Back to School Shopping for $50

What do you do when you're short on cash, but need to purchase some new clothes for school? Hit consignment stores like Plato's closet (which is like a thrift store for name brand, trendy clothes) and don't go into a regular store unless they're having sales.

I went shopping last week after finally getting through most of my wardrobe, gutting and altering as necessary. I had sworn that I would not buy any new clothes until I'd cleaned out my old ones and this saved me a LOT of money as I went about half a year without buying a single item.

First off is a pair of earrings... I've got extremely sensitive ears, but I love the way I look with earrings so I thought I'd give this brand a try. My ears ARE handling it better than they do ordinary earrings, but they're still infected. *sigh*
Now the clothes! I love Plato's Closet because t-shirts rarely cost more than $6, and everything else ranges from $8 - $12. And this is for really nice pieces that would ordinarily cost at least $20, if not $40 or more!

The following is a really lovely knit... dress! Yes, it doesn't look it when laid flat on the ground, but the knit actually hangs lower. Even on my very long thighs it comes down a respectable distance, although I probably wouldn't go out in it without leggings underneath.
Isn't this t-shirt cute? The blue is actually a sort of fuzzy pseudo velvet, and best of all it's from Express! (I love finding Express items at Plato's closet, as they're about the highest end you can get there!)
I adore long shrugs/wraps like the one below. This one was a tad small for me, but since it was only $4 I figured I'd play around with it. You can get away with more size variation in a wrap like this than with a t-shirt or such.
I'm a sucker for tie-dyed anything. Especially if it's in colors that I like. This t-shirt was a must have!
I really like graphic t-shirts. It can be hard to find ones that have appropriate designs or words though, so I was pretty happy to find this one. It's a small, however, so it's more of something I'd wear in the winter with a jacket than something I'd wear on its own in the summer.
I tried on a lot of brown pieces but this was the only one that actually fit. There's some lovely lacework in the back and I just love the distressed hippie design. Plus it's LONG.
After finishing up at Plato's Closet, we headed over to Payless Shoes. They had a pretty intense sale going on of all of their socks and such, so I stocked up! Everything you see below was just $2 each!

I'm not a huge stripe person, but the blue ones were too "Ravenclaw" for me to ignore!
I desperately needed a pair of cheap flipflops. And I dare you to find a cheaper pair than this.
Tights and knee-highs! I love argyle patterns, and apparently opaque colors are in for tights this year. So fun stuff!
And in case you've forgotten... I managed to aquire all of this for just $50! WIN!