I was in the middle of snapping blog pics the other night, when my BFF rang.

BFF: What are you doing?
Me: Trying to figure out if my Members Only leggings give me camel toe.
BFF: Just wear them with a long top.
Me: I AM, but it’s see-through.
BFF: So wear them with a DIFFERENT long top.
Me: But I [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I swung by Gramercy’s Goodwill earlier today on a tip from reader Donna, who suggested I check out their five dollar denim sale. Donna wins the Karma award for the day. I’m not sure how long said sale’s been going on, but there’s still a solid selection of brands left. Case(s) in point:

Blue Cult, Miss [...]

Mmkay, so, when I make bold claims like “This is how Buff Ex prices their stuff,” I should probs note that said claims are, ultimately, subjective at best. The only peeps who really know what’s up are those on the other side of the register: The employees. Lucky for us, a former Buff Exchange Staffer [...]

Remember when Goodwill denied Jen that black, over-the-shoulder Coach purse? Fellow reader Min-Ja found a version of said purse (in red), currently on auction at Goodwill.com. Minimum bid is currently $37.50 – not too shabby.
I’m kvelling over Min-Ja’s very selfless Sharesies, which obvs makes her this week’s Karma All-Star! Also dying to know if [...]

On June 29 at 5:34 PM, Rebecca emailed a post-game analysis of her experience at the latest Housing Works’ Warehouse Sale. Read on to see me get totally SCHOOLED in the art of thrift.
Hi Cheap JAP,
Just wanted to tell you about my finds at my 2nd trip to the Housing Works Warehouse Sale in L.I.C. [...]

Here at Cheap JAP, we do our best to shop with respect to Karma. For our purposes here, Karma means the odds of us finding fab stuff on the cheap increase in direct proportion to the frequency with which we do the right thing (i.e. allying ourselves with each other in lieu of allying ourselves [...]

On Friday, 6/19, @ 2:41 PM, Jen emailed:
I was inspired by what you wrote about Karma, especially when it means possible stellar shopping in the future and helping out a friend. I don’t know if you’ll be interested in this, but I sure was, and if not maybe you could post the tip [...]

I committed a crazed act of rebellion yesterday. To grasp the full weight of said act requires a brief conceptual review of what defines a Label Whore, so let’s discuss. Label Whores buy brands for brands’ sake. When you equate a garment’s label with said garment looking good on you, it’s only a matter of [...]

I realize that my bashing fashion mags for recommending reasonably priced shiznat (a la yesterday’s post) seems counter-intuitive to some, so let’s take a moment to clarify exactly why I’m so hell-bent on getting you beotches to shop secondhand in lieu of click-click-checkouting your way to new cheap clothes.
I didn’t start thrifting because it’s good [...]

If you’ve ever been to an American Apparel, you’ve noticed the one thing absent from every single store. It’s the thing I beeline for in every store; if I’m shopping an AA, I constantly have to remind myself that said thing does not exist. It’s something called a SALE RACK and American Apparel does not [...]

The city’s been flush with sales as of late, as Recession + Common Sense = DOOM for any high-end brand that’s ever marked up its merch 300% (read: all of ‘em). Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it? Anyhoo, women are bonkers this week over one sale in particular. I’m talking sneaking into the ‘friends and family’ [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

On 2/20/09 at 3:55 PM re: And She Thought She Didn’t Like Shopping, Rosie wrote:
Hello Miss Cheap Jap! I’ve been hooked on your blog ever since last fall. I come to your page for inspiration and for your witty sense of humor. I notice that you went to school in or near Chicago. Can you [...]

So, I’m waiting in the 20-plus person line for the fitting room this evening at Forever 21’s Union Square location, and it’s moving slower than usual. Construction has rendered the downstairs fitting rooms inoperable, but even with only one functioning set of fitting rooms (a frequent occurrence at the chain’s Soho outpost due to the [...]