Cheap Thrill: Danny Roberts Prints.

Danny Roberts' fashion illustration is the kind of thing that makes magazines everywhere worth buying. They are the kind of magazine art that I would normally carefully separate from the glue binding of the major monthly mag, trim up, and give prime position on my four walls with a tack.

It turns out that I don't have to tear and trim the flimsy magazine paper. Roberts sells prints of his illustrations online. And, he signs and number them--perfect keepsakes. They mostly come in two sizes, a 9x13 print for about $100, or an 8x11 print for...wait for it...$20! A Jackson for a high quality, signed and numbered, archival print of a very talented, nationally published fashion illustrator's work? That's a deal of beauty.

If your walls need some dressing up, or if you know a friend (are we friends? I think we are!!! ;)) who is in love with fashion and pretty pictures, your gift is set.

You can peruse Danny's brilliant work on his site Igor + Andre, and you can purchase it through his Etsy Shop, The Danny Roberts Art Store. You can also pick up Danny's work wherever Harajuku Lovers bags are sold. This piece of work will cost you a bit more than $20, but you'll be able to carry it around and put things in it.

And now, for fun, you can watch Mr. Roberts draw a self portrait in time lapse. Why not, right?

Cheap Thrill: Plane Earrings

This is the time of year that I get that itch to travel. I have no current plans to do so, and would need corporate sponsorship per mile to go anywhere outside of the five boroughs or Jersey. So, instead of hopping on a plane, I'm gonna let my ears take flight and pick 'em up a pair of jet earrings from Fabuluster's Etsy Shop. It's the little things sometimes.

Cheap Thrill: Parisian Chic

When I think of Paris, I think of two things: how much I love everything about it, and This 2006 cover of T Magazine featuring Sofia Coppola and a pair of hot pink, plastic Eiffel Tower earrings:

In fact, this is one of my favorite magazine covers. The stark pop of pink dangling from Sofia's ear is such a great contrast to the subtle softness of the rest of the photo. See the faded Tour de Eiffel in the background? That serious icon gets a perfectly post-modern dunk in colorful, playful electric strawberry plastic. It's a great play on the tension between the Parisian preference for all things traditional and their constant dedication to stretching and molding the rules to find what's nouvelle, especially in fashion. Anyways, enough analysis. A recent Times article about a few proposed plans for possible architecture projects in and around Paris brought this image to mind. All it really does is make me want a pair of plastic eiffels of my own, so I went inter-hunting.

These super cute gold ones from Girl Props may do the trick.

They are 3-D danglers. If you don't mind a pancaked version, and are feeling crafty enough to string 'em yourself, you can get fantastic plastic tour charms in a few great colors.

You get a dozen charms for $4.50 from The Plastic Shop so you can do a bunch of Paris pairs for not a bunch of money. Like it? "Oui, oui," says moi.

Cheap Thrill: Kung Fu Shoes

I'm a fan of the Kung Fu Mary Jane. It's a classic, and no matter what's in or out, slipping your toesies into a pair of those babies solves the footwear issue in a comfy, cute way. I was recently contemplating purchasing a pair I saw at Urban Outfitters, when I thought to myself, "Ya know what? I can get these in Chinatown for half of the $18 bucks they want here in Coolville." So I put 'em down, and resolved to fine me the real deal for less dough. Well, wouldn't you know, I hit pay dirt.

On a recent rainy day I found myself on an unfamiliar stretch of 6th Avenue with some time to kill. All of the sudden huge stores stocked to the brim with crazy boxes of bright bric-a-brac, like panda plush toys, bamboo figurines, paper parasols, and barking/flipping wind-up doggy toys were calling my name. I found it! The land of Chinatown wholesale! And right there in the front of Yung Kee Trading Inc. were big boxes of kung-fu shoes in every color! And, they were $24 a dozen. That's $2 a pair. Yeah, you do have to buy 12 pairs, but you can mix and match and pick as many colors, styles, and sizes as you want. Grab 11 friends and make a day of it, or pick up a few pairs for your lovely lady friends. Or, get the goods and turn 'em around for a profit. Exciting? If you think so, hit me up and we'll have a field trip.

