CheapJAP

I Love A Good Story

Eighties Day in Cheap JAPland

Like most cute Freshmen, I incurred the wrath of the Cheerleading Squad for the one year I attended public high school in la Jerz. Their disdain for me specifically may or may not have had something to do with my briefly dating the quarterback. (That cliche is so priceless, I actually just LOL-ed).

It was the Squad’s performance at the school’s annual Lip Sync that made me unable to hate them back. They took the stage to the tune of The Go-Gos’ “We Got The Beat,” and Rocked. The. House. These girls didn’t just look fab in legit eighties garb - legwarmers, off-the-shoulder sweatshirts, neon, sweatbands, the WORKS - they had serious moves to boot. It was one of those triumphant high school moments that only happen in movies (kind of like the final dance sequence of Step Up!). Nope, I didn’t hate them. I wanted to be them.

So, to honor high school, the eighties, and Cheerleaders, I’m wearing purple leggings today. And rocking out to the GoGos. And I already wore this getup out in public, because looking deliberately silly is sometimes incredibly liberating.

(Leggings culled from the only semi-creepy Deals and Discounts (alias DII) on the less-gentrified side of Park Slope for $2.99. I shit you not. More on the absurdly low prices of DII after my next trip).

Every picture tells a story, don’t it?

Navigatrix

American Apparel, and the Magic of Elastaan

I saw and became interested in American Apparel’s Shiny Leggings awhile ago. I initially avoided trying them on for two reasons: They looked like they might cut off my circulation and I knew I’d probably buy them anyway. They certainly compromise the blood flow to my legs, and I did buy them anyway. Why? Because these leggings are today’s answer to Sandra Dee’s post-makeover stirrups. Grease really IS the word!

These leggings exemplify the magic of elastaan (or elastane - it wouldn’t be trendy if AA didn’t eff with the spelling), which is basically Spandex on speed. My denim leggings are 5% elastaan; these are 20%. This makes them 15% harder to squeeze into and 15% sexier.

When you’re having a day where everything you try on makes you feel fugly, just muster the strength to pull on these leggings and Poof! Suddenly, everything around you proclaims to you your hotness. That makes the pain more than worth the gain, yes?