Buy Yourself Some Happy

Without having to change out of your jammies.

Tip Of The Day:  Online stores and my new fave eBay vendor.  Hint – they’re all inexpensive, because that’s how I roll.  Also?  If I’m going to pay for shipping, the item being shipped better damn well be cheap.

Tip For Tomorrow:  Cheap hobbies – what’s yours?  Is it reading books checked out from the library?  Is it repurposing household items in cute and crafty ways?  Or are you like my SIL, and have taken up knitting?  I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  For those of you who’ve hung out in The Cheap But Not Easy Empire for awhile, you know how obsessed with much I like costumes.  Halloween costumes, Ren Fest garb, Sci-Fi Con gear (hello Steampunk!) – heck, I even dabbled in the Red Hat Society just so I could dress up and wear a funky hat.  Yes, I understand you have to be over 50 to participate.  No, I didn’t last very long.  Moving on.

So it should come as no surprise that I scour the Interwebs for new and interesting costuming sites, where I can read up on/look at pretty pictures of other people’s costumes.  My new top three are this one (funny AND a great costumer), this one (she’s SCA/Steampunk/Ren Fest lovin’ gal like me), and this one (Jen Thompson is a costuming GOD).  I also love my BFF Larue’s costumes (dur – she makes all my gear, of course I’m appreciative of her work), and my buddy Missa’s awesome site, loaded with costume-sewing knowledge.

But the site I am completely addicted to is this one.  Not only do I like the costuming ideas, but folks are constantly posting links to cool online stores I’ve never heard of before, as well as reminding me of old favorites I haven’t visited in awhile.  Here is just a taste of the cheap and fabulous sites they’ve shared:

Web Sites A-Go-Go

1.  This one’s for the boys.  It’s a wholesale site for men’s formal wear and formal service wear.  Need an inexpensive tux?  Going back into the service industry and need a new uniform?  Enjoy mixing formal pieces with your regular gear (like that high-low look women have been doing for years)?  Want your very own Indiana Jones hat for less?  Then this is the store for you!  Plus, they have women’s formal service uniforms like tuxedo shorts (!) for $16, and proper chef’s jackets for less than $9.

Personally?  I want the Basic Top Hat for $21.95.

2.  Need a new watch?  Want one that doesn’t look like everyone else’s?  Want it to cost less than $30?  Want oodles of choices and the chance to find clearance watches for $5 or less (when available)?  ME, TOO.  That’s why I squee’d with joy when I saw this link.  And now I’m saving my pennies for this:

3.  My BFF HaC has been shopping online at Newport News for year, where she always finds the cutest stuff at ridiculously low prices.  Now I know why – NNews has 90% of their offerings on sale 90% of the time.  You have to TRY to buy something at full price.  And the more you shop with NNews, the more they reward your loyalty with coupons, additional discounts, and occasional breaks on shipping.

With any luck, this jacket with be clearanced off for less than its current sale price of $79.99.  It screams “Angelina Jolie jumping out the window in Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” doesn’t it?

4.  Do you have $15 just BURNING a hole in your pocket?  Then I strongly recommend you head over to the 15 Dollar Store and get those fiery funds spent.  Everything they sell is marked down from $50, $75, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FREAKING DOLLARS to just – you guessed it – 15 bucks.  Damn.  Now THAT is a good deal, my friends.

Warning:  Before you fall in love with something, make sure they have it in your size.  Because this is a closeout site, they don’t have a ton of sizing options, and plus-size gear is very limited.  For example, I fell in love with this formerly $144 jacket, and they only have it in Small.  ARGH.

5.  And last, but not least, my new favorite seller on eBay.  He may have a lame-o user name (ulooksexy, ugh), but his jewelry is sooooooo lovely, and sooooooo inexpensive, even when you throw in shipping.  He makes Victorian/Scottish/Ren Fest/Piratey brooches and necklaces, all for under $10 an item.  And these puppies are both BIG and PRETTY.  You know how I feel about my sparkly objects being large.  Bigger is better, folks.  Also?  If you lose out on an auction, chances are, he’ll re-list the same piece in a day or two.  And you can always e-mail him to ask if he’ll recreate a by-gone piece, or create a new style just for you.

Question O’ The Day:  What is your favorite frugal online store?