Cheap Thrill: Map? Scarf? Both.

When I was a little girl I would dress up to cross the bridge or tunnel from Jersey to New York City. I had to look my best for it, and every single time I emerged from the darkness of a tunnel or descended from the heights of a bridge and came into this amazing city I would get goosebumps. I've loved this concrete jungle circus and all of it's wild craziness my whole life. Maps of the city make me happy, I can get lost in them forever, watching the lines of the blocks intersect and the downtown streets crisscross something crazy. That's why I'm a lovin' the New York handkerchief I found at Muji the other day. It's a map for my neck, or my head, or my pocket. I can look at it all the time. I can consult it when I feel lost or sad. It's $10. It's great.

Cheap Thrill: Missing Links

Cufflinks are one of those man treats that I want to co-opt. I know, you men get so few decorative elements to call your own, but they are too fun not to share and remember, sharing is caring. In an attempt to look up the price of the MoMA's classic hugging S+P shakers (love those little buggers), I clicked upon a set of super-cool fingerprint cufflinks from the store's Destination: Seoul collection, which highlights designs from South Korea. I want to press those to my wrists. I need some cufflink ready shirts now. French cuffs now! Here, I can get them here! This excites me. The fingerprint pair is only $12, that excites me more. Excitement overload.

Cheap Thrill: Sugar-Free Sweets

I'm all for love, I mean it makes the world go round, right? There is however one specific, kind of love-related challenge I face around this time of year. I don't partake of the sweeter things in life that go in one's mouth. No sugar for me. That means no chocolate, no sweetheart candies, no cherry cordials. No, please don't feel bad, this actually makes my life infinitely sweeter than it would be otherwise. Besides, I don't really miss it, well, except on days devoted to it, like a certain chocolatier's dream day called Valentine's that's right around the corner. V-Day is a minefield of melty madness for a sugar-free gal, so I figured I'd compile a sweet list of safe items from FredFlare.com that will get you some lovin', and raise lip corners instead of blood sugar levels.

Faux-Coco Magnets ($12), and a Sprinkle Ring ($11)



Softie Heart Toy ($20), and some Lip Smackin' Bandages ($9)


A Lipstick Pen ($5)

Sugarless Girls need love too!

Click any image for ordering details and more information. Happy pre-V-Day.

Cheap Thrill: Yes We Cardigans!

I think cardigans are the fashion goddesses's gift to stylish girls who live in climates with four seasons. They are the perfect answer to the cold induced questions, "What do I wear when it's 17 degrees outside but a sweltering heat box inside?" Or, "What do I wear when the global warming kicks in and it's 53 degrees in the daytime and 27 degrees by 7pm?" Or, "What can I wear when I'm eating pizza on a ski lift?" Cardigans, I tell you! Cardigans. And, lucky for us there are sales galore on cute button-up sweaters. Check out these sweet steal deals from (ahem...) Delias and (ahem, ahem...) Alloy:

I know the photos are super cheesy, and I haven't shopped at dELiAs since I was Mom-drop-me-off-at-the-mall years old. But, all of these useful, layerable items are under $20 (some are even $7.99!) So click away and get ordering. That's an order.

Cheap Thrill: Dreaming

Ever since I met a brother and sister pair in the subway named Debbie and Harry (no joke, parents were major fans) the other day, my head has been absolutely swimming with Blondie songs, and it's worked wonders for my mood. In an effort to keep y'all happy and shiny in the face of projected nationwide pennilessness, I present the sage words of one of pop culture's most significant peroxide-tressed pop stars, Miss Deborah Harry: "Dreaming, dreaming is free..." I think that could be all we need to know in life. So, here's a recipe for happy: Watch this video of Debbie in a boob-baring teal number until it makes you smile, which I don't think will take very long.



