I had a United Way event to go to this past Saturday, where I was a co-chair and emcee of the fashion show. So, the pressure was on to wear something super fashionable and chic.

I looked in my closet and all my cocktail dresses had been to many other cocktail parties before, and had already been seen by many of the people would be at this event. And none of the dresses were exciting enough to emcee a fashion show. I decided this was the perfect excuse to go dress shopping!

But I just bought a new car, so I’ve been trying to be good about watching my spending as I get adjusted to having a car payment. So, I was on a strict budget. I didn’t want to spend more than $30 on my entire outfit.

I love all the local boutiques in town, and I try to do as much business with them as possible. But they can get kind of pricey and I thought I’d be wasting my time walking into any of them with a $30 budget.

I decided to give Love Culture in Rookwood a chance. I heard lots of good things about it, but hadn’t been in yet. From what I heard, it was like a Forever21, but without the “21” in the name to remind you that you’re too old to be shopping there.

I walked in, and right at the entrance, I was greeted with a sea of beautiful cocktail dresses. I loaded up my arms with dress after dress after dress to try on. I was so excited…all the dresses I looked at ranged from $22-$29. Maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult to meet my $30 budget afterall!

I found a gorgeous long sleeve one shoulder dress with leather trim at the neckline. The price was $29. But it had a small snag on one of the hems, so I asked the store manager for a damaged goods discount, and she did. I got $7 off for that, so I threw in a pair of $3 earrings. Even after tax, my outfit was still less than my budget! Mission accomplished!

So, overall I was super impressed with the selection and prices at Love Culture. You do have to look the garments over very well to check for damages, because the quality isn’t as high as something you’ll find at a boutique.

Their shoe department was disappointing… cute designs and great prices, but I couldn’t find any shoes bigger than a 7.5. The accessories department was awesome though – lots of costume pieces, ranging from $3-$10.

I got lots of compliments on my outfit at the event and it made me feel like a million bucks. So, that was a well-spent $30 at Love Culture and I will be back. I encourage you to check it out!