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 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.

Welcome to Retail V. Resale, a new feature where we examine the cost differential between new and gently-worn. (Spoiler alert: Cheap always wins.)
The Three Dots Sheer Jersey Sculpted Tee with Pocket is the kind of top that almost makes me a believer in heinously overpriced basics – it’s that awesome.
Luckily, tissue-thin brandtastic tees can also [...]

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.

What makes New Jersey’s Designer Consignment noteworthy?
It’s a recent addition to one of the state’s many malls.
Weird. Also awesome.
The merch was ho-hum for the most part, but South Jersey’s new to the gently-worn thang. I have high hopes for the future, and I still scored an almost-new Free People cardigan.
At $20.00, it was slightly above [...]

Yesterday, reader KD imparted the following wisdom:
Don’t get me wrong; this is a great find and I love your blog. But I thought Beacon’s Closet was supposed to be a thrift store. I realize that its in NYC and quite organized, but thrift is NOT a $35 dress! Thrift is $15 and below dresses! Most [...]

This is an Alice & Olivia Party Dress.

It has a lot of sequins. It gets worn once or twice a year. It costs $440.00.
It is, heretofore, an idiotic purchase.
A party dress is kinda like a going-out top that way: It sits in your closet, collecting guilt, reminding you of what a moron you were [...]

Theory cashmere sweaters have been on my If I Could I Would list for quite some time. Meaning if we entered dreamland and $250.00 suddenly wasn’t an absurd price to pay for un sweater de cashmere (no I don’t speak a second language), I’d go for it.
A Theory cashmere sweater equates to winter awesomeness. It’s [...]

All kinds of obsessed with this old school Bloomingdale’s Men’s red polo.

Outfit 1: Forever 21 Pencil Skirt; Housing Works Belt; Foot Traffic Plaid Tights; Celine Platform Pumps; Vintage Men’s Polo (Goodwill Outlet Center).
Outfit 2: BCBG Dress (Beacon’s Closet); The Sock Man Tights; Housing Works Belt; Celine Platform Pumps; Vintage Men’s Polo (Goodwill Outlet Center). [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Yesterday, I received the following query from reader Nikolette:
Hey, ummm my manes nikki & i’m going to buffulo exchange over the weekend and i got a bunch of designer thing that no longer fit my mom& or me soooo i was wondering when you wanna like “sell” them for store credit, what do you do [...]

I often kvetch about American Apparel’s $42 leggings, but their pricing’s only moderately offensive in comparison with Members Only. The latter costs more than double, and THANK GOD I never tried on a pair at full retail price, because my penchant for leggings would have necessitated buying them on the spot – they really do [...]

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 [...]

Theory Blazer, Goodwill, $14.99; J Brand jeans, Buffalo Exchange, $21.00; Tissue Tank, American Apparel, $29.00; Paisley Scarf, Brooklyn Flea, $3.00.

DSquared Blazer, Goodwill, $16.00; V-Neck Graphic Tee, Urban Outfitters, $9.99 (from $24.00 – hit an Urban sale rack ASAP while the gettin’ is good); Nylon Tricot High-Waist Leggings, American Apparel, $42.00 (Fuck you, Dov); Donald Pliner [...]

So. Trovata took Forever 21 to court a few months ago for ripping off its overpriced designs. I’m sure we’re all eagerly awaiting the pending verdict of this crucial case (yawn).
I’m as much a fan of designer copies as I am of getting the real thing for less; regardless of who comes out on top, [...]

One of the few downsides of many a New York Goodwills is the thrift’s occasional laziness in tagging its secondhand wares. This sometimes results in register shock – how the EFF can Goodwill charge $30 for beat-up nineties-era Sevens if Buff Ex and Beacons sell the latest styles of designer denim in much better condition [...]