If I thought coming up with the list I shared with you last week was hard work, trying to find and buy everything on it under budget is even harder–and so far the challenge has very little to do with being busty because my focus has primarily been on accessories. Last week I got down to business searching for less expensive alternatives to the Alice Alan shoes (I didn’t find any) and the C. Wonder necklace (I did, and I share them below).

First, the shoes. As you may recall, I need a pair of black heels to wear with dresses. I began with a store in Manhattan called Eneslow that has a great selection of “comfort” shoes, which I need for my orthotics and weak ankles. Here’s a pair from Beautifeel that fits my foot perfectly and is perfectly comfortable right out of the box. Price: $335.

I have finally learned how to approach the salesmen at specialty boutiques that sell shoes like these. I tell them that I will only be trying shoes on that day, and I will think about what I like and discuss it with my husband before deciding to buy. What a much better shopping experience I had as a result–none of the usual salesman-pleasing angst that I usually feel. After Eneslow, I also visited Aerosoles and the new giant Macys shoe department, but since I didn’t find what I needed at either of those stores, I’m now searching for ways to increase the shoe portion of my clothing budget.

Fortunately, the necklace hasn’t been as big of a challenge. I took Leah’s advice in the comments and explored the wholesale bead stores on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Amazing! When I’m ready for giant turquoise beads and golden glass pearls, I am going back.

For a simple gold necklace, however, I ended up finding two Jones New York necklaces at Macys, each for $38. I may return one of them but can’t decide which!

Finally, I must return the great Ann Taylor squiggle dress that I ordered. I do not want to return this extremely flattering dress–I felt good about myself every time I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and a random saleswoman even complimented me on it. But I have a confession to make: I wore it with the tags still attached on Friday, and at the end of the day, I discovered that where my shoulder bag hit my hips, the fabric had already begun pilling. This, ladies, is a busty-specific problem. Knit dresses are a busty woman’s friend, but knits pill. I have accepted the inevitability of this fabric trait, but for the squiggle dress already to look old after only seven hours???

Fortunately, I found a replacement for the squiggle dress AT MY LOCAL THRIFT SHOP. It’s not as fun, but for only $16.99, I won’t be heartbroken when it begins to pill. This Suzi Chin for Maggie Boutique dress has the added bonus of being known as “The Dress” on Corporette because it is universally flattering and appropriate. I think I may have found an equivalent for the navy sheath dress on my list.

 You can read all about the pros and cons of this dress in the over 330 reviews on the Nordstrom website. In order to make this dress work for me, I will need to shorten it. I would also like to figure out how to smooth down the lumpy side zipper. The last thing I need to make this dress work? The Beautifeel shoes at the beginning of this post!