Unbeatable Prices: Body Central

Florida-based body-conscious clothing company Body Central somehow got my name and address (Victoria's Secret, I'm looking at you!) and while generally the juniors-focused clothes are a bit on the young side for me (short skirts, destroyed jeans, etc.), they have some truly amazing deals on clothes that emulate the look of Vicky's at a much lower price, so I am not complaining about receiving the catalog.

Anything with nice detailing at VS is going to run you at least $40, especially anything corset-inspired or lacy, and dresses generally debut over $70. Not to say you can't find great clearance deals there, as I've discussed, but in general a few items will add up to $100 rapidly. Not so with Body Central, where nearly every piece is in the $15-30 range. Nearly all of the summer line is pretty darn cute, but here are my personal favorites:

Fabulous Dresses:

Sublimation print B&W elbow-length sleeve dress, $24.50



Also in gorgeous pastel multicolor, $24.50

Psychedelic print banded-waist halter maxi dress, $29.80 

(my catalog says $26.50 so maybe call if you order and demand the lower price! (Source Code C5A109C)

Adorable Tops:

Crochet-back flyaway-hem cardigan vest, $19.50

Lace-overlay corset-inspired cami with padded cups, $16.50

Corset top with sheer cap sleeves (also in white), $19.50

Layering cami in 9 colors, $8.50! o_O

This picture also wins my "lovely!" award for best styling in the catalog. So summery, so pretty with those chunky bangles and the long necklace, matchy-matchy after my own heart, plus the perfect balance of the floaty skirt and form-fitting tanks (skirt available at $29.50, teal bangle, wood bangle and necklace $6 each. The whole outfit a mere $64.50!

  Ruffled eyelet-applique sleeveless blouse, $16.50

 I'm so attracted to this sequined cami but it's probably better for the less-curvy girls, $19.50

My only major issue with BC is the lack of extended sizing. Most things come in S, M, L or 1-13 or S/M and M/L. That cuts out, oh, a good 60% of the population. Uncool, BC, uncool. Voluptuous ladies like cute clothes, too! That and that a lot of the stuff is polyester (ew), but at these prices you can hardly expect organic cotton or something, right? The ever-present quandary of ethics vs. poverty, *sigh*

You'll have to let me know if you end up buying any of these, because my shopping embargo is actually going pretty well since that last spree at Vicky's-- oh yeah, and that other one at the mall-- but for all of June I haven't set foot in a clothing store or mail-ordered anything! Go me!

How do you like these picks? Have you ever ordered from BC or gone to one of their (apparently 194) stores? Let us all know what you thought, if so. 

Happy shopping, vicariously or otherwise ;)

 

What We Bought: Payless and Bob's and PATTERNS, oh my!

We are utterly addicted to solids- we admit it. We have a very hard time branching away from our saturated jewel tones. This weekend, however, we headed into Bob's to pick up a few basic tees and things from the clearance rack, since our Old Navy ones from a few years back are starting to look a little ratty (and we notice a general dearth of non-revealing tops in our collection... we're tired of feeling weird about spaghetti straps in the office because the a/c isn't working and we have to take off our cardigan quite often while running around...), and we're very, very proud of ourselves for having picked up not one but two tops with a print!

Here are some of our scores:

At Payless, with the BOGO 1/2 off sale, we got these cute little velvet flats for fall for $4.00:

Unfortunately the other pair we fell in love with wasn't even close to on sale, so we spent more than we like to at Payless ($24.99), and also had to buy a 6 1/2 even though we know they'll be rough to walk in, because the 7s slipped off the back too much... so we'll probably regret this, but we couldn't resist the platform and color and ruffle and perfect, perfect heel... 

So in case you're counting too, that's our third pair of purple pumps. Obsession, anyone? We did almost buy some pointy-toed hot pink faux-leather 80s ones, too. Someone probably needs to have those- we just knew we'd get too matchy-matchy with them since we've been really into hot pink lately...

We bought a couple of cute flutter-sleeve tees for $5 each, with a great square neckline and shape, which you will no doubt be seeing in outfits to come soon. Super-summery without being revealing, and made from renewable rayon-- we are pretty much in love. Hot pink and deep violet, of course. And we went a little obmre-crazy with a pink v-neck and a purple smocked-waistband skirt, too ($5.00/$15.00 respectively). 

But now, the moment you've all been waiting for-- the patterns!

First, an uber-flattering meshy surplice top with side-tie detailing in this crazy loud psychedelic print that would terrify us if it weren't our favorite colors all in one. $10

Lastly, we took ourselves far out of our comfort zone with a tube top (it has a shelf bra so there is some support going on) in coral with a pretty glittery floral pattern painted onto the front ($10.00). At some point we're going to need someone to tell us we're too old for glitter. Not yet, though. 

We hope you're proud of us. We highly recommend the Bob's clearance rack right now, if you have one nearby. Most of the tops were less expensive than our local Goodwill. There are also hundreds of bikinis on final sale for about $10 a piece, and we think every girl needs multiple swimsuits, so if you wouldn't blind people by showing your stomach in public like us, snap some up!

Happy Shopping!