NYC Cheap Thrills

Off the top of my head, I can name a host of exclusively American stores that inspire consumer's envy among us Canadian chicas: Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, Forever 21, Target, Abercrombie & Fitch, Anthropologie, etc. I got my first taste of Anthropologie on Thursday when I ventured into Soho. Today I got to relieve some more of that consumer's envy while satisfying my desire for cheap chic: I went to the Target at Atlantic Junction in Brooklyn and the Forever 21 in Union Square.

The "buy for quality and longevity" attitude that I now have has spoiled these stores for me. I poked and prodded, examined tags for fabrication details, pulled at seams and buttons with the utmost dubiousness. There were racks of things I didn't even want to touch or look at. And of the cheapie wool coats I would consider for a fleeting moment, none of them felt as nice or looked as good on the hanger as my new Anthropologie coat.

Despite my misgivings, I wound up with tons of stuff I tried on in multiple fitting room sessions. A pile of a dozen plus items narrowed down to 3 from each store. Here's my haul for today.

Target

This Mossimo jacket with a high collar, blossom-embellished silver buttons, and silver-and-white fabric was one of the first items I reached for, and one of the only ones I kept after my fitting room sessions. It'd look great with a black tee, jeans, and flats.

I like how this top looks very demure from the front, but from the back you can see an exposed zipper--just a slight touch to toughen up the sweetness.

This Mossimo skirt looks best with a top tucked in so that the pleats and gathers around the waist are visible. It looked great with the black top I bought!

Forever 21

I LOVE these high-waisted shorts with the sailor-inspired button details. When I tried them on, I was wearing tights and knee-high black leather boots; the combination looked amazing. But these shorts would look equally amazing with a white tee, a statement necklace, and black patent peep-toe heels and clutch at night, don't you think?

The navy top had some neat trim detail along the edge and a hood in the back. I bought the necklace to use as a statement necklace or as a belt on skirts, dresses, and jeans. If I ever get sick of using the necklace as a necklace/belt, I'm pretty sure I can take the chains off and glue the art deco-inspired pearl piece to a pin and turn it into a brooch.