It’s been a long time since we’ve done our style battle, WARdrobe.  This time around, the challenge was to find a stylish outfit for less than $20.  I asked my buddy Ken Tran, who writes for his blog The Blank Kanvas, if he’d be interested in participating.   He agreed and came up with the idea to narrow our “stylish $20 outfit” down by focusing on finding a Festival Outfit that we could wear to an outside music, art, food, etc… festival.  With tons of those going on in the A and around the country, I thought it was great idea.

So we grabbed our 20 bucks and the Battle began….

 

We decided that we’d visit a few local thrift stores for the challenge.  We probably could’ve found something a few low-price retailers but I was thinking we’d have more options at The GW.

 

To see what we found & to vote for your favorite, please Click Below

 

Mr. B3rtrand:

Khaki Blazer – $5.59(Goodwill) / J-Crew Flat Front Pants $4.59 (Goodwill)

Orange Rit Dye – $3.99 (Michael’s) / Windbreaker Jacket $5.59 (Goodwill)

Total – $19.76

Ken:

Navy T-shirt – $2.09 (Goodwill) /  Levi’s Jean Jacket – $5.59 (Goodwill)

Dockers Woven Leather Belt – $2.09 (Goodwill) / JCrew Flat Front Shorts – $8 (Rag-O-Rama)

Total – $17.77

We decide that we’d use our own accessories to finish up the look.

 

Inspiration: I’m an occassion dresser and I always try to tweak my style to fit wherever I’m going.  Typically I’d wear some combination of shorts and flip-flops so I figured I’d do that look with a simple twist.  Most importantly, I wanted something that looked cool but WAS cool at the same time.  I do believe in suffering for fashion sometimes BUT NOT sitting outside in the heat, all damn day.  To much sweat, aint cute.

Anyway….I decided to mix up a few different styles.  I have business, mixed with sporty, mixed with preppy with a little bit of beach thrown in.

• Blazer – I would not typically wear a blazer to an outside festival, especially as hot as it gets here in Atlanta, but the fabric is really light, there was no lining and I loved the plain, khaki cooler.  It fit pretty well and I was able to roll the sleeves up.
• Green Shorts – These were J Crew pants.  I cut them, cuffed ‘em and Voila.  A pair of green J Crew shorts.
• Windbreaker – This was a white jacket.  I cut the sleeves off so I wouldn’t burn up and I dyed it Orange.  I figured with that boring ass khaki blazer, I needed a pop of color to liven things up.

 

Inspiration: Thinking about festivals and going out to enjoy the sun, the first thing that came to mind was classic Americana. Come summer, nothing’s more American than grilling up some BBQ’s, hanging out by the pool, and kicking back while catching a good tan.  I wanted to create a look that was classic and easily versatile for hot days and warm nights; one you could go wearing while party hopping all summer long.

• Navy T-Shirt – Nothing’s more American that those serving overseas for us to be able to live out our daily lives in the Land of the Free. I’ve visited the US Naval Academy in Annapolis and have a tremendous respect for the men and women committed to service.
• Levi’s Jean Jacket – Probably my favorite piece of the outfit. Almost giving up after not finding anything at Goodwill, a new rack rolls out and this Levi’s jean jacket comes out and I’m sold. I took off the sleeves and added some flair with the pins.  And yes, this is a women’s jacket…
• Woven Leather Belt – Love the woven look especially come the spring and summer time. It adds texture to my look and the lighter leather breaks up the rest of my darker, more neutral outfit.
• Shorts – I love flat front shorts and it’s a bonus that they’re from JCrew.  These were actually originally dress pants.  If you want your shorts to fit like your favorite pair of pants. Just chop the legs off!

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So there you have it folks,  take one last look and vote for your favorite $20 or less WARdrobe Festival Outfit.

 

Will it be Mr. B3rtrand or Ken Tran?