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 [...]

Featuring two outta three of yesterday’s Goodwill finds. WORD.

Splendid Tee ($6.99 @ Goodwill thankyouverymuch)
Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent Slip ($6.00 @ Monk. I know. Redonkulous.)
Ponyhair Belt ($3.00 @ NJ’s Alcove Thrift)
Thick-Rib Tights ($4.99 @ Duane Reade, yet more durable than a lot of my pricier hosiery. I AM OBSESSED. Weird.)
Melissa Plastic Dreams Wedges ($99.00 @ [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Dearest Alexander Wangface -
Wanna know what happens when you charge $200 for glorified athletic shorts? PEOPLE DON’T BUY THEM. Then, you have to rip off one of your old khaki styles and re-design it in cheap, easily outsourced material for the GAP. Tres drag, but hey, collabs like that keep you in business. Us fashion [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I’ve been known to take issue with Marc Jacobs’s warped view of a woman’s body. These shorts exemplify my position.

I found them at Buff Exchange, and concede that they’re only marginally awful on the hanger. But on the body…

…they are, hands down, the most heinous excuse for designer apparel I have EVER seen. I [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 once assumed a given garment’s brand played a critical role in determining its re-sale store value. Then I conveniently overheard the following conversation among a Buffalo Exchange newbie employee and a seasoned re-sale buyer:
Buyer: So, how would you price this Sunner top?
Newbie: That’s a pretty boutique-y brand, which means it retails for a ton…maybe [...]

Before we discuss the aforementioned dress, a big fat shout out to the design and programming wizards over at Musebox Media, as they’re responsible for the killer blog makeover. You guys rock the hizzy.
Moving on: I first tried on American Apparel’s Nylon Tricot Figure Skater Dress six months ago; an item so popular that both [...]

This past Monday was a day that will go down in Cheap JAP history. As I can’t explain why without a bit of back story, a brief description of mother-daughter shopping excursions of years past is in order.
The act of shopping for material goodies with Mom seems like a grand idea in theory – you [...]