Cheetalicious: “The Bargain Queen”

In the last couple of years, I’ve watched the animal print trend grow to the point of obsession for girls. 


Everything from zebra, to leopard, to cheetah, to giraffe, to tiger is found on every possible item a girl could need. Coats, backpacks, purses, socks, shirts, pillows, car seats, shower curtains, bras, sweaters, and shoes, of course. Something about animal print really gets girls excited. Maybe it’s because it looks exotic. Maybe it’s just because it looks fashionable.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a fiend for animal print too. I have my fair share of clothes, room accessories and obviously shoes, of some type of animal print. I think it might be a rule in a girls handbook somewhere that if they love it, they must walk in it. Rule number one. 

I have cheetah print boots and cheetah print heels. (I am aware that cheetah and leopard print are easily confused and I am a professional at mixing them up…so let’s just call them cheetah for the sake of the name of my shoes). My heels are currently at my mom’s house so I found a picture of the brand online.

I found my cheetalicious heels at a second hand store in Plattsburgh NY. 

My rules for second hand stores are simple:

           1.)    If you find your exact size, you’ve hit the jackpot.

           2.)    If you don’t, and you love it anyway, you make it work.

I have, on numerous occasions, purchased shoes that are too big and clothes that are too small. Whenever I go to a second hand store, I usually come out of the dressing room sucking in my stomach and dragging my feet in heels. I ask my mom, or my best friend Shevawn,

“How do I look?”

“Like you’re in pain.”

One of my many mottos when it comes to fashion is “beauty before comfort.” Though, I don’t tend to always follow my own advice seeing how I often wear jeggings (the magical stretchy jeans) or boots on a typical day. But since you don’t get to dress like that every day, when it comes to being pretty and having somewhere to go, you need to look good, so you suffer through.

So, my cheetalicious heels are size 7 and a half. Either I am hoping for a miraculous foot growth or I’m wearing tights, a pair of low socks, shoe cushions on the bottom of the shoe and foot sizers inside to make them fit. They’re cute and they were $5.00. I make them work.

I found my cheetalicious boots at Old Navy. I admit that I had seen the boots on a co-worker earlier in the day, asked her where she got them, and immediately jumped in my car after work with my mom and drove to the mall. They were on sale, I needed to act fast.

On a side note, I love spending little money. Regardless of how many pairs of shoes I have, almost all of them have been on sale, been used or been majorly marked down. I hate spending full price for something and mostly everything I own was on clearance when I bought it. As far as I’m considered, clearance is all the good stuff that everyone missed. Although I’ve had to rummage through bins, or push people aside, I always get a good deal. The best part is that no one can tell either. I save money and face.

My mom doesn’t mind helping me find good deals either. We go shopping a lot together and she and my step-dad call me the “bargain queen.”

We literally jogged to the back of Old Navy where all the clearance once, and found the section of boots. They were marked down to $9.00 and 50% off of the ticketed price. $4.50 for animal print boots?!

“I hope they have my size!” I yelled to my mom as I booked it across Old Navy.

I ran to the racks and started throwing boots aside to get to the cheetah print boots. Only two pairs left. First pair, size 11/12. Second pair, size 5/6.

“Meant to be, bargain queen!” my mom said when she caught up to me.