The Frugal Fashionista: Say “Bite me!” to unaffordable fashion

A couple of months ago I was asked to audition for a reality TV show about the modern Southern belle. Though I know reality shows specialize in making people look like idiots, jerks or both, I was actually kinda excited about the idea at first. But then I discovered they were looking for affluent women who lived a “Sex and the City lifestyle” but in the South. As soon as I read this I thought, “Well there goes my shot at 15 minutes of fame” and told the recruiters thanks, but no thanks.

It was pretty clear they wanted a party girl who spent rolls of money on expensive designer gear. And while I do have a somewhat active social life because I’m an arts and entertainment journalist, most of their footage of me would have been me and Edd sitting on the sofa watching bad HBO On Demand movies and shopping trips to Target. In other words, I’m not exactly Carrie Bradshaw.

But the thing is neither is SATC star Sarah Jessica Parker. She’s often stated in interviews that she and Carrie aren’t much alike and her clothing line, Bitten, is just another case in point. No Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos here. Just a super cute and super cheap collection of dresses, tops, shoes, bags and more and, believe it or not, you’d be hard pressed to find an item over $10. That’s even cheaper than my precious Tar-Jé!

Parker’s manifesto for the line is this: “It is every woman’s inalienable right to have a pulled together, stylish, confident wardrobe with money left over to live.” I’ll drink a Cosmo to that.

Bitten carries sizes ranging from 2 to 22 so you don’t have to be supermodel skinny to try out these fashions. Parker’s line is available exclusively at Steve & Barry’s stores and unfortunately for me there isn’t one in Louisville. But at these prices it might be worth a road trip. Click here to find a store near you.