Socialite and businesswoman Angela Simmons attended the 13th annual Art For Life Gala in the Hamptons this past weekend looking uber-colorful and “blinged” out. To the event she rocked this cream dress with a beaded skirt and ruched detailing on the bust. There were also beaded elements draped from the bottom of the skirt that gave it an extra fancy Showgirls costume look. On her feet were satin blue peep-toe pumps, and she brought out her most fabulous diamonds with iced-out bracelets, bangles, a ring and earrings. This is definitely a creative and fun look, and the satin blue pumps brought out the blue in the dress. I could see myself rocking something like this for a night on the town. Steal!

Source: The Frisky

When your money isn’t funny, you’d be surprised how much you’ll spend on clothes, shoes and accessories just because you can. You might dole out more than $100 on something just for name on the label or for something you might only wear a few times a year. But when money is tight, you can’t shop on ShopStyle, Topshop or Urban Outfitters like you used to, or spend all day in the mall shopping like you don’t have bills to pay. Thrifting is something that many women (and men) have done; from purchasing dresses, old VHS tapes, and even rotary phones- everyone loves nostalgia. But everyone loves a good deal too! Here are some reasons why I love thrifting, and you should give it a shot too.

Clearly, it saves you money
While you get a ton of deals through Groupon and emails from your favorite stores, nothing beats the feeling of walking out of a store with six fun and flirty blouses that you didn’t pay more than $20 for altogether. According to a study in 2010 by Black Men in America, African Americans spend about 29.3 billion a year in apparel and similar products. Also, most high quality shirts run about $50-60 dollars a piece, so why not take the opportunity to save a couple of thousand a year??

The clothes can be better quality than many major retailers
When you’re looking through the racks at your favorite store, the last thing you want to see is deodorant or any other obvious wear and tear on a virtually “new” item. When items are donated to places like Goodwill, Value Village or smaller stores like Rag-O-Rama, they’re thoroughly cleaned and some are even new items that were discontinued at national stores.

Helps you build on your own style
When it comes to thrifting, I noticed that you can look at almost every era within one rack of clothes. You can also see what was popular at the time and find new ways to spin an old idea. Fashion is all about telling a story- so why not tell yours? When leaning the history of some of my favorite shirts and pleated skirts, I’m able to build my own identity and show my personality through my clothes. You can also create a new style for yourself and it can even inspire other people!

Also helps you ignore the major trends
You don’t have to wear those skin tight leggings, miniskirts and lace-graphic T-shirts to be hip or cool. Most trends are repeats of fashion’s not-so-cute past, and just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s going to look good on everyone. On top of that, just because something is hot now doesn’t mean you won’t reach for it a few months down the line with a look of shame and confusion on something that quickly went out of style. Thrift stores have a variety of pieces that you can make timeless or bring back from the vintage dead, so the young’ns can hold on to the neon colored looks and bandage dresses.

I don’t know if anybody else has paid attention to this, but have you noticed how hard NBA players try to look like something out of the pages of GQ these days? Gone are the years when Commissioner Stern had to snap on the players (namely Allen Iverson) to ensure they wouldn’t come to the games looking like they just stepped off of a street corner. Now players are trying their hands at all the big trends, trying to remind everybody through their Gucci Shoes and Prada shirts that yes, they do have money, and now they want to start dressing like it. With that, we collected images of our four favorite players from the big Finals bout between the Heat and the Thunder (Game 2 to be specific) to see which of these cute brothas made a fly style move, and which ones need to stop it.

Look at Kevin Durant! Looking like a tall glass of water… *winks* Before the game, Durant arrived at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City wearing this tan suit with his fitted pants, orange tie with gold tie bar, plaid oxford shirt and navy blue pocket square. To help accessorize, the 6’9″ small forward wore laid back dark brown Chuck Taylors, a brown belt, and some Ray Ban-eque eyeglasses. I’m guessing the new trend for men is to dress down nice suits with sneakers, and while I’m not a huge fan of that, Durant looks nice. He’s just so freaking tall…And those arms…yikes!

Bron Bron also made  a fashionable entrance into the arena last night, but went for a more laid back yet still dressy outfit. He wore this chic sky blue and heather blue sweater with its rugby white collar with a pinpoint oxford blue shirt and VERY fitted white pants. To accessorize, he went for blue and white suede shoes, a keychain on his belt loop, and a dark blue baller band to bring the look together. Another snazzy look for this guy, if I only I could stand him…(just kidding!)