21 Under-$40 Pieces That Are Surprisingly Elegant

If you have yet to figure out fashion's biggest hack, we'll let you in on the secret: Style can't be bought. While on the surface, that might seem to indicate that true style comes down to an innate sense of creativity and taste, it also implies that great fashion isn't relegated to high-end designers. There's no premeditated price tag that can ensure a chic outfit.

Sure, we all wish we could stockpile our closet with designer digs, but a high-low mix is often key to achieving your own original look. And having a keen eye for sussing out the best cheap buys will keep your style and your bank account thriving.

Below, we've compiled a list of 22 surprisingly elegant pieces priced at $40 and under. Prepare to look polished as hell for less than your bottomless brunch.

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Next up: 41 stylish items you can find on Amazon.

Contributing Editor

Ray Lowe is a contributing editor forBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing . She's spent the last decade living in New York, but now that she professionally works from home, she's slowly been going back to her roots by splitting time between NYC and L.A. A year ago, she left a four-year stint as a fashion editor for Refinery29 to explore the freelance life. Nowadays, she does just about everything from penning online articles (forBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing , Refinery29, Elle, Cosmo, and many more) to writing scripts, styling, and finding ways to fuse her love for both Disney and fashion. Her main beat is fashion (trends, emerging brands, affordable finds, you name it), but you may find her dropping in with a beauty story every now and then. As for her personal style, she'd best describe it as a balanced blend of basics and contemporary trends, often with a dash of Mickey Mouse thrown in for good measure. In her spare time, she can be found coddling my pets (a French bulldog and a rescue cat), curating travel itineraries for her friends, scrolling through Instagram for up-and-coming brands, and watching so-bad-they're-good films.