Important EDIT: Christian Siriano just announced on Oprah that everything he has done for Payless is 50% off. Go to Oprah.com to find the Payless store nearest you and to get the coupon. There ARE a few things that might be nice but a smart shopper knows that even though something is suddenly only $15.00 doesn’t make it a good purchase if you still don’t love it. I suspect this coupon rouse might be because his items aren’t selling.

Christian Siriano is doing shoes for Payless, which is instantly a mood-lifter. (He was the winner of Project Runway, remember?) Except…well, until you SEE the shoes. I’m torn. First off, the shoes and boots Siriano has done look very much like the ones designer Rodarte did a while ago. But my biggest problem is that I’m not sure if many of these shoe designs are wearable for the every day woman. One might argue that the reason they’re so affordable (all of these shoes are under $50) but still funky is that you’ll buy them just for special occasions. And if you’re a younger gal in her 20′s then it makes sense to buy them. But otherwise, I’m just not so sure.

Siriano has also done handbags but I’m less impressed by them – I think they should be MORE out there, more SPECIAL! The purses for payless look like almost anyone could have designed them. And we want to buy them for Siriano’s MARK on them!

You can view all of the Christian Siriano handbags and shoes on Payless.com. There is definitely a tonal difference between what Siriano had previewed on the runways and what has made its way into the store.

(First shoe shown: Christian Siriano for Payless Carolina Pump $34.99. This is the one shoe I really do like by him here, I do think this one is wearable.)

Christian Siriano for Payless Patent Zipper Boot $49.99: Payless.com says, “Designer Christiano Siriano fuses some of fall’s hottest trends into one totally wearable boot.” The boot is CUTE but uh, NOT wearable in the snow and slush. Even in the fall it’ll make your toes cold. One of our She’s Smart Style Tips: Pass on something cute that isn’t really wearable. You’ll thank me later.

Payless Zippered Flat $29.99 – From the side these look ugly until I realize that flat gold thing is a ZIPPER. Well, I can dig that. And these ones are also wearable.

Strappy Sandals $29.99 – The way the top band is cut (and the thickness) is going to actually make your ankles look fatter than they are and give you cankles, rather than slimming them. BAD! Such a  rookie design move. If you’re a model who is size 0, it’d look okay. But uh, who is really a size 0?

Bottom line: These are mostly unrealistic shoes for women in the real world.

Photo by ldhren on Flickr

Fall is a wonderful time, especially (in my opinion) if you live in an area where the leaves turn gorgeous colors of red and purple, you can visit apple orchards, pick your own pumpkin from a patch if you’re so inclined, and wear some cozy cardigans. The one thing that sometimes baffles me about Fall is what kind of jacket to wear. It’s waaaay too early for heavy winter jackets.

My answer to the question is the same answer to “What kind of jacket do I wear for Spring?” and that answer is: trench coats! I especially like the longer, belted trench coats. There are a surprising amount of variations, though. Even more surprising? There are plenty trench coats under $50.00, yay.

You could splurge and buy a really expensive trench coat, planning to wear it year after year… But I know that I tend to want something new every year, so I don’t get splurgey about most of my coats. Of course, there was one year that I bought a really great burgundy and black pea coat from American Eagle and I wore it for years – and now my MOM wears it.

Style Tip: Trench coat’s don’t have to be beige, although it’s a very nice and neutral choice. Find the coat that suits your personality but that ALSO will match enough of the clothing you wear in the fall.

Clockwise from left: Women’s Belted Trench Coat from Old Navy $50, Twill Trench Coat from Forever 21 $20, Self Esteem® Plaid Trench Coat from Kohl’s on sale $22 (Edit: Sold Out!) Try: Boucle Trench Coat $50, Loyer.mod Button-detail Trench Coat from Yesstyle.com $40, Celli Girl Plaid Trench Coat from Yesstyle.com $50

Photo by Lida_Rose on Flickr

Ruffle Neck Bandage Sweater Top : Under $20.00

I’ve been noticing a lot of ruffled sweaters, ruffled cardigans, ruffled shirts… ruffles are really taking over! And it’s not that ruffles are bad, not at all. I think they’re very cute, often romantic (cue a dreamy sigh here), and a nice way to make an otherwise boring shirt have some added flair. And really, who doesn’t like some more flair? (Occasionally some celebrities go too far with the flair… see: Bai Ling in most anything she’s ever worn.)

