WIW: Zara Inspired Culottes For Less

Hello! I hope you are all well. I just wanted to say I've been a little bit MIA lately since I have had family in town recently so it's been making it harder to get time to take outfit pictures. And on top of that Baby Sis caught a little bug and she's been absolutely miserable. Poor girl, but at least she's on the up and up now.  I did manage to get some pictures of my outfit yesterday. And I have to share with you how I managed to find the perfect Zara inspired pair of culottes. I'm sure you've seen these shorts, or some may say skort, all over the blogosphere recently. Most notably worn by the ever stylish Olivia Palermo, here in black.

Photo via Pinterest

So at first I ordered them from Zara several weeks ago in white. When they arrived I was sorely disappointed to see that they ran a size, maybe even a size and a half too big. Seeing as the smallest size is an XS and that's typically what I would wear, I was very sad to have to return them. Well I knew I had to have these culotte shorts because they're absolutely adorable. And so my hunt for look-a-like pair began. 

That's when I turned to eBay knowing I could probably find an Asian seller from China that carries a similar version in smaller sizes. And man did I hit the jackpot. I found them in all the same colors Zara has them available even the sold out blue. Best part was they were only $9.99 and free shipping! Free shipping is always a plus. And for that price I ordered a blue, black and white pair. I decided to keep only the blue and the black. As for the white I considered selling them on Poshmark but decided to gift my teenage cousin with them. If you are on the petite side like I am and would still like to have this look I would definitely recommend checking eBay for smaller sizes. I'm wearing an XS and these fit like an XS should fit. Heck if you're just the average girl on a budget these are a great option too. They do lack the same quality of Zara's but for $10 vs $40 it's not a bad option. And the seller I found shipped rather quickly [link to seller below]. And as I'm writing this I've realized that the Zara ones are currently sold out online. 

Outfit Details: Top: Forever 21 [last worn here] | Bottoms: eBay | Shoes: Me Too via Marshalls [similar here] | Necklace: Groopdealz | Bracelets: J. Crew,  Charming Charlie's, Groopdealz, Forever 21 | Sunnies: Anthropologie

Look For Less: Marchesa

I just had to share this find with you all. As I'm browsing some of my favorite online retailers I came across this beautiful white swing dress on ASOS that resembles the uber popular white Marchesa dress from their Spring 2011 collection, made famous by Olivia Palermo.

Target and Neiman Marcus also produced a collection that featured a similar Marchesa stunner for girls last Christmas, but disappointingly not for women. Unless you're petite there was no chance you could get yourself into the girl's XL dress. 

And so it looks like ASOS has come along now and provided a similar dress for $127.16. 

ASOS [buy here]

While it's not beaded it's still a beautiful dress and perfect for this Spring and Summer. It's selling quickly [my size is already gone, boo]. So grab it now before it's gone.

Look for Less: Kate Spade #PUTABOWONIT

Kate Spade's newest collection, "Put A Bow On It," is pretty amazing. All the pictures from their New York Fashion Week presentation were breath taking. And now the collection is available and right on trend for Spring. The pieces are feminine and classic. But the price tag isn't so budget friendly, or what I like to call "husband friendly." Most of the time, I find myself picking up Kate Spade pieces at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, or Nordstrom Rack. But in the mean time I found some great dupes that you can pick up for a  fraction of the price. 

Bow Dress: Kate Spade - Marilyn dress $478 & Cora dress $378 | ASOS $76.30 Bow Pumps: KS $328 | Sole Society $59.95 or ASOS $84.78 Bow Print Top: KS $278 | Delia's $29.50 Handbag: KS $398 | Zara $39.90
Splurge or Steal? It's up to you, but for me a few of these dupes are definitely serious contenders.  Usually if I like a trend, my girls end up sporting it too. Here are a few pieces for the little fashionista in your life.

1. Baby Gap | 2. Carters | 3. Baby Gap | 4. Carters | 5. Crew Cuts I've got my eye on those Gap pants for Big Sis. Just waiting for a sale to come along so I can pick them up. Will you be "putting a bow on it?"