"I don't rely on mirrors, so I always take polaroids."

Buying stuff for a buck can be difficult sometimes. You can't try things on at the swap meet. You can't return them. You can't exchange them if they don't fall in nicely with the rest of your wardrobe. Sometimes, you just have to eat a loss - and that's fine, as a couple of dollars is an acceptable loss. Still, no one likes to lose money, so it sets my mind a little more at ease about things if I make a true, concerted effort to incorporate an item before I say goodbye.

Take, for example, this vintage, faux Missoni top (Yes, folks have been knocking off Missoni since before I was born!), which I'd bought months ago but couldn't figure out how to style. I thought I'd give it a shot last night, and this is the first outfit I came up with:

Ann Taylor Jacket, $1 - Mock Missoni Top, $1 - Patent Belt, $1 - J. Crew Cords, $40? at J. Crew Outlet - Pumps, $40 at Ross - Makowsky Bag, even exchange after reselling my previous green bag.

Ok, aside from my horribly flat, lifeless hairdo here, as soon as I saw this picture, I knew I wasn't thrilled. That's the jacket I usually wear with dresses, so it's too cropped for these pants. I also don't feel good with the top buttoned up all the way. And there's just too much black going on. If I had worn this out to work, I would have caught site of myself in the mirror at lunch, cringed, and dumped my poor Mock Missoni into the donate pile as soon as I arrived home.

Cher was right; cameras are much more reliable tools than mirrors. The camera helped me edit and re-edit this outfit until I was happy to keep my top.

Same outfit as above, but with a $3 necklace in an attempt to lower neckline.

Same outfit as original, but with shirt collar unbuttoned.

Swapped in: Tweedy Jacket, $1 - Carlos Santana Pumps, $40 at Ross - Cettu Bag, $10 at Swap Meet - Boys Over Flowers Star Necklace (replica of the necklace from one of my favorite Korean Dramas!), $4 off Ebay

Same outfit as above, but with hair down - much better!

These are the two outfits I was finally happy with - I would wear the un-tucked version on Fridays, and I plan to wear the tucked-and-belted version today:

Same outfit as above, but with original bag.

Same outfit as above, but with shirt tucked in and $2 belt added.

See, it wasn't poor Mock Missoni's fault the outfit wasn't working - it was mine! I had it buttoned totally wrong, and I had it paired with too many dark colors.

Thank you for saving this fun top, Mr. Camera. You can never die, okay? Okay. It's a deal. No take-backs.