5 Items to Buy Cheap (and No One Will Know)

Please do not mistake me for a cheapskate. I love a good splurge. But I really hate to waste money; in fashion and beauty the quickest way to waste money is to pay too much for something you could just as easily buy cheap.

So let me share with you five areas where you can save big money without anyone knowing the difference:

1. T-shirts. Tees – in everything from tanks to long-sleeves – are a wardrobe staple for most of us.  And unless there are logos plastered on it (which is such a don't in my book anyway), no one is going to be the wiser if you buy a $10 discount store tee or a $60 brand-name tee. While there are subtleties in style and fit, I've found great-fitting (and looking) tees for as little as $4. As for color choice, American Apparel can't be beat for less than $20.
2. Fake Jewelry. One of the easiest places to fake your glam factor is in the jewelry department. I've mixed large cubic zirconia earrings with real diamonds and no one has ever known. In fact, unless your friends carry a jeweler's loupe with them, it's unlikely that anyone will ever catch on. Same goes for fake gold and silver. I've bought fun armfuls of discount-store gold and silver bangles and mixed it with my good stuff. Watch the color of the gold (too bright or brassy gives it away as fake).
3. Sunglasses. I know that high-end sunglasses are an easy way to own something designer for a fraction of the price, but since I lose all my sunglasses (and reading glasses, for that matter) I've never bought pricey shades. I wouldn't mind paying designer prices for something well-designed and constructed, but it seems to me that sunglasses are nothing more than a bit of cheap plastic, whether you pay $10 or $200. I felt perfectly happy in my $10 bargain store aviators last summer while my friends were wearing expensive Dior shades that looked just like them.
4. Black Clothing. The easiest way to have an expensive-looking wardrobe on the cheap is to buy loads of black pieces. Fabric and cut always look pricier in black, so you can save big this way. One thing all of us women rely on are lots of black pants for work, so buying less-expensive versions of the black pant can fill up your wardrobe quickly. Even moderate makers like Gap have perfected pant fit to the point where you can get a great-fitting bottom for about $50.
5. Generic Beauty. I used to be a beauty snob, only buying brands like Chanel, L'Occitane, etc. But once anti-aging regimens became so complicated, I knew I had to scale back or go broke. I scouted the discounters and found store brands like Walmart's Equate brand. The Equate "Regenerating" products (I am in love with the Micro-Remodeling Cream which at about $15 is a steal ) claim to be similar to Olay's Regenerist products, but are about half the price. I'm no scientist, but seem to have pretty good results.