Things under $30
“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap” — Noam Chomsky
This week, I am experiencing something I have termed Cashmageddon. It is the confluence of two very large expenses that must be paid all at once, within a day of each other: taxes on a year’s worth of freelance income from 2019 and signing a lease in NYC. It costs [inaudible] dollars. As a former assistant comptroller, I am able to put this in perspective; a giant tax bill, a security deposit, and a broker’s fee are all one-time expenses, and things will go back to normal once I am not delivering a fat stack of bills still warm from the ATM to a real estate broker twice a week. Still, managing my cash flow this month, I feel like an underprepared DJ twisting random knobs on his turntable, hoping to not produce the industrial screech of a bounced check.
Cashmageddon means I am exclusively in the market for sweet, sweet cheap stuff. Here are some of my favorite things under $30 I’ve bought semi-recently and some things I’m planning to buy.
Rugged Blue natural painter’s pants, $15.79. These are very solid, basic, off-white denim pants that can take a beating and come out fine. I got them in a 28” waist and 30” inseam, chopped off several inches of leg, and got the waist taken in.
Lil pink sunglasses, $17. This Etsy store does mostly deadstock sunglasses, and this model also comes in green and purple.
Image from Stephanie’s Midnight Boutique on eBay
I’ve been looking for matching silk sets that blur the line between loungewear and party fit, and I have my eye on this sheer purple deal ($25) and this sky blue set with little embroidered roses ($24.33). Here’s the blue one in a different size with a sheer long-sleeved top included.
I’m not proud of this, but there is a very convincing Marine Serre half-moon top knockoff circulating on eBay for $19.52. I bought one for $10.05 last year from a store that eBay has since removed, but it looks to me like the same seller. I promise to buy real Marine Serre ASAP. (This Marine Serre photoshoot, produced by GARAGE while I worked there, is one of my favorite off-kilter fashion editorials of all time!)
Can you believe this teal Cache miniskirt suit in a luxurious synthetic satin was just $7.50? The seller only had one, but please peruse your options for other affordable Cache miniskirt suits here.
Photo courtesy of the author
I bought the above vintage Nikes for $29, which a sneakerhead friend helped ID as women’s Air Monarchs from the early 2000s. If you’re buy chunky vintage sneakers for more than $30, in my opinion, you’re getting scammed — here are some good options — but since shoe glue degrades over the years, you’ll sometimes need to get the soles re-glued within the first few days of wearing. This should cost less than $15, but I have learned from experience to do it sooner rather than later.
Escali digital scale, $24.95. This is a very useful and sturdy little kitchen scale, and the pink version looks like a throat lozenge!
I want to buy the 1 like = 1 lizard hat ($26.30) from noted woman in graphic design Steph Davidson’s Zazzle store. You can also make your own Zazzle hat with custom embroidered text for about $25. (I used it to make esoteric fan merch for one of my favorite Survivor contestants.)
Buy some Kasugai gummy candies ($3.79) and keep them in a little bowl in your living room, like grandmothers do. It’s been tough recently; you deserve a treat.
I hope you enjoy these affordable items, and talk to you next week from my new home! Send cheap couch recs!