`NYC Prep's' privileged can spot a bargain

NEW YORK (AP) - July 14, 2009 The "privileged prepsters," as they're described by their reality-show bosses on Bravo TV, were challenged to craft an outfit for less than $100 that they'd be just as happy to wear as their designer duds. So, Camille, Kelli and Taylor hit H&M - and they all came in under budget. These girls are retail pros, fanning out in the busy Herald Square store in Midtown, honing in on trendy boyfriend shirts and jackets, pencil mini skirts and leggings, circling back to each other only when they wanted a second opinion. They arrived in the dressing room with far fewer items than one would expect from teenagers, but they know what they like: - Camille's favorite thing, hands down, is handbags. She says she has about 12 in her current rotation, including a Mulberry and the navy Kooba she carried during the recent H&M spree. Among them is a Zac Posen that was a gift. "That was like my whole birthday in a bag." She appears to be choosy, taking the longest of the three girls to settle into a dressing room. Before getting that far, she put back a black pencil skirt, nude-colored dress and sleeveless blouse that Taylor also was going to try on. "I like shopping, but I'm picky. I'll be the person who takes 25 things into a fitting room and end up with one thing." It helps, 17-year-old Camille says, that at her all-girl school, everyone wears a uniform. "It takes 30 seconds to get ready. I wear the same polo shirts from the eighth grade - I have a big drawer full of them." On weekends and in the summer, however, she goes all out. "I'm a dress-up girl, but not a girlie girl. I like to wear a girlie dress with a leather jacket," she says, or shorts or a mini paired with chunky beaded high heels in a nude color, which she wore on this day. Although she likes to shop with friends, all purchases are made with her mother's approval. Mom, she explains, will send her out with a debit card with a specific amount of money on it, or Camille will put items on hold at a store until her mom can pay the bill. Her total at H&M? $79.60, which included a hot-pink cardigan ($16.90), a navy, zip-front skirt ($39.90), a tank top ($9.90) and a silver chain necklace ($12.90). It's a look perfect for a late lunch - or shopping, she suggests. "I would wear this when it's still light out when I'm leaving home but know it will be dark out later." - Kelli is an aspiring singer and she's got the rocker-chick look down, especially the fringe suede vest that she arrives wearing with skinny jeans. She acknowledges, though, that she doesn't wear the vest often because "it's out of my comfort zone." When she heads to the racks, there's a beeline for micro-length shorts and a boyfriend-style cardigan. She'd definitely wear a long, draped scarf - one of her signature items, she explains. She also is a die-hard beach lover so she gravitates toward summery styles and finds it harder to put together outfits that really capture her personality when it's cooler outside. (The exception was last fall's trendy moccasin boots.) Her favorite part of her $87.60 H&M outfit is the faux-coral cuff bracelet ($9.90). The rest of the ensemble were the shorts ($39.90), scarf ($12.90) and a button-down shirt ($24.90). It took her less than 15 minutes to pick out this look and stick with it. She did make a brief stop to check out some black platform sandals but eventually passed. It seemed Kelli's favorite part of the shopping experience was in the accessories section, though she also got a good chuckle in the lingerie department looking at some of the more over-the-top numbers in candy colors and lace. For two summers, Kelli, 17, worked at a SoHo boutique but she prefers the shopping out in West Hampton. The SoHo job helped pay for some of her clothes, but she usually uses her line of credit with her parents. She likes shopping with them. "Last time I went shopping, it was with my dad. I trust their opinions most," she says. He's convinced her to get the fringe vest. - Taylor, 16, emphasizes comfort, but she's also the one who can pull off gold lame leggings, no problem. The leggings cost $24.90 and are the key piece from which she'll build the rest of her outfit. "I wear leggings four or five days a week. I don't have gold leggings yet, but I'm about to." She adds, "I like to shop when I'm not looking for something. ... I buy what I like and figure out later what I can wear it with, where I can wear it." She wears jeans only on rainy days but will occasionally put on a dress. "I have a lot of things in my closet I don't wear," she declares. Taylor says she's not a marathon shopper, hitting the retail routes on the way home from school about 10 times a month for small purchases - say, two shirts - instead of buying lots at one time. Her shopping partner is usually her mother. Taylor says they have similar taste and enjoy the time together. "She won't let me wear ridiculous outfits. That's probably for my own good." Her spending allowance is generous, but mom won't OK a $500 shirt. Taylor still covets a $1,000 Dolce & Gabbana gold jacket that her mom put the kibosh on. Taylor has a plan, though: "I'm going to buy it myself, using money I've saved from my mom." She proves she can be frugal when she needs to be - her H&M bill for two bracelets ($6.90 each), a cardigan sweater ($19.90), tank ($5.90) and the leggings was $64.50, leaving her within striking distance of the dressier nude-colored sleeveless blouse that cost $35.90. It would put her 40 cents beyond her limit but give her a second outfit, further proof the trio of prepsters certainly could teach a class in savvy shopping.