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Reader Question: Lauren

Q. I just…read your post about disclosure, and I just wanted you to know how much I love the blog and that I think you’re doing a fabulous job! I think one of my favorite things about Ramshackle Glam is that you don’t try to be an expert. Lord knows that there are soo many blogs out there written by people claiming to be experts on this that and the other thing!

So it’s refreshing to read a blog where someone basically says “I’m normal, I know what works for me, and now I’m going to share it so maybe someone else can learn from this!” That being said I would love it if you would do a post on some great places to shop in the city on a limited budget. I know you’re a big fan of TJ Maxx, but maybe you can suggest some other cool places that are equally wallet friendly?

A. Of course! When it comes to shopping, I’m a bit of a creature of habit: I gravitate towards stores where I can buy on the cheap and then tailor my finds to my liking (like I did with this KMart dress). That said, I have a few more favorite shops on my quick-fix list.

- Salvation Army, 46th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. Best for furniture, but if you’ve got time to sift through rack after long rack, you’re sure to come away with some great pieces (on a recent trip, I found a Marc Jacobs-esque silk blouse and a few perfect button-downs for Kendrick).

- Coup de Coeur, 789 9th Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets (for other locations, click HERE). My one-stop shop if evening plans arise at the last minute. A ton of gorgeous cocktail dresses in the $30-$50 range, and jewelry that’s way less expensive than it looks.

- Outcasts, 660 10th Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets. Fabulous vintage store in Hell’s Kitchen (with fun extras like china and purses).

- Daffy’s, of course.

- Madewell, 486 Broadway at Broome Street. Like J.Crew for the hipsterish crowd; not super-inexpensive, but it’s worth spending a little more for their tiny floral prints, perfectly cut shorts, and soft denim button-downs.

- So Good Jewelry, 448 Broadway just south of Grand Street. A virtual warehouse of incredible finds, from bangles to barrettes, and my go-to shop for purse hooks.



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May 28th, 2010 | Posted by Jordan | Play | 12 Comments »
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  • Reader Lauren

    You're disclosure has been minimal since you branched out on your own.

    Absolutely you are not an expert on anything, so why are you speaking at the Women in Tech event?

  • Debbie

    Used to live in Hell's Kitchen – I think Coup de Coeur stuff (other than the jeans) is OVERPRICED and CHEAP QUALITY! Seriously, the dresses are mostly poorly made yet sold for $50 – which in the world of graduate students is not inexpensive! :(

  • jordanreid

    You think? I find the dresses really well priced for how gorgeous they are; ABS dresses look similar, and they're in the $250-$400 range.

  • jordanreid

    One caveat: I have noticed that the “gold” jewelry at Coup de Coeur doesn't last for more than a few wearings; it's very beautiful, but not a particularly great investment.

  • hjb

    FYI, madewell ecom just (yay!) went live as of yesterday, too! http://www.madewell.com

  • http://www.bekindworkhard.tumblr.com/ Jessy Rawls

    When I was young my mom dragged me to TJ Maxx all the time and I always hated it. After a few of your posts about it I decided I'd give it another try. Well…I've spent over $200 there just this week lol (and that's a lot for a poor college student.) The best part is I got so many different pieces for $200, I'd probably spend double that anywhere else for the amount of things I bought. I'm definitely a Maxxonista now because of your posts :)

  • http://goodhairkimluck.blogspot.com/ Kim

    I absolutely LOVE Madewell (especially the footwear, actually!), but the price point kind of drives me insane. I don't know how to comprehend it, if that makes sense – for a J.Crew offshoot with a hipper edge but a gentler price tag, and generally equal quality (if I had to give an edge, it would be to Madewell, actually), I still find the inventory rather pricey for what it is – but then you've got Net-A-Porter going so far as to carry J.Crew now, which means their rep is obviously up … it's perplexing! I don't mind paying high for something I want, but at the same time I'd never put J.Crew/Madewell in line with, say, Lanvin, so I don't know what to think of the consistent increase in pricing.

    So Good is a great rec as well. The Newbury Street shop in Boston basically singlehandedly accessorized me for 4 years.

  • Jackie

    Jordan,

    I'm an avid reader (and fan) of your blog, and I really appreciate what you're trying to do here. That said, I have to say that this post is really odd, and frankly, rather off-putting. Everything besides the last sentence of Lauren's email is completely superfluous to the content of this post. If you're going to post about wallet-friendly shopping, all you needed to include was her question about where to shop. Instead, you decided to include two totally unrelated — and self-congratulatory-sounding — paragraphs about your disclosure policy and whatnot. How does that enhance the post? In my opinion, it doesn't. In fact, I feel it takes away from what could otherwise be a rather informative post. While you may say that you just wanted to include Lauren's email in its entirety, to me, including this unneeded content screams of trying to defend yourself against your “haters.” It feels very Julia Allison. Indeed, if this blog suffers from anything, it's that you seem to try so hard to avoid criticism and are really defensive when it comes your way. But what you post is generally really good, so why get so caught up in the negativity? I know it's easier said than done, but have some confidence in yourself. When you do, it'll come across in your content — it works the opposite way as well, e.g. how this post is terrible due to your lack of confidence.

    Sorry if this sounded harsh, but this post was just so weird that I had to say something.

    J

  • jordanreid

    Hey Jackie,
    I get what you're saying, and I suppose I showed a bit of vulnerability by wanting to put up something (by which I mean the first half of this email) for no other reason that to make myself happy, but hey – a complete and total inability to be opaque is sort of my specialty ;) . I guess it just made me feel good to have someone state their appreciation for what I'm doing in such simple, clear terms – since, as I'm sure you know, a constant onslaught of criticism is pretty much part and parcel of putting your life on the internet. Posting the first part of this email was sort of like forwarding a nice email to my mom or to Kendrick (which I sometimes do, too :) . Except this time I wanted to forward it to everyone…because it felt akin to doing something nice for myself, and I don't think that that's a bad or an unhealthy thing to do on occasion.

  • jordanreid

    Agree – the place is a little too expensive, but their stuff is just so cute I can't resist.

  • Xia

    It is totally unhealthy given the other sides of you. You total inability to take criticism and feeling that everything you do is so special, so done-for-the-first-time, when it's painfully obvious you are so, so, so new to this and have no idea what you are doing and what you are expert in. Then again you went from majoring in cog sci to actressdom to this, so maybe you've never known.

  • lacyinthesky

    My two cents: I've never felt that Jordan writes about her experiences with enthusiasm because she thinks she's special. Instead, I get the impression that she does so because she just enjoys them.

    I'm trying to avoid the temptation to get all, “someone is being unreasonable on the internet,” but getting upset at really harsh personal attacks is pretty natural, even if they do come from strangers and relate to stuff you have freely decided to tell lots of other people. (Hell, I feel a twinge of self-consciousness about even having my photo up with an internet name here, something I do rarely.) We're all terribly flawed, you know? The world would be a better place if we tried to be kinder about it.