Tightwad Tuesday: Nanette Lepore Whip It! Top for Less

Let’s face it darlings, embellishments are to fashion what fluffy pink frosting is to a standard vanilla cupcake – the true piece de resistance for taking something that is ordinary and making it blissfully extraordinary! Please don’t get me wrong here my loves; there is certainly something to say for a precocious plain white tee, or a simple pair of skinnies. But for those days when you want to sparkle without having to turn to ostentatious baubles that may stand in the way of you and the task at hand, the easiest course of action is to enlist the assistance of a design which dazzles on it’s very own; quite like Nanette Lepore’s Whip It! Top.

Studding may float coquettishly in and out of fashion; one day adored by all, the next cast aside as if the only place it belonged was hanging from a sales rack at an outlet mall in the middle of nowhere. Yet the Whip It! Top stands tall as its very own entity. It does not fall into the category of studding; rather it diversifies itself via its alabaster hue, which flirts between cream and white shades, and the antiqued paillettes covering the wide scoop neck and crisscrossing over the body – two contributions which create a juxtaposition between regal and romantic and rough and tumble.

Multifaceted in its aesthetic; the Whip It! Top features a design that is slightly confused in its crafting in the sense that it does not cater to one personality, instead choosing to embrace them all. One moment it is posh as it mingles with a pretty pencil skirt; the next it is rebellious, topped with a rugged motorcycle jacket. Yet in all situations it receives a standing ovation, being crowned the crème de la crème of any given style.

But really kittens, what is the point of going completely gaga over such a delicious design? No matter how you look at it, the Whip It! Top is nothing more than a piece of frippery to dream of during my moments of slumber, as the $248.00 price tag viciously reminds me over and over again. Forever 21’s Embellished Trapeze Top, on the other hand, is a beauty I actually have the funds for to make a reality.

While slightly less showy than it’s more expensive designer BFF, at $29.80, the Embellished Trapeze Top proffers an undeniable saucy bit of attitude that is sure to turn heads; whilst providing you with the chance to gloat about your incredible savings!

It’s up to you darlings…will you bite the bullet and splurge on Whip It!, or play the role of stingy seductress by saving with the Embellished Trapeze Top?


Fashionably yours!


Thanks to Shopbop and Forever 21 for the pictures.


Don't forget to enter the Girl in Pearls Giveaway for your chance to win a freshwater pearl necklace from premiere Pittsburgh Jeweler Louis Anthony.