklace, booties, and a cognac purse.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with stripe tank and distressed jeans

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with stripe tank and distressed jeans

I often find myself wearing leggings for Thanksgiving because let’s be honest, what’s more, comfortable than leggings?  I tend to eat a lot of stuffing, so I hate feeling uncomfortable in jeans.  A cardigan, scarf, and boots are the perfect way to dress up your leggings.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Orange cadigan with leggings and leopard scarf

Now I just need to decided what I will actually wear for Thanksgiving this year.

Next month is the last month of a Year of Color.  It’s all about metallic colors for December.  Get all your fun outfits, makeup, decoration, recipes and craft ideas ready to share.  It should be a great way to end the year!  Don’t forget to leave your orange link below!

A Year of Color Link Party

An InLinkz Link-up

Filed in: Affordable Fashion, Making the Most of your Wardrobe, outfits, Year of Color • by Katie Haller • 1 Comment

3 Ways to Accessorize a Simple Little Black Dress

October 19, 2017 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | Making the Most of your Wardrobe | 3 ways to accessorize a simple black dress for a special occasion

October seems to be flying by.  I can’t believe that it’s already time for another Year of Color linkup post.  In case you just started following along, every 3rd Friday of the month I team up with some of my fellow blogger friends to host a link party called A Year of Color.  Each month there is a color theme and you can share ANYTHING you like on that color.  I always like to share an outfit post, because that’s what I feel I do best.  This month’s color is black!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  Thank you for your support!

I can’t lie, I was so excited about this color.  Black is always my favorite color to wear.  It’s easy to accessorize, you can wear it with anything, plus everyone looks good in black.  With that said, I had a difficult time narrowing in on what kind of outfit posts I would do for today.  I ended up deciding on one of my favorite wardrobe pieces in my closet…..a Little Black Dress a.k.a. LBD.

  In my mid to late ’20s my weekends were filled with going to weddings.  All my friends were getting married, and to be honest I couldn’t afford to go buy a new dress for every wedding I attended.  I bought this simple empire waist black dress for my rehearsal dinner (similar).  Instead of going with a traditional bride rehearsal dinner dress, I played it safe and went with a black dress.  I’m so happy I did because I’ve worn this dress on a number of other occasions since then.

Today I am going to show you how easy it is to accessorize an LBD like this.

The first way is a very classic traditional look.  I wore black patent leather pumps, rhinestone jewelry and a satin clutch with rhinestones.  This is perfect for a more formal wedding.  I wore this exact look at my husband’s cousin’s wedding in Chicago a few years ago.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Accessories for a formal occassion

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | Simple black dress accessorized with rhinstones

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | Simple black dress accessorized with rhinstones

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | Simple black dress accessorized with rhinstones

Shoes- Ivanka Trump- Von Maur (similar) || Necklace- Target (similar) || Clutch- Jessica McClintock (similar)

For my second look, I chose leopard accessories.  I wore my gold sandals, with my leopard clutch and gold jewelry.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | Gold and Leopard accessories

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | LBD accessorized with gold and leopard

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | LBD accessorized with gold and leopard

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | LBD accessorized with gold and leopard

Shoes- DSW (similar) || Necklace- LC Lauren Conrad- Kohl’s (similar) || Clutch- H&M- ThredUp (similar)


For my final look, I accessorized with some color.  I always love how turquoise looks with black, so I wore turquoise jewelry with my turquoise clutch.  For shoes I went with my nude pumps.  I think that this look would be great for a destination wedding.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | Turquoise accessories
Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | LBD accessorized with turquoise

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | LBD accessorized with turquoise

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life | LBD accessorized with turquoise

Shoes- Target (similar) || Necklace- Kohl’s (similar) || Clutch- Hand-me-down (similar)

Hopefully this will give you some ideas on how to accessorize your black dresses and maybe help you out next time your stumped on what to wear to a wedding or special occasion.

I hope to see everyone back here next month for the color Orange. Don’t forget to leave your link below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Filed in: Affordable Fashion, Making the Most of your Wardrobe, outfits, Year of Color • by Katie Haller • 19 Comments

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Hi I'm Katie! Welcome to my blog! I am on a mission to help women build a wardrobe that they love without spending a lot of money doing it. I believe that everyone has the right to feel good in their outfit, no matter what your budget is! I am excited to have you here!
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thriftywifehappylife

Affordable everyday petite (5’1) mom style
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✨Striped dress styled 4 ways! ✨ The title say ✨Striped dress styled 4 ways! ✨

The title says 3, but it’s actually 4! 😂 I’m loving this @oldnavy striped dress! There are so many ways to wear it! Which is your favorite?? 

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Happy Weekend!! I wanted to round up some of the o Happy Weekend!! I wanted to round up some of the outfit photos that I shared this week in stories and reels! 

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1.) Macy’s On 34th brand, currently on sale! 30% off with code VIP!
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Hi! 👋🏻 My name is Katie! I’m a 39-year-old Hi! 👋🏻 My name is Katie! I’m a 39-year-old wife and mom of 2 who believes that everyone deserves to feel stylish and confident in every outfit that they wear no matter what their budget is! 

The definition of thrifty is: “(of a person or their behavior) using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully.”

Join me on this stylish, intentional journey where versatile outfits meet smart spending. Let’s be thrifty friends! 💁‍♀️🛍️ #ThriftyFashionista #QualityOverQuantity #MomLife #thriftingfashion #michiganblogger #momstyleblogger #followfriday
Do you struggle with wearing colors? I know I do! Do you struggle with wearing colors? I know I do! 🙋🏼‍♀️ That’s why I wanted to start a new series called “how to wear color”. Through this series I will explore different color combinations to help us all figure out how to wear those colors in our closet that we are a little unsure of. 

Today on the blog I am exploring mustard yellow! 💛 I love this color for fall and I’m always drawn to it! I know it can be tricky sometimes so here are 6 different outfit ideas to try with mustard yellow! 

Check out the blog post at thriftywifehappylife.com for all the details!  Comment the word “link” and I will directly send you the post! 😊

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I started a new chapter of mom life this week! My baby started preschool 😭 Now I have 2 kids in school during the day! It’s been adjustment trying to balance our new schedules, but so far it’s going well! 

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