Readers, I’ve obvs dropped the ball on Halloween. Thankfully, you haven’t. Some of you are even concocting your own costumes in lieu of being slutty pirates/vampires/cats/witches/et. al, and to that I say HECK YEAH.
Today’s post is dedicated to Jody, clad as Jessie from Toy Story 2 below. The ensemble below isn’t just homemade – it’s [...]

Nearly nine months ago, I took a bold and possibly misguided stand against $24 camisoles.
Maybe Anthropologie’s Plain and Simple Eloise Cami was the most magical one I’d ever purchased. Maybe I’d worn it for two years straight to the point of pilling. But I’d bought it before my Cheap JAP days; a time when such [...]

Dearest Alexander Wangface -
Wanna know what happens when you charge $200 for glorified athletic shorts? PEOPLE DON’T BUY THEM. Then, you have to rip off one of your old khaki styles and re-design it in cheap, easily outsourced material for the GAP. Tres drag, but hey, collabs like that keep you in business. Us fashion [...]

Additional merch and musings on last week’s exhaustifying Century 21 excursion:
I heart 8020 Wedge Boots for two reasons:
1. They prove heel height and walkability are not mutually exclusive.
2. They’re on sale at Century 21, which means I never have to pay full price for them again.

I’ll reiterate the numbers above: Every 8020 style was on [...]

Until yesterday, I’d never seen Simply Vera Vera Wang up close. That’s because until yesterday, I’d never before set foot in a Kohl’s. There’s still a JAP in Cheap JAP, after all . Some field research resulted in multiple surprises – some good, some bad, some reallyfuckingugly.
Overall, Simply Vera’s a line of decent quality [...]

I am, by all definitions, a blazer fiend. If the blazer bears the mark of a coveted brand, the tag becomes an excuse for me to keep it in my closet regardless of whether or not it ever gets worn. It’s wasteful. It’s greedy. And it’s illogical, particularly if I’m strapped for cash and want [...]

We saw it first on Carrie Bradshaw, and it was enough to distract us from her runway spill. Beyonce rocked it for her MTV VMA performance; Prada made it a focal point of a recent collection; Rihanna had the cojones to don it at Paris Fashion Week; Lady Gaga’s its biggest cheerleader. The no-pants [...]

The Purchase: Forever 21 Foldover Double-Knit Pant, $15.80. (Mine are of the Zipper Detail ilk, but you get the idea).
The Problem: An abundance of mini holes along the waistline elastic/knit seam after *ah* laundry cycle. Eff you F21.
The Solution: Metallic Studs.
View From Busted to Badass: Forever 21 Pants to see how it went down. Having [...]

Let’s talk about this vintage-esque top ($11.95, Beacon’s Closet).

I Heart: Blue, Stripes, Batwingy Sleeves.
I Do Not Heart: Turtlenecks and/or any style of shirt that makes my boobs look bigger than they are.
I thought snipping the turtleneck portion of the shirt would be a quick fix to the above issue, giving me the slightly off-shoulder neckline [...]

April 77 Denim is one of those reasonably priced alternatives to $200 designer jeans. The line’s super cute, and retails for around $95 a pop.
I say reasonably priced is good; cheap is better. Cheap like these April 77s pictured below, which I found on the 23rd Street
Goodwill’s FIVE DOLLAR DENIM RACK.

Booyah.

For coveted footwear like Frye Boots, Century 21 is a beacon of hope; a place that affirms you never have to pay full price for your fave shoes again. Enter the premium designer section of the store, and something else becomes clear: All those $700-$1500 shoes seen on the runway don’t do so hot with [...]

My process for getting dressed usually involves figuring out how to add tights to whatever I’m wearing. Want to wear shorts when it’s chilly out? Tights. Need a last-minute stretchy belt to give your shapeless dress some chutzpah? Tights, hacked up.
Want to wear ripped leggings sans freezing your ass off in the night air? Tights [...]

Okay, okay, so I was going to try to be all environmentally conscious and attempt to buy vegan ankle boots. But when you find Salvatore Ferragamo footwear at Beacon’s Closet that’s both aesthetically superior and more cost-friendly than any of its non-leather counterparts ($64.95), you don’t say no. (That shopping secondhand is always more eco-friendly [...]

A reader recently tipped me off to a secondhand shop with which I was previously unfamiliar: I received an email from Betty about
Cure Thrift on the day of their 75% OFF PRE-FALL SALE. The tip makes her this week’s karma all-star, obvs .

I found this Lily Pulitzer cashmere tank among the 75% off [...]

Let’s talk about what happens when your boyfriend gets you into a show like Lost – a mindfuck of an exploration of the space/time continuum to which you become immediately addicted. The fact that each episode scares the bejesus out of you only makes watching the series in its entirety all the more imperative; you [...]

Hey, I just came across your blog awhile ago, and I’m loving it… no one took my credit card away, I maxed it out all by myself -lol,
I used to think thrift = gross… but after taking a good look around I’ve found some amazing things! So thanks for opening my eyes, and ridding [...]

Now lookee here, I’m all about beauteous designer shoes – they’re pretty, I like to look at them. I appreciate the craftsmanship that undoubtedly substantiates their $1000 price tags. I’m just not about to pay for it, and neither are you, and that’s precisely why Jimmy Choo for H&M and Pierre Hardy for GAP exist.
Let’s [...]

In the past, I’ve described leggings as too close to underwear to be thrifted in good conscience. I’d like to retract my position, as I’ve recently come to the conclusion that the sketch-factor of secondhand items has more to do with what they’re made of than with what they’re classified as. Per esempio, cotton absorbs [...]

Catherine Malandrino sweaters start at around $175, and retail for as much as $495.
Salvatore Ferragamo shoes start at $295, and retail for as much as… well, you don’t wanna know.
Can I afford either of these brands at full retail price? Helllllls no. Does this mean they’ll never have a place in my closet?

Also hells [...]

As you well know, I’m fond of scissoring anything I’m sick of into a more exciting version of itself. While this tactic is intended to preserve clothes I might otherwise toss, it has a nasty side effect of creating excess fabric. Old tees can be given away, but it’s not like you can donate the [...]