Yesterday afternoon, in the spirit of amping up my knowledge of all-things-secondhand, I did a walking tour of the Lower East Side’s vintage shops. To say I was nonplussed would be putting it lightly – appalled is more like it. The excursion was so infuriating, it actually made me want to go to yoga. I [...]

When I think of the Upper East’s crop of charity-related thrift stores, one term comes to mind: Identity Crisis.
In a vacuum, the average price point for worn-out wares of the J. Crew, GAP and Banana Republic ilk is about $7 per piece, max. Go north on the 4/5 line, exit at 86th street, and you’ll [...]

Spoiled children like myself are often raised on boutique shopping. This becomes a problem when they grow up and have to buy their own clothes.
I tend to abstain from browsing stores of this tempting ilk – I’m not about to risk a nostalgic episode that undoes my current budget shopping skillz. Unless the store in [...]

When I think about holiday shopping, the term “fun” generally doesn’t come to mind. I mean fine, religion mandates my celebrating Chanukah over Christmas, which – regardless of what your Jewish friends tell you – stinks like poo once you’re past the age of ten. Perhaps there are a few presents; there sure as shit [...]

I checked out Housing Works’ Fashion for Action Preview Sale last night, courtesy of a press pass (thank you kindly).

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 [...]

So. I’m all kinds of obsessed with Only Hearts, in part because I’m a layering fiend, in part because I’m all about wearing lingerie-esque things in public. I snagged two tops at last week’s Only Hearts Sample Sale; a thick strapped cami ($14) and a wrap/tie tank ($16), both in cream, because cream is for [...]

I have what some might consider to be an abnormally small head. Every summer, I think maybe, just maybe, I’ll find one of those cheapie straw fedoras on the street that actually fits. No dice, for three years in a row now. I knew I’d need to bite the bullet for a hat that wasn’t [...]

Forever 21’s been testing my patience as of late. Generally speaking, I’m on board with this trendtastic superstore, lawsuits or no. What I’m not on board with is the traffic one encounters whilst trying to shop there. F21 insanity used to be limited to the weekends; slammage begun at approximately 5pm on Friday and continued [...]

This past weekend, while assessing the eyeroll-inducing Vintage in my new hood, I happened upon a friendly face. I’d been to Monk Thrift Shop in Brooklyn; the Park Slope merch, while cheap, was ultimately kind of Meh. Apparently, the good stuff gets left in the city.
The only plausible explanation for the awesomeness you’re about to [...]

The term ‘Thrift’ takes on new meaning in the East Village, so allow me to briefly differentiate between real thrift and quotation-embedded ‘Thrift’. The former has been worn at least once. The latter has not. Stores like Cadillac’s Castle masquerade under the former notion when most of their merch falls in the latter category. So [...]

As previously mentioned, Krip and I hit another thrift store after her Cheap JAPtastic conversion last week. I don’t know why City Opera Thrift Shop wasn’t on my radar before – I was a fanatic upon minutes of entering the place.
While the prices weren’t as thriftastic as Beacon’s or Buff Exchange, they weren’t [...]

If I had to choose one item to buy in every single color, it would be a Theory, One-Size-Fits-All, Nylon/Elastane blend Tank. I own a beige one that’s seen better days. I wear it layered during the day and by itself at night; it manages to be both the sexiest and the most versatile article [...]

I can’t post pics of my purchases from Intermix’s sample sale because they’re too wrinkled for their close-ups at the moment: Rest assured, they will be integrated with other items and photographed in outfit form for your viewing pleasure shortly. I can, however, gush about the unexpected awesomeness of said sale. For serious – I’ve [...]

Where JAPtastic denim is concerned, I’ve come a long way, baby. I’ve put to rest the inevitable shame of wearing Forever 21 high-waisted jeans; I’ve even come to enjoy the freedom of denim experimentation encouraged by not spending $200 on every pair. I’m not above secondhand Sevens, I’m no longer starved for Rich and [...]

It’s rare that I find myself thinking things like, “This $150 raincoat is a serious find. I don’t need a raincoat right now, but I will someday, and I’ll regret not buying this one when that day comes.” But when the raincoat in question is a fitted, shiny, navy-and-creme-striped Marc Jacobs, you stop thinking straight.
Tokio [...]

Soooo, the heinously uppity and nauseatingly expensive Barney’s New York is currently having their Warehouse Sale. My beef with Barney’s isn’t their prices, per say. It’s that – every time I browse the store – I toy with the idea of opening a credit card and going into thousands of dollars of debt just so [...]