The big sale at The Future Perfect was actually pretty manageable when I got there a little after noon on Friday. Expecting long lines and pushy crowds, I was pleasantly surprised by the slow trickle of bargain hunters trailing down to the basement of the Williamsburg shop. What I found in there were a few gems in a small selection of modern wares. The very pleasant and helpful salesperson said the best deals were on the Italian designers because they rarely if ever went on sale. Most items were in good condition with a few bumps and bruises, but prices were easily in the hundreds of dollars—the $5 merch advertised in the sale email was tough to find. The closest we could find were Normann, Copenhagen’s very cool and collapsible funnel ($10) and colander ($25), pictured here, both by designer Boje Estermann in green, yellow, and red. Other highlights included: (more…)

Here’s another positive outcome of the downturn: fashion magazines—and designers, too it seems—are finally paying attention to those of us with realistic fall shopping budgets. Exhibit A: a ridiculously cheap $5 cuff from Marc by Marc Jacobs, featured in a slideshow on Elle.com, where you can find a whole bunch of ways to get fall’s big runway looks—’80s chic, boudoir dressing and biker babe (in a nutshell, Alexander Wang)—for under $50.

When it comes to cheap fashion finds, all the kids are doing it. InStyle is showing makeup for under $15, Marie Claire curates 50 fall fashion trends under $100, Oprah calls its under-$100 discoveries fun fall “pick-me-ups,” Lucky has 15 of them (no offense, but that’s it?), Glamour puts a “sexy” twist on the under-$100 device. Even Vogue—where a $400 Tracy Feith bikini typically passes as a steal—has its 100 under $100 guide.

Harper’s Bazaar is in its own universe with a high fashion under $500 story—“now is the right time to treat yourself to some (affordable) style—but the mag redeems itself with a hilarious declaration—”arms are the new face!”—and a month’s worth of Saks giveaways. Whoever said there was no such thing as a free jar of Creme de la Mer?