I usually balk at $200 dresses, but if the garment in question amounts to twenty-four dresses in one, it makes the price infinitely more palatable (if not less perilous for your budget). Hence the awesomeness of Butter by Nadia.

Upon learning of the convertible wrap dress phenomenon last year, I heard a little voice in my [...]

Let’s play the Retail V. Resale numbers game with the below Marc Jacobs Sweater.

If ever you’re miffed at the difficulty of selling to Buffalo Exchange (East Village), look at it this way: High buying standards on their end ensure brandtastic scores on yours. Over and over and over again.
OBSESSED.

Vintage Vertigo Paris jeans; old school Radu workout tee; Melissa wedges.

Also: Many of you have asked after the origin of the stunning, buttery, over-the-knee boots pictured a few days ago.

The brand:Tashkent by Cheyenne
Retail value: $600.00+
What I paid: $145.00
For full deets on this epic score, see Why I’m Not Above Secondhand Shoes.

Three years ago, Mommy gifted me with what would become my fave transitional coat: A Twill Twenty Two tweed zip-up jacket, trimmed in faux fur. The thing was kickass. STELLAR. Two years of continuous wear resulted in an unraveling exterior and a torn interior, but I wasn’t yet ready to give it up: I snipped [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

When I purchased my Etienne Aigner flat black boots a few months ago, I assumed they’d hold up well into the fall. Not so. That the soles of my most comfortable walking shoes are worn to the point of flip-flopping against the pavement has nothing to do with quality: It has to do with the [...]

I snagged this Marc by Marc Jacobs shopping tote yesterday at Buffalo Exchange in Austin, Texas for only $25. I knew if there was one person I could share this find with, it was you!

I often have awesome luck at Buffalo, putting in at least an hour each trip to search the racks. It is [...]

Average price, J Brand Denim: $180.
Average price, Hussein Chayalan for J Brand Jeans: $250.
Sale price, J Brand Love Story Flares: $125.30.
Now, for a fun little numbers game (no, I’m not good at math – I used a handy dandy online conversion percent calculator to determine the following).
The dollar amount of what I paid for [...]

I found this Ralph Lauren *Black Label* (ahh) orange linen crop jacket at a Marshalls in the middle of nowhere for… $15 on clearance. It had to be a mistake because the retail price on the RL tags were $1,095 and it was in perfect condition. That means I basically got this jacket for [...]

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’ [...]

Subject: Bless you Cheap JAP
I’ve been reading your blog for inspiration in these tough financial times, and I’ve already started scoring! On a recent trip, I picked up a BCBGMAXAZRIA dress/top for $20. While looking for a black wrap top as you suggested, I found the world’s most perfect one (Rachel Pally!) for under [...]

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 [...]

Cheap JAP Nation features the triumphs of smart, savvy and undeniably Cheap JAPtastic gals everywhere. To show the world your shopping prowess, email the deets on your latest and greatest score (where and why you bought it, what it originally sells for, what you paid for it, why you’re now effing obsessed with it) to [...]

Yesterday afternoon, I walked twenty blocks up 5th Avenue in search of Monk; a thrift store deemed better than Beacon’s by some fellow Park Slopers. It’s not. But if you’ve got time to sift through the junk, it certainly has potential.
Now, before I boast about yet another brand-name find at yet another thrift store, I’d [...]

After I made the fiscally responsible decision of not buying the Abaco bag, I vowed to avoid Petticoat Lane in the weeks following. I needed time to mourn the loss of my big, buttery, leather obsession. I didn’t have the strength to see it again and not buy it, nor could I bear the [...]

I’m sure you’ve all been waiting with bated breath to hear the verdict on the Abaco bag. A brief schpiel on my biggest shopping conundrum to date: After I posted about the bag, I hit Petticoat Lane again – I needed the Abaco’s presence to determine whether it really was love, or just puppy lust. [...]