Savage Style

Erin Hagström's outfit blog Calivintage is an exception to the definition of onomatopoeia. It's pronounced exactly how it sounds, but your actual reaction sound to the page may vary. Maybe you'll awe at her eclectic style, ooh at her eccentric look or hmm at her edgy Anna Wintour-esque bob. For sure, Erin's style is where 'Vintage' meets 'Vogue' - the sound for that? pow!

dress - knitted dove linen dress; shoes - kork ease 'ava' in waterbag; thrifted vintage purse

top - thrifted vintage silk blouse; jumper - boutique by jaeger denim dungaree; bag - thrifted vintage; scarf - vintage vera scarf; shoes - swedish hasbeens peep toe super high

dress - leah goren handmade cat print dress; jacket - bensoni sailor trench coat; shoes - vintage salvatore ferragamo flats; bag - j.w. hulme mini legacy bag

hat - vintage straw hat; dress - boutique by jaeger stripe prom dress; shoes - swedish hasbeens braided sky high; bag - baggu duck bag

So how did Erin get into thrifting? It runs in the family:

"I’m sure if you've been reading for a little while, you’ve noticed how often the subject of my mom comes up on here! There’s no way to say it without being cheesy, but she is a true inspiration to me. She’s the woman who would wake me up early on the weekends to go rummaging for treasures at estate sales, and who took me to the thrift store at least 2 times a week after school, and who would drive us out to hell and back searching all over southern California for cool vintage boutiques and antique shops for whatever interesting things we could find. And to this day, even though she lives all the way out in Arizona, when I get to see her a couple of times a year, she brings boxes and bags of vintage finds to share with me. It would be an understatement to say that she’s the reason I am so in love with vintage and with getting dressed up in general!"

hat - felt hat from the local drug store; top - asos pussybow blouse; skirt - snoozer loser nyc hand-printed linen skirt; shoes - castaner espadrilles

dress - j.crew; hat - j.crew summer straw hat; belt - h&m; shoes - nine west vintage american collection

shirt - j.crew; sweater - vintage cashmere; dress - vintage; shoes - vintage salvatore ferragamo flats; bag - j.w. hulme mini legacy bag; sunglasses - karen walker number six; bike - m8 courtesy of public bikes

blouse - deyrolle pour opening ceremony fox blouse; pants - zara; bag - cambridge satchel from modcloth; sunglasses - karen walker; shoes - céline spring 2011 wedges from barney’s

Erin's style is easy and true to Californian's laid-back cool. To borrow from the lyrical musings of The Runaways "California Paradise":

The kids are ripping up the streets

In their super cars

All night parties and loud guitars

Hot hot neighborhoods

Its the silver sound

Wicked Hollywood goes round and round

California - you're so nice

California - your paradise!

dress - stop staring!; shoes - vintage candies from pretty penny vintage in oakland; hat - vintage straw hat; sunglasses - tom ford nikita

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Dear Shopping Savage...

Dear Shopping Savage,

Two years ago my husband got a promotion so he and I decided to uproot our pre-teenage son and daughter from the Midwest to the West coast. Now they're both in high school and my daughter has really gotten into fashion. Because of the school she goes to and the faster pace of living in a major city, she wants to shop at high-end boutiques and stores like her friends and classmates.

Its not so much a question of if we can afford to lavish her with these things, its more so a problem of her feeling entitled to these things. I want her to be happy and popular but to what expense? Can you help me figure out a way to curb her desire for designer clothing or should my husband and I just liquidate her - and her brothers! - college funds now to support this new lifestyle? And I'm just kidding about liquidating the college funds :)

Please help!

Signed,

Designer Daughter Dilemma

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Dear D.D.D.,

Teenagers being the bane of their parents' finances is nothing new. Truth be told, unless you planned to raise your kids in an antisocial vacuum, your daughter would have eventually found her way to fashion, even in the Midwest. Today's obsession with celebrity tweens, paparazzi and the magazines that chronicle their every move and purchase almost validates the concern teens have for wanting to own the latest and the greatest. In today's society, the expression "Keeping up with the Jonses" should be re-coined as the "Jr. Jonses," who have no problem spending money their parents are hesitant to part with in the midst of a downward-facing dog economy.

Which brings us to the next point. A teenager that doesn't have to work for their spoils will never fully understand the value of a dollar. So if she wants expensive items then suggest she get a part-time job. Most teens are pron to working retail or at places they're more apt to spend their free time, i.e. spend their money, so try to police her paycheck by requiring that she put a portion of it into a savings account that she can't touch. (And if you haven't figured this out yet then let it be known: teens can't be trusted. Even the good, responsible ones. Have her give you the agreed upon amount in cash or have it direct deposited when she gets paid to ensure the money is being saved. Once she graduates you can give her the lump sum you saved for her as a gift from herself. If nothing else, the final total should drive-home the lesson you were trying to teach her about money.)