Then rinse and repeat until you are dancing. Happy for free?! Yes, we can.

Cheap Thrill: Pretty Girls

Irena Sophia does pretty drawings of pretty girls in pretty dresses. Prints of these lovelies can be yours for a very reasonable $20 via her Etsy shop.

They are so delicate and pretty that I hate calling them a cheap thrill. Don't take it personally girls, I don't mean it that way! Click any image for ordering information.

All images are copyright IrenaSophia Art Studio. All rights reserved by artist.

Cheap(er) Thrill: Steven Alan

Steven Alan has a pretty little shop on my almost daily walking route through the West Village and every time I pass the storefront I feel a little pang of want for what they've got. When I was in a wardrobe rut, a perfectly well meaning friend suggested I peruse the boutique and pick up some of the super-cute shirtdresses they are known for. That suggestion got me into the store, and the $265 price tags hanging off of the indeed super-cute shirt dresses started my unrequited love affair with the window. I would leave my hot breath on the glass a few days a week and keep walking. But recently, on a masochistic whim I went into the store and discovered that there were deep price cuts on most of the cute stuff. Springy shirtdresses weren't on the menu, but great coats were and they were 70% off.

The coats above are still not chump change, the anorak on the left is $89 and the wool pea coat on the right is $99, but compare that to original prices of $285 and $350, and you can see the source of my excitement. Coats (especially cute, well-fitting, practical, weather appropriate ones) are always a good investment. So this isn't the cheapest thrill you'll find, but it may be the smartest. The disappointing thing is that the stocks are limited and sizes are running out, but click above to get yourself one while you can. Also, be sure to check out the other deals in the sale section. Finally, a crush that came true!

Cheap Thrill: Just Write

One of my New Year's Resolutions (I'm bettering my odds of keeping at least one by having many!) is to write more old-school letters.

I actually received this pretty little stationery set from my Aunt Katie a while back which will make letter writing so much more likely because I love it so much. Seeing as it was a gift, I didn't know where she scooped it up, but I just came across the set on much-loved site fredflare.com. The paper looks like vintage dress pattern packets and there are little matching envelopes and fashion-themed closure stickers. So cute. So affordable. So happy-making.

Gift It: Kiss Me. Now.

A friend's red pout caught my eye last night. She confirmed that a swipe of red lipstick and a simple coat of mascara are all of the things a makeup look should be: fun, glam, flattering, and gorgeous. She said her red was a shade that works on her and all of her friends, regardless of their coloring. A red for all? I like it.

Her scarlet weapon is Nars Lipstick in Manhunt and at $24 it is slightly over the Gift It limit, but you'll get that $4 back in smooch karma when Manhunt does its job and the kisses start coming. Get yourself some by clicking the image above.

Gift It: Pic in a Box.

Pinhole cameras are magical. They are so lo-fi that little kids routinely make them out of oatmeal canisters in third grade, yet they can take incredible photos worthy of gallery space. The basic idea behind them is simple. You prick a hole in a light-tight structure that has some film inside. Then you place the structure in a light-filled space and expose it to something you want a lasting image of. Then you safely wind up your film in a dark closet and drop it in a developer's box. In short order you go and pick up your pics and marvel at your product.

Now you could just make one out of an old Quaker Oats container, but there are actually some super-cool pinhole camera templates available on the Corbis website.

The downloadable templates get adhered to an opened, flattened cereal box and then cut and folded and reassembled according to the directions. I'm not saying this will be easy, but provided you have an empty cereal box and some film laying around, it has the potential to be free. Also, how friggin' cool do those look? If you get through the directions, I'm sure the right friend, family member, or even stranger would be superbly impressed and grateful. Plus, they could possibly create images like the ones below which were made using these pinhole cameras and come courtesy of the Corbis site:

You'll notice that the pinhole pics have quirks and fuzziness and odd coloring, but that is the biggest part of their charm. Just be sure to acquaint your gifted ones with the finished pinhole products so that they don't have unrealistic expectations. Happy snapping.