Everything Good Costs Less Than $50
My worthiest purchases all have one thing in common.
Hey (I always have the urge to greet you like an eighth grader sending a first text to their crush and have to restrain my “y” usage)! I have not been quiet about the fact that I’m not in the financial bracket typical of a fashion writer, or even just someone who loves clothes as much as I do, and as I wrote in the linked post, I don’t buy much clothing at all. That being said, the few clothing purchases I’ve made this year that have really felt worthy and found their way into important slots in my wardrobe all have one thing in common: they didn’t cost a cent over $50. I’m not talking fast fashion, of course—I think anyone who has read more than one post on this blog newsletter knows that pretty much the only FF store I ever shop at is Uniqlo, where I get my favorite T-shirts and other basics (I got a stupendous chambray shirt that, no surprise, cost under $50—I’d buy five of them if I could so I could rest assured I’d never live a day in the rest of my life without one).
I’m talking secondhand, mostly, with a very few select new items in the mix. The reason these thrifty purchases are so easy to love is that they’re low pressure: if a shoe’s sole splits or a white T-shirt gets a coffee stain, but the piece cost, say, $25, I’m less inclined to panic and shame myself for “wasting money,” shoving the item into an abject corner of my closet, and more likely to simply buck up and address the issue—bleach or tie-dye the shirt, take the shoe to a cobbler. I’m not sure why I’m more comfortable investing time into lower-cost items—it seems like some kind of reverse psychology, the opposite of a sunk-cost fallacy. I have more fun when I’m wearing clothes I don’t picture as sartorial manifestations of wads of cash, I suppose.
All this to say, below is the lineup of sub-$50 items I’ve recently added to my wardrobe to great effect, plus some for you to add-to-cart if you so choose. With commentary, of course!
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For starters, I had a freakout today about what to wear for my first real NYFW. I still don’t know what I’m going to wear for 90% of the events I’ll be going to, because as I’ve written, I don’t dress as well as I write, but I feel a bit better now that I’ve copped these:
I know: black for NYFW. Groundbreaking. But I’ve always loved Yang Li’s tent dresses (underrated designer in general) and passed them up on the sporadic occasions they come across my TRR feed, so the fact that this one was under $30 felt like a sign to pull the trigger. I’m randomly really feeling v-necks right now—anyone have any strong feelings for or against? I’m interested!
The Marni coat I was drawn to because its composition is 50-50 silk and wool, which immediately makes me think it’s gonna feel really nice and substantial, maybe even insulating, this fall and winter, plus its shoulder width is really small (like 14”), so I doubt I’ll have the issue that typically comes up with coats for me of the dreaded “linebacker shoulder.” I’ve never owned a collarless coat before, but I am kind of into the look and excited about how it’ll figure with turtlenecks and collared shirts. I think the fact that it’s all-black keeps it from skewing too Jackie O-feminine (not my vibe) and keeps it more in the Wednesday Addams family (lol).
I’d been thoroughly Warby Parker-pilled since getting my first pair 6 or so years ago—the fact that it has brick-and-mortar locations in NYC, plus free adjustments for life, hooked me in—but after getting one pair I thought I liked until I’d worn them for a few weeks (they were too wide), thus never wearing them outside the confines of my apartment (defeating the purpose of having them at all), I decided to try one of the cheapo online shops to minimize the risk of trying out a new style, and I’m extremely happy I did. The Zenni virtual try-on is surprisingly accurate, and the fact that I was able to get frames PLUS prescription lenses WITH blue light protection for as little as it cost was liberating.
I actually got two pairs, one an aviator silhouette I knew would work on me as I’d had similar from WP before, and both together with all the accoutrements AND shipping cost like $56. The aviators are fine (and work better when I’m writing because they’re much taller), but these rectangles are the real winners—I like that you can see my eyebrows and the shape is the perfect balance between structured and soft. I just have to learn not to look out from under the relatively short lenses, haha. Maybe the quality is a BIT lower than WP, but honestly, I don’t even know for sure—these are more than serviceable, and I can finally work my way up to fulfilling my dream of being a person who switches out their glasses depending on their look.
I’ve mentioned this watch many times on this blog newsletter, and I got mine in a random electronics store (I realllly try not to shop Amaz*n for anything save underwear, socks, and vitamins), but I can’t stress enough how many compliments it earns me and how nice it feels on my wrist. Not unwieldy at all, but not fragile in the slightest.
Oh my god, please ignore my *soaking* sweat face (I was in the subway station wearing the aforementioned chambray long-sleeve, sorry) and focus on my cap—I think it was $20 from my longtime favorite diner, B&H Dairy on the Lower East Side. As I noted in my ode to baseball caps, some of the best you can get are merch for your most beloved local businesses, though typically, like this one, they’re only available in person. I love the verdant stitching, and as a Jew who speaks Spanish, the missive is perfectly matches to me.
Another cap! This one is Weyes Blood tour merch that I offered $13 for on Depop. I like that there’s nothing but “bad magic” on the cap—no artist name or tour dates—so it’s a little more subtle and curiosity-inducing than most band merch.
