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Trendy, not spendy

Dress in the latest fashion accessories this fall without going broke. Pick up stylish basics for reasonable prices at discount stores and mall standbys.

By SHARON FINK
Published August 26, 2006

	[Times photos: Patty Yablonski]
	From the top, conductor’s hat, $9.50, Wet Seal; necklace and bracelets, $5 each, Body Shop; patent belt, $9.50, and patent and plastic belt, $8.50, both Wet Seal; purse, $14.50, Old Navy.
	Plaid sneakers with suede and velvet trim, $14.99, Xhilaration for Target.

Cheap and easy isn't always bad. In fashion, at least.

The smartest way to buy some wardrobe staples - T-shirts, tank tops, camisoles, ballet flats, polo shirts, belts, costume jewelry - is to get them from stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, Old Navy and Claire's. They sell perfectly serviceable clothes and accessories that look good, can take a beating (however briefly) and can be discarded without one scintilla of guilt because they cost so little.

Cheap and easy is an even smarter way to buy trends - pieces that have a life span of a couple of months before they're shoved back into the conceptual closet.

Trust us, this fall you really don't need to spend $490 on Derek Lam leggings, $1,500 on a metallic Prada handbag or $465 for a pair of Todd's patent leather heels. Here's how to be trendy and solvent.

LEGGINGS: Dragged out of the 1980s time capsule, they're among fall's biggest trends. And if anything deserved to remain encapsulated, it's leggings, which are as unflattering on most of us now as they were then.

If you must indulge, whether you're young (and shapely) enough to pair them with a miniskirt or think they're a great casual look with an oversized sweater (another big retro silhouette for the season), finding them cheap is easy. For example, Forever 21 has them for $11.80. Newport News (www.newport-news.com) leggings start at $10.

BLACK AND WHITE: The timeless combo is getting another stretch in the spotlight. If you're finding it hard to get excited about more black and white clothing, consider costume jewelry. Try Claire's and its sister store Icing, or Body Shop, where most earrings, necklaces and bracelets

go for $5 each, and if you buy two, you get a third of equal or lesser value free.

PLAID: The inherent dangers of wearing plaid (to summarize from last week: It's best in small doses) makes this pattern the perfect kind of trend to buy cheap. Look for sneakers at Target ($14.99); pick up a conductor's hat at Wet Seal ($9.50); get a clutch purse at Hot Topic ($16.99).

METALLIC: This has been around in some form for the past few seasons, but it can look so garish, it's hard to justify a major expenditure. Meld trend and function with a metallic evening bag from Old Navy ($14.50) or a pewter hobo bag from Target ($19.99).

BIG BELTS: A good leather one is worth spending money on because it can have a life beyond trend time. But big belts also are a good way to be trendy on the cheap. Get one in red, patent leather, metallic or with studs for less than $10 at Wet Seal and Wal-Mart.

PATENT LEATHER: Shoes are the first thing most people think of for this material, but cheap (and often faux) patent-leather shoes squeak, make your feet sweat and usually don't last long enough to be worth whatever you paid for them. So go trendy with patent in other ways, such as low-priced belts and bags; they'll last about as long as the trend.

SKINNY TIES AND SUSPENDERS: They're the '80s version of the poodle skirt, something so time-specific they work only at costume parties. (We won't even get into how hard they are to pull off if you're not thin.)

The ties surfaced last year with the focus on menswear and are poised to hit the mainstream over the next few months. (I had to fight off a teenage girl at the skinny tie rack at a Wet Seal to get something for this story.) Suspenders already have moved up from kids on the street to ads in the fall previews for the Gap, Ann Taylor Loft and Chloe.

If you can't resist the urge to indulge, Wet Seal can satisfy with ties at $5.50 and suspenders at $6.50.

FAUX VINTAGE T's: You can shell out $14.50 for one at Old Navy T that says "The Windy City, Chicago, 1977." Or you can wear one of your own T's that has aged gracefully with you and have a real vintage T, for free, that gives you a story to tell when people ask "Where did you get that T-shirt?" That's more interesting than "At the mall."

Sharon Fink can be reached at (727) 893-8525 or fink@sptimes.com

*   *  *

There's a Target or Wal-Mart on every corner, but you might not be as familiar with some of the other stores we've mentioned, even though you pass them in malls all the time. Here's where to find them:

OLD NAVY: WestShore Plaza, West Shore and Kennedy boulevards, Tampa; University Mall, 2200 E Fowler Ave., Tampa; Sunset Point 19 strip mall, 23672 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater; Gulf View Square, 9409 U.S. 19, Port Richey; www.oldnavy.com.

CLAIRE'S: Tyrone Square, 6901 22nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg; Westfield Countryside, 27001 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater; WestShore Plaza, Tampa; University Mall, Tampa; International Plaza, West Shore and Boy Scout boulevards, Tampa; Centro Ybor, 1600 E Eighth Ave., Tampa; Westfield Citrus Park, 8021 Citrus Park Town Center, Tampa; Westfield Brandon, 459 Brandon Town Center Drive; Coastal Way Shopping Center, 13105 Cortez Blvd., Spring Hill; Gulf View Square, Port Richey; Prime Outlets Ellenton, Interstate 75 South, Exit 224, Ellenton; www.claires.com.

ICING BY CLAIRE'S: BayWalk, Second Street at Second Avenue N, St. Petersburg; Tyrone Square, St. Petersburg; Westfield Countryside, Clearwater; Westfield Brandon; University Mall, Tampa; Westfield Citrus Park, Tampa; www.icingbyclaires.com.

WET SEAL: Note: The clothes in the store windows are for skinny teenagers, so some of you may have never seen the need to enter. You should, and head straight for the accessories racks.

Tyrone Square, St. Petersburg; WestShore Plaza, Tampa; Citrus Park Town Center, Tampa; www.wetseal.com.

BODY SHOP: (See note above.) Tyrone Square, St. Petersburg; Westfield Countryside, Clearwater; WestShore Plaza, Tampa; Westfield Citrus Park, Tampa; University Mall, Tampa; Westfield Brandon; Crystal River Mall, 1801 NW US. 19, Crystal River; Gulf View Square, Port Richey; www.bodyc.com.

FOREVER 21: Tyrone Square, St. Petersburg; International Plaza, Tampa; University Mall, Tampa; Westfield Brandon; Westfield Countryside, Clearwater; www.forever21.com.

HOT TOPIC: Tyrone Square, St. Petersburg; International Plaza, Tampa; University Mall, Tampa; Westfield Countryside, Clearwater; Westfield Brandon; Gulf View Square, Port Richey; www.hottopic.com.

[Last modified August 24, 2006, 09:15:01]