Cheap JAP has three days to find a new apartment (oops). As she can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, she’ll be back in bloggy action next week. Mwah!

Mmkay, so six or so months ago, my mother bought me a pair of ludicrously priced Michael Kors Stiletto-Esque Combat Boots; they were superficially fab, but proved unwearable in reality. When you live in New York, the first criteria for choosing shoes is Can I Walk In Them? The answer to these was a resounding [...]

Subject: Serious (Yet Unfugly) Walking Shoes
Greeting and salutations, Cheap JAP!
I’m supposed to visit a buddy in New York in about TWO MONTHS and my footwear collection is tailored around the SoCal drive-and-browse lifestyle – definitely not the hike-for-miles-around-a-giant-city reality that I am about to face. My last two vacations left me practically crippled – even [...]

A recent comment from ash2i got me thinking about designers duping us into blowing our dough. On 3/16/09 at 5:14 PM re: When Fugly Is Fun, she wrote:
Grrr – sometimes I really hate the fashion industry. I read recently that several designers were quoted spouting some version of the following in response to how they [...]

The weather in NYC’s been a bitch and a half as of late; one day it’s 60 and sunny, the next it’s 40 and rainy, it’s like the sky is PMSing or something. I’m a naturally impatient person, doubly so where shopping’s concerned – if I can’t wear it that day, that SECOND if I [...]

When first I saw Beacon’s Closet’s website, I thought: Huh. So THAT’s where they’re keeping the good shit. This is not to imply that I don’t score fab brands there on a regular basis (I do, obvs). I’m not even sure I’d buy the things offered online if I saw them in person. (Do [...]

The term ‘Thrift’ takes on new meaning in the East Village, so allow me to briefly differentiate between real thrift and quotation-embedded ‘Thrift’. The former has been worn at least once. The latter has not. Stores like Cadillac’s Castle masquerade under the former notion when most of their merch falls in the latter category. So [...]

Drop-Crotch Pants are one of those trends that exemplify the inherent silliness of Fashion: They just kinda make you go, “WHY?” I believe they officially hit the scene last Fall with Comme des Pou Pou’s H&M Endeavor. They’re masquerading under the pseudonym ‘Harem Pants’ for Spring but don’t be fooled. These Penis Pants – err, [...]

Now lookie, I totally heart Diane von Furstenberg. For me, she’s one of the few designers where, if I could pay full retail price for her stuff, I might. But I can’t.
Other twentysomethings in The City apparently don’t have that problem. Yes, I occasionally watch the show; yes, I’m wildly entertained by it; yes, I [...]

Hi Cheap JAP!
I love your blog (obvs!) and actually discovered it while googling credit card advice. I’m in a bit over my head as a recent college graduate who used CCs as a crutch my last couple of years. Working part time just wasn’t cutting it for school supplies and living essentials, which quickly snowballed [...]

I signed into my Gmail account last week, and my eyes popped at the following words: Thanks for blogging; have some free shoes on us! I obvs immediately read the email in its entirety and found it shockingly bullshit-free. An online shoe boutique wanted to send me a sample OF MY CHOOSING for FREE. It [...]

I found these periwinkle herringbone trousers eons ago on the floor of Housing Works’ All-You-Can-Stuff-Bag Sale and immediately had them dry-cleaned. I forgot they were there because I’ve been doing my own laundry to save moolah (you know you’re in a Recession when…), and finally retrieved them a few days ago, a.k.a. four or [...]

On 3/6/09 at 2:33AM Re: Karma, and Six Dollar Tri-Blend zhozhi wrote:
you know, i ALWAYS admire your thrift, cheap jap, and i definitely don’t admire AA’s prices (nor dov charney’s vices), but i do appreciate american apparel’s fair labor standards, which undoubtedly are not shared by target. just something to put out there — though [...]

As previously mentioned, Krip and I hit another thrift store after her Cheap JAPtastic conversion last week. I don’t know why City Opera Thrift Shop wasn’t on my radar before – I was a fanatic upon minutes of entering the place.
While the prices weren’t as thriftastic as Beacon’s or Buff Exchange, they weren’t [...]

Target’s been sticking it to American Apparel, bigtime, as of late. But before we get into that, it’s time for a mini-refresher course in Sartorial Etiquette. Readers, you know I heart you beotches; from where I sit, sharing my strategies and tips with you is the least I can do in exchange for [...]

I NEED to go shopping but I’m SOOOO broke. Help. This, from my girl Krip, via gChat. While I’d had previous success converting my childhood bestie to Forever 21, the look of disgust on her face upon entering Beacon’s Closet that day outed her as Queen O’ the Thrift Skeptics, if there were such [...]

My obsession with Onesies (Jumpers, Rompers – a.k.a. Rumpers – and Jumpsuits) started as early as last summer. I mention this not to imply I predicted the Next Big Thing for Spring – Jumpsuits were Out when I started wearing them. I’ll probs continue wearing them long after Fashion deems them Out again and not [...]