Dress Code: Sideways Rain High/Low Philosophy

-Recently eyefive got a comment about my tastes being too expensive for the average college student. This struck me as funny because, a: I am the average college student and b: I've been of a very modest economic standing most of my life and, despite my affinity for clothes, have never been accused of being rich.
-So I started posting some high/low looks to show the most basic tenet of my attire, a mixture of cheap/thrift items and well-chosen higher end pieces. When done correctly, a high/low approach ends up costing the average college student about as much as less-informed student spends on mall clothes every year.
-The weather this week has been ridiculous:
-High: Olch x Inventory bow tie, $100
-Low: Cardigan form Express, 2005, $50? A lot of my things are from in high school when I had a consistent job and less expenses, I sell things I don't want anymore on eBay and I try to go through and rethink how I could re-use older items.
-High: Naked and Famous 'skinny guy' jeans $165, here the price might not be high for some readers, but for jeans for me that's a lot. The high/low philosophy is always relative to a person's individual spending values.
-Low: Vintage belt, Value Village, $2.50 in 2005
-Med: Lark & Wolff by Steven Alan short trench, Urban Outfitters, $140, nice medium priced piece to get me through until I can afford a more expensive trench.
-Low: Calfskin wingtips, DKNY, $80 after tax/shipping on Gilt. Discount sites are a blessing and a curse, but they've definitely helped me in my quest to adultify my wardrobe.
-Med: Purple gingham, J.Crew, $51 after J.Crew's ballin college student discount.
-Med: Laptop bag, Wilson Leather, $100 on sale from $200.
-So before you try to question my tastes, know that a lot of things influence my choices, primarily my love of the Northwest and my cognizance of my own limited economic means. I probably spend less than the Zumiez clad post-skater college guy and certainly less than the True Religion/Ed Hardy homies.