11:58 AM • Jul 25th, 2008
By cheapjap
Label Whore
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 7 isn’t the place for a quick, cheap shopping fix - their wares start at around $60 and cap at $500 or so. Most of the stuff is in the $80 - $150 range, so it obvs wasn’t their prices that impressed me. But the brands…OMFG, the brands.
I knew this was a Dolce without even looking at the tag. Versions of the bustier dress can be found everywhere from Forever 21 to Bebe, but no one does it like D&G. The latest version of this dress retails for $525 on eLuxury.com. Tokio 7 was selling it for $80 (yes, that pricetag is for reals).
This pale pink, Jill Stuart dress channels the one Baby wears in the finale of “Dirty Dancing,” and is therefore worth buying for that reason alone ;). Similar Jill Stuart dresses retail for $200 - $500 on REVOLVEClothing.com. Paying $70 is much more palatable, no? And if my boobs had fit into the corset-like top of the dress, I totally would have.
I obvs didn’t leave Tokio 7 empty handed; stay tuned to see what I scored. Let’s just say I got back in touch with my inner Denim Snob in a big, big way.
10:45 AM • Jul 21st, 2008
By cheapjap
I Love A Good Story
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 thought of it on someone else’s arm. 
I clung to the hope that it was pining for me too, that it would wait for me until its handlers further reduced its price. Wishful thinking, obvs. Or so I thought. Until yesterday, when I saw the “Select Bags, 50% Off!” sign in the window of Petticoat Lane.
I tore through the door and beelined for the half-off rack. Propped against its inferiors, stuffed with tissue paper, as new and beautiful as I’d remembered it, there it was. My Abaco. I picked it up carefully, and physically embraced it. I’m not even kidding. I actually hugged the thing.
At the register, I inquired after the damage before slapping down my card. The bag was originally priced at $659 (I’d erroneously assumed that its online price was the same as its in-store price, but via the Interweb it was $739. Online shopping a bargain? My ass.). At 50% off, I was looking at $329.50 plus tax. I went for it without hesitation, and as the salesgal wrapped my splurgy poo she said, with unconcealed envy, “I paid $800 for my Abaco. I can’t believe the deal you’re getting.” I could have mock-related, but I’ve always been a shitty liar. $800 is an effing insane price to pay for any one thing. But $350, for something you’ll wear and adore fo eva, is just right. Especially when that something makes you look so. effing. loaded.
10:58 AM • Jul 15th, 2008
By cheapjap
Cheap JAP 101
Sooo it’s almost August, which means it’s time to freak out about Fall Denim. What ever will you do with the the Boyfriend, the Wide Leg, the Bold Color and the Super Skinny styles of yesteryear?! Are they all, like, sooo last season? Fear not, my little chickies. Jeans are a worthy splurge for a reason: Even the trendier styles stay In, season after season. Unfortunately, brand-whoring fashion mags like to use different names for the same thing to dupe you into buying more jeans (as IF your JAPtastic ass doesn’t already own ten uber-In pairs). Here’s a guide to the adjective-heavy denim “trends” designed to make you second guess what’s in your closet. [Thanks in advance to Lucky and ELLE for regurgitating each other’s style tips].
Lucky How To Wear Your Denim Guide, 2008 - Sleek Silhouette
ELLE Denim Trends Fall 2007 - The Skinny Jean
Lucky’s also a fan of Super-Skinny Jeans - apparently, slapping on a superlative distinguishes the trend from ELLE’s Skinny Jean of 2007. The Lucky eds suggest pairing a fitted, sleeveless top with skinny jeans to achieve the Sleek Silhouette look; those of us with boobs know the potential slut-factor of going tight all over. To each her own.
Continue reading →
10:21 AM • Jul 1st, 2008
By cheapjap
I Love A Good Story
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. Or so I thought. This was on a Monday; the one day of the week on which Petticoat Lane is closed. Guess what’s never closed? The Internets, yo. I came home that afternoon to comments from you beotches; only after reading them did I realize the answer to my handbag problemo.