Ruffly inspiration! Photo by audreyjm529 on Flickr

Here at She’s Smart we focus on deals under $100.00. So while a really nice ruffled top from J-Crew can be very pretty, we’d rather not spend $88.00 on it. J-Crew actually has a LOT of new ruffled tops right now, but most are a tiny bit overpriced. This is where you sigh dejectedly, knowing you really would like a cute ruffly blouse, but don’t want to spend THAT much on it. Well, this is luckily also where I come in to tell you I’ve looked around to see where you can find this look for less. It’s what I do. The best way to get this ruffled trend is to buy a sleeveless version of the ruffled top.

Pair this with a cardigan. Merona® Collection Ruffle Bow Top - Honest Purple

Ruffle Bow Top from Target. Also check out the Sleeveless Ruffle Top with tummy flattering vertical lines formed by a tie at the top. Pair either of these tops under a cardigan. Fashion Mistake: Please skip the Go International Ruffle Sweater because it looks cheap and droop… and like weird worms are dangling off the shirt! No one should wear that. It is not attractive.

The same goes for the first picture of the Arden B Ruffle Neck Sweater Top. Style Tip: Note that this top might be too clingy, so if you’re self-conscious about your stomach I’d make sure to try it on and be totally confident in it before purchasing. Something you love and buy but don’t feel comfortable wearing is something you’ll probably never actually wear outside of your house.

Ruffle Knit Blouse & Satin Ruffle Top

The Ruffle Knit Blouse and Satin Ruffle Top are both from Charlotte Russe. They have good deals, but I cannot stress how much you should probably not be wearing their stuff if you’re 25+. Their items are geared for a younger style set, is all. It really depends on what you think, though. Style Tip: If you opt for the Satin top, make sure to pair it with a cardigan that looks fancy enough to match.

Belldini Women's 3/4-length Cascading Ruffle Cardigan

Lastly, there’s these ruffle cardigans on sale from Overstock. This combines the trend of ruffles with the trend of long cardigans – so it’s a pretty good deal. Style Tip: You’ll be tempted to get the gray cardigan, reasoning that it’ll match everything. Nope. You’re spending around $40.00 on this, make it count. Get the pink cardigan because it looks prettier and it’ll stand out more. Make it work (like Tim Gunn says) with all sorts of other items that you have. When you pair it with different pants or skirts, it can look entirely different. Ruffle Cascade Cardigans are adored by many!

Have you found a ruffled top under $100.00 that you want to share? Let me know in the comments.

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Wanted Frills Flat - Round-toe ballet flat

Okay, so ruffles are a major trend for Fall 09. I hadn’t realized it extended even to shoes, but apparently it does.  If I’ve learned anything from my sister, it’s that a serious shoe habit is hard to kick. So if you know that you’ll absolutely NEED to buy a new pair of shoes this fall, I think I’ve found the pair for you. These Ruffled Flats from PiperLime are versatile-but-special enough to fit all sorts of needs.

They’re not too ‘out there’ that you can’t wear them a lot, but you’ll definitely feel happy about them having a little bit of flair. Style Tip: I doubt you already own a pair of shoes like this. That’ll make you appreciate them all the more. They’re available in silver or bronze (I like bronze) so the metallic also gives it a nice little punch. Yikes!: Banana Republic offers a very similar pair of ruffled flats for almost twice the price!

American Eagle Eve Ruffle Ballet

I also like these pretty berry ballet flats from Payless.

Coconuts Holly are Earth friendly

Eco-friendly shoes named Holly at Piperlime.

Think you could try heels with ruffles? Just be careful.

Even though I’m talking about flats, it doesn’t hurt to let you know about a Style Tip from Renee at Beauty Fool, right? Have a bit of trouble shifting around in your heels? Guess what will fix that? Nope, you never will! But you already own it.

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On Sale for $16.95 via thehungersite

Sterling Silver Rings on Sale : Read about the Love Ring on RingOBlog

$16.00 Owl Ring from FredFlare.com

Owl Ring : Read about the Owl Ring on RingOBlog. Style Tip: Owls are amazingly cute, wearing this is a crowd pleaser.

$18.00 Heart Charm Ring

A Heart Ring from Etsy : Read about the Heart Ring on RingOBlog.

P.S. The Cheap Fashion Alternative You Might Have Overlooked : Costume Jewelry