My Favorite Splurges and Dupes

Every gal on a budget knows the feeling. You walk into a store and immediately fall in love with an item.  Then comes the big moment — you turn over the price tag and OH MY LANTA. It’s the worst. I usually slowly turn the price tag back over and then give a big fake smile to the sales associate that’s now asking if I need any help.  And then I exit as quickly as possible.  Since I know I’m not the only person that goes through this, I thought it would be nice to go through some of my favorite splurges and dupes, how I’ve saved money when I have bought splurge items and what dupes have filled the void {and my wallet.}

SPLURGE: Karen Walker Number One Sunglasses

I first tried these sunglasses last year when I partnered with DITTO, a subscription eyewear program.  This gave me a chance to try them in black and tortoise and before I knew it, I was in love.  With a price tag of $250 {gah}, I shuddered and decided I’d just try to find a good dupe.  Fast forward through the summer and I was STILL thinking about the Karen Walker sunglasses.

I kept an eye on sales from major retailers like Nordstrom, ShopBop and Revolve but any sale that included these cute, oversized frames still were over what I wanted to pay.  Eventually, I began the process of eBay stalking.  While I did pay a bit more than I wanted, after a month of watching I was able to get my pair for $140.  I wondered if I’d have buyers remorse, but I can honestly say that these are my favorite sunglasses — if you couldn’t tell from how often I wear them on the blog ;]

DUPE: Leopard Calf Hair Clutch

Since it first took the blogger world by a storm, I have loved the Clare V Cheetah Print Calf Hair Clutch.  The cute clutch runs for $245.  Luckily, with how popular the piece is, finding a dupe at your favorite boutique wasn’t difficult.  Unfortunately, most of the boutique dupes that started to pop up didn’t have the calf hair look.  Finally, on a whim I decided to order this one from eBay and was super impressed with the quality.  The clutch has the calf hair look and was only $40; there’s only one left in stock right now and unfortunately has a few small defects but if you’re interested you can find it here for $35!

SPLURGE: Hunter Boots

With as much as it rains here, a good pair of rain boots is necessary.  In college, I had a pair from Target that would leak all the time and they were the worst.  I’d heard lots of good things about Hunter’s rain boots, but wasn’t sure how I felt about spending $150 on rain boots.  Cue a lot of back and forth.  Eventually, I ended up with two pairs of Hunter Boots and paid under retail for both pairs.  My glossy pair {above} were an awesome find from Clothes Mentor. I also have a pair of matte, hunter green boots that I picked up at Costco.

DUPE: Whimsy Beach Straw Hat

Last year, I really wanted one of the cute Eugenia Kim straw hats but really wanted to customize it to say ‘donut disturb.’  I got the idea to make my own after reading a tutorial on Glitter Guide and came up with this cute dupe.  You can read the DIY post here or shop a similar hat in the splurge and dupe widget below!

I’d love to hear if you enjoyed this post and would like to see it become a semi-regular series on What Nicole Wore.  Let me know what your favorite splurges and dupes are below.