I got the black trench and leopard print dress for $15 apiece at the big L Train Vintage in Bushwick. Afterward, I saw this picture of Andre 3000:
And felt completely vindicated in the trench purchase—it’s simply the best finisher for an insouciant club or party look. It makes even sweats look kind of mysterious and cool. The dress is nice because its spots are sheer, which makes it feel kind of wackily scandalous without having to tug or adjust anything to prevent a nip slip.
I picked this pajama set up for $5—it was out front on the discount rack at What Mary Kept, a tiny but surprisingly expansive vintage store with truly good prices. I saw pristine oxford shirts embroidered with tennis-playing Snoopy (I just typed Esnupi on autopilot, thanks Latine Twitter) for $32 a pop and a thoroughly beaded-bodice dress for $115—like actual, realistic prices instead of stained Champion sweatshirts for $75 each, like you’ll find in 90% of NYC vintage stores. The waistband is insanely blown out, but I’ll either get it re-elasticized or use the pants for something else, I haven’t decided yet. It’s sturdy fabric, and I’m probably going to wear the shirt on its own in daylight hours.
A better picture of the above-mentioned chambray shirt—perfect thickness, perfect shade of blue, perfect fading—plus oldie Bass Weejuns I got for $15 on Depop. One spit at the sole and I still have to get it fixed, but they’re actually sturdy enough that I’ve been able to walk in it in a pinch. I can’t wear non-orthopedic shoes for the most part, but these are relatively comfy for short distances and are the first-ever pair of loafers I’ve encountered that don’t slip off my goddamn heels when I walk (I’m one of those cursed in-between sizes). I love the color, the patina of the leather, and the tassels (an underrated loafer accoutrement).
I low-key feel nervous about posting this one, because my offer hasn’t been accepted yet, but I found the shoes I’ve waxed poetic about several times in my size for half off on… a resale site. I’ve offered $34 (down from $42)—cross your fingers for me. I REALLY need a pair of slip-ons I can ACTUALLY walk in, and these look to be nearly brand-new.
I’m not breaking any crazy ground here, but Bill Blass has some of the best archival pieces on resale sites out of all designers, especially on TRR and including loads of stuff under $50. This dress is such a beautiful shade of green that feels more mature than brat—think Persephone from Hadestown—and looks like it’d be a joy to wear.
”Lounge sets” that are explicitly not sweats/grungy pieces to never be seen by a soul, but instead are what, like, Julie Andrews would wear to entertain a lover by playing backgammon in her parlor or something, are severely underrated in this day and age. I hope a single person understands the vibe I was going for there.
This is a prescient silhouette—the slight drop waist is contemporary, but the flared skirt is a 50s callback long due for a renaissance. The super wide neckline, too—very Bye Bye Birdie.
Ok… this might be ugly. But I couldn’t take my eyes off of it! The color combo somehow feels so natural! Thoughts?
No one can make me hate tie-dye sweats, and I’ve found Proenza to have consistently good quality pieces, so I’d say this is a solid pre-winter buy.
One of my favorite b**tleggers, Nervous Designs, came out with a whole Ryuichi Sakamoto/Yellow Magic Orchestra capsule, and I’d suggest you go check it out now, because it’s gonna sell out really fast and probably never be made again. This cap will make you friends/lovers/fans.
This is funny—it’s a Chloé kids’ dress, but the seller seems to think it’d work for a tiny adult. Wanna try? It’s a $50 Chloé dress, lol!
BBP has the best quality basics on the market, and I love the grainy knit of its fisherman polos.
I’ve heard much talk of Ancient Greek sandals being pretty good quality, and I love the huge, craggy metal discs—someone with non-flat feet should snap these up.
Now that Carven’s back and more mature than ever, it’s kind of funny to look back in the cache and see all these very adolescent-coded pieces the label was coming out with a decade ago, but I personally can get behind a fuzzy sweater every once in a while, and I’d wear this one if I were feeling “Goth Paris, Texas”.
I’ve been randomly obsessed with this specific criss-cross style of halter in the past few months, perhaps owing to this Givenchy Dress I saw in Bonjour, Tristesse:
And I think velvet is an underrated fabric. I hope more designers use it next FW.
This shirt makes me think of Tobias Funke…
I like how the bottom of this sweater is slowly deteriorating. Very Mori.
Just a solid button-down for under $10—would be good with another striped shirt to turn into a shirt-skirt (shkirt?) as I’ve detailed in past posts.
Presenting this one sans comment.
Finally, a really solid Townes Van Zandt b**tleg by Bobby Michaud, one of the goats of the industry. I can’t tell if it’s just the lighting, but this shirt looks perfectly washed out, almost like it could be OG merch.
Thanks a million for reading, and as always, you better let me know via email, in the comments, or on Instagram if you end up copping anything from an Esque post so I can coo over it with you.
<3 ESK
HEARTILY agree style doesn't require a fat bank account! And thank you for my new hunting obsession: Arcopedicos
This makes me yearn for a similar green Bill Blass coat I thrifted in college. I wish I still had it. Thrifting in LA mostly sucks. I miss thrifting 15 years ago in the midwest.