The best advice came from one Stazh, who wrote:
“…If after you buy this bag you can still pay your bills, have enough for food, going out, and other necessities before your next paycheck, then by all means treat yourself. But keep in mind that you may not be able to shop for anything sartorial for a while. If there is no way in hell that you can buy the bag AND have enough $$ to live, then forget it…”
Had I bought the Abaco, I could have continued to “live” in the general sense of the term. Continue reading →
1:35 PM • May 29th, 2008
By cheapjap
Navigatrix
I do the bulk of my shopping in person, so it’s rare that a JPEG alone inspires that want-it-need-it-have-to-have-it-feeling that inevitably results in the purchase of a particular item. But after last week’s Designer Slumdown, I couldn’t shake my shopper’s lust for the H&M + Marimekko dress. I had to see it. I had to touch it. I had to try it on. I have to stop equating shopping with sex if I ever want to get laid. Anyway.
Not all H&M’s are created equal; in my experience, the one on 59th and Lex puts its counterparts to shame. My Marimekko was as good as its photo promised, albeit missing a price tag. I assumed it was around $50 - not so. $69.95. Oy vey.
I generally loathe the idea of spending more than $50 on one item. But when it’s something you can’t stop thinking about, the frustration of not having it is infinitely more agonizing than shelling out an extra $20.
Yes, we’re still talking about a dress. 
11:44 AM • May 15th, 2008
By cheapjap
Heel Schpiel
I’m pretty sure my father’s going to have a conniption after he reads this post, so Dad, apologies in advance - one day, I’ll actually be loaded, and I’ll buy you an airplane.
When I opened my Chase checking account, I was told I had good credit. Really, really good credit. $15,000 to be exact. Free to do what I want, indeed. Would I like a credit card? I refused, with all the power of my being. It came in the mail anyway, begging me to activate it. I snipped the sucker in half with scissors. Being broke sucks, but being broke and in credit card debt is a one-way ticket to loserville, no matter how well-dressed you are.
Somewhere in between me switching serving gigs and overdrawing my account, my credit got activated to cover my ass. This scared the shit out of me. I didn’t open my bank statements, didn’t visit Chase’s website, and didn’t do much shopping (sniffle). I had no idea what I’d put on that card over the past few months, and couldn’t bear to look until I accumulated enough moolah to pay some of it off. After a week at my new job, I put a nice chunk of change in the bank. I logged onto online banking. I pulled up the previously and intentionally hidden credit card balance. And breathed a big effing sigh of relief. In three months, I’d put a mere $402.96 on my credit card. I immediately paid off half of it, vowing to pay the balance off after my next deposit. Then I did something stupid. I went shoe shopping. Continue reading →
11:17 AM • Feb 14th, 2008
By cheapjap
Excessories
Free People is one of my most fave brands ever, probs because their wares look more like boutique or vintage finds than like mass produced consumer crap-ola. When I wandered into their recently opened 5th Avenue branch, I told the saleslady I was “just browsing,” she gave me a dirty look (ho), and I found this bag. It was $74 - too pricey to buy on impulse, but not pricey enough to reject altogether.
When you find something that falls in between cheap and pricey, it doesn’t mean you can’t own it. It just means you can’t purchase it without adequately reflecting on why you need it. I’ve never owned a legitimately cool casual bag; I still use an Herve Chapelier from my boarding school days for hauling around my life. And I could not, not stop thinking about this one-shouldered backpack, multi-pocketed number. It was time. Continue reading →
12:09 PM • Feb 7th, 2008
By cheapjap
Sexy Time
FYI, I hate my boobs (maybe it’s the third nipple…kidding!). Being in between a B and C cup is annoying enough, but my boobs are also set so far apart that they’re closer to my armpits than to my chest. This makes both achieving cleavage and shopping for bras effing impossible.
No one wants to spend money on anything related to their least favorite body part, but when your cotton Calvin Klein bras are more gray than white from constant wear, it’s time for some new underwire. I enlisted the help of my friend Lucy, who’s lingerie collection probably rivals that of Dita Von Teese. I struck out at Victoria’s Secret, as per usual; a boutique was the only solution to my weird shaped boob woes.
We hit Journelle, a new Flatiron lingerie boutique - the first bra I saw was $90. I obvs snorted in disgust and turned to leave. Then this, from Lucy:
“What would you say if I found the perfect pair of jeans?” Continue reading →