If she balks at the idea of a part-time job then cap her monthly spending at an agreed-upon, specified dollar amount, or as it used to be called, "an allowance". Teach her that she can stretch her money by introducing her to second-hand boutiques that sell designer clothing, vintage shopping, thrift stores or DIY projects to mimic higher-end looks she loves or just to experiment.

Its vital for future generations to understand the value of money, the importance of savings, keeping a good credit history and not living outside their means. Easier said than done for most, but if you teach her how to modify her spending now you'll thank yourself later...especially as she gets older.

Hey, come to think of it, back in the 90's another (television) family had a very similar situation happen to them. It might not hurt to rewatch the series with your daughter - or make it something to view for family night. There are lessons to be learned from shows like this: most importantly, you don't want your daughter to turn out like Shannen Doherty - on the show, or in reality.

Have a fashion question? Need sartorial advice? Email me: Dwaun@shoppingsavage.com

Dear Shopping Savage...

Dear Shopping Savage,

My senior prom is coming up and I don't have a dress! Not to mention I'm a little financially strapped and so is my family. Can you point me in the direction of a place I can buy a prom dress for less?

Signed,

Prom Dress Neither Lost Nor Found

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Dear P.D.N.L.N.F.,

Depending on how much time you've given yourself, you may still be able to find a dress at a local discount designer store. Since prom dress shopping can be quite a daunting task, have an idea of the style, length, fit and even color before you start sifting through all the options. The key here is to divide and conquer. Too many prom goers have made the mistake of incorporating too many elements into their ensemble, turning what should have been a special outfit into an opportunity to display a hodge-podge of ideas that rest somewhere uneasily amongst a wedding gown, an over-the-top Easter dress and unresolved princess issues. Don't be that girl.

If you're the least bit crafty - or handy with a beddazler - you could skip the discount designer stores and go completely discount. Meaning, it wouldn't hurt to sift through a few local thrift stores and consignment shop racks to see if there's anything that could be prom perfect that could cost you pennies. With much luck, you'll find something you love that requires little to no alterations. Grabbing a dress from a place like the Salvation Army, for example, could show individuality and look just as good as anything worn by your friends.

If you can't find something off the rack - any rack - that fits into your budget, the next route to take would be to find a seamstress that can create the dress you envision. Try to cut corners by providing a dress pattern and the materials needed for the dress. You can find fabric by the yard for a fraction of the cost of a dress and if the seamstress is willing to work within your price range then you're sartorial problem is solved.

Besides, once you factor in hair, nails, makeup and jewelry, you'll find yourself feeling more prom-pretty than not. And at the end of the day, your dress plays a major part in the time you'll have at prom but your happiness shouldn't just rest on the dress. Yes, it should be special but so should the evening as a whole. Your prom promise should not only be a pledge of sobriety but also a pledge to have a good time with your good friends.

Be safe. Have fun and for peat's sake avoid any buckets of pig's blood.

Need sartorial advice? Email me: Dwaun@shoppingsavage.com

Dear Shopping Savage...

Dear Shopping Savage,

I am a 26-year old single woman. I recently underwent the lap band procedure to help me lose weight. As ecstatic as I am about the end results, I'm not that excited about losing most of my wardrobe. While I'm losing weight I still want to be cute and fabulous without it costing me a fortune. What do you suggest I wear during the interim sizes between where I am now and where I want to be eventually?

Sincerely,

Lost in Lap Band Land

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Dear L.L.B.L.,

Just because you're losing weight, doesn't mean you have to lose all of your closet...at least at once. For the first few months, I would suggest you wear any empire waist dresses hanging in your closet. This will allow for movement, breath-ability (which, if you have any bandaging or compression garments to wear, as well as soreness, you'll thank me later) and could be worn even when you start to drop dress sizes. But once these dresses become too large to wear even after belting them, then my next suggestion would be to move onto the wrap dress. Again, this style offers the same allowances as the empire waist dress, but with the added bonus of being "adjustable" to fit your (shrinking) size.

At the end of this stage you should be just over a six-month hump and down several dress sizes and overall inches. Now you should feel comfortable enough with your new size in reinvesting in a few go-to pieces again (Women's Wardrobe Basics Checklist). You can generate an extra clothing allowance by selling clothing pieces (and even accessories) that are now just too large for you to wear to any local consignment stores or on eBay.

Even pieces that you may have recently purchased will, as the weight continues to come off through proper diet and exercise, need to be resold. The benefit of this is that the newer and more current pieces will probably yield you back close to what you paid (or at least a good portion of it) and you don't have a closet full of in-between clothing that you can't wear.

Cycling out your bigger pieces will remind you not only of how far you've come, but also that you don't have a choice but to maintain the weight loss because you don't have any larger pieces to fall back on (i.e. fit back into).

Another good use of consignment stores is that they're not just good for selling your items, but for also buying new (or gently used) things. It's true what they say, one woman's loss is another woman's gain and in this instance you've got the best of both worlds - you're trading weight lose for an even bigger closet gain.

Need sartorial advice? Email me: ShoppingSavage@gmail.com