This sweater was just one cent. No, really.

Picture it. Spring, 2008. The euro was trouncing the dollar. The Democratic party was in turmoil, split between the experienced vanguard and the young upstart. I had just survived the fourth round of layoffs at my job. And I was sitting on a $40 Bloomingdales gift card that a family member had given me the previous Christmas. All I needed was a whimsical but chic Marc Jacobs top at 60 percent off and the world would be right.

At the time, I actually lived near the uptown Bloomingdales store. I’d stop in frequently with the gift card, quickly realizing the only floor I could afford was the second and that the only time to go was Monday evenings right before close, after the Eurotrash had moved on from their shopping to the 8pm shows in Times Square. But being just $40, the gift card made buying anything a challenge. As a rule, I do not spend more than $10 on any cosmetic or undergarment, nor do I believe in paying for fragrance — it’s all around you. A Marc Jacobs top was never more than 20 percent off: out of my price league. Those G-darn Euros and their socialist spending, maintaining New York retail prices!

So I had nothing to buy. Sniffle.

Then one warm day my coworker pal Stephanie said she needed to find a dress. Would I accompany her to Bloomingdales after work? Sure. Stephanie tried on many things on the second floor while I listlessly fumbled through the winter clearance racks, full of fug unwanted fashion. Then I saw it: a lovely gray v-neck lightweight cashmere sweater. Long, but with shape. There was no price tag. It had to be around $40, I figured. I tried it on. It was warm but breathed. It hung well, enough to cover a Chipotle-filled stomach but still shapely enough to hint at a feminine body.

Stephanie and I approached the register. I started to reach for the gift card. “How much is this?” I asked the sales person. I set the gift card on the counter.

She looked at the tag and entered in some numbers. A slow smile emerged on her face. “You won’t need that.” Then she gently petted the cashmere and her benign amusement turned into painful restraint.

“What?”

“This is only a penny.”

“Um. What?”

“It’s a penny. I swear.”

“Um. Uh. What?”

Stephanie interjected. “WHY?”

“It’s too old to be on the floor. It must’ve been returned a long time ago. All merchandise that’s on the floor but is too old to be in our system is a penny. It’s policy.”

Stephanie’s jaw dropped. Expletives were uttered. High-fives happened. I dropped the shiny copper coin on the counter and fled the store, fearful that God would strike me dead. I wore it well into summer, even though I sweltered, never failing to gracefully mention in conversation how little I’d paid for it. It was hand-washed in the sink with Woolite. People who know me still ask: Is that the penny sweater? I nod smugly.

Before I moved to Brooklyn last year, I often roamed the crowded racks between Lexington and Third looking for lightening to strike twice. It hasn’t. But oh, look: the euro is still resilient. There’s always the Soho store.

We’d heard good things (and some not so good things) about American Place, a six-store chain stretching across South Brooklyn, not to be confused with the creepy doll store or the perv-owned t-shirt company. After seeing some stylish evidence firsthand, we decided to stop into the McDonald Avenue location, right outside the Avenue P train station on the F line.

American Place houses items from Marc Jacobs to Burberry to Versace, all marked down at least 40%. At first glance, it looks a bit shabby and abandoned, set amid McDonald Avenue’s unglamorous mechanic shops and lumber stores. When I visited on a weekday afternoon, not many people were passing through — all the easier for me to get to the good stuff. 

The American Place branch I visited has three floors for women’s, men’s and kid’s fashions and a partner store across the street for furniture and home goods (closed when I visited). Despite its many departments, the selection is significantly smaller than TJ Maxx or Century 21, and you might be forced to do a little digging to find your size.

My first discovery: a Freshine tunic (above) for $33.95. I’d never heard of them either, but I couldn’t resist this top. The metallic print is perfect for a night out or paired with a blazer to add some personality to an office outfit.

I did a little happy dance when I stumbled upon this artfully rumpled trench (above) from We The Free, discounted from $148 to $44. This piece is extremely versatile and with the warm weather finally here, it’s a great find for spring. BYO Buttons.

Everyone has that one crazy thing they buy when they go shopping and this one was mine. Just past the Jessica Simpson bags and Harajuku Lovers totes, was this Guess corset top for $39. You can liven up the right jacket and skirt with a bit of Sandy’s look from Grease.

I also spied a J. Crew-ish, coral-embroidered DKNY cardigan, marked down from $95.20 to $29. A bright yet classic closet staple.

American Place also had a wide selection of clothes for men as well. Half of the bottom floor was filled with designer men’s suits at affordable prices, starting at $95.

I wrapped up my trip with a stop in the shoe department. I saw Stuart Weitzman pumps at $125 along with a pair of Chuck Taylor All-Stars for $36. Not such great bargains.

If you can get past the dreary location, you might find American Place is worth a visit. As with any discount store, you have to know what you’re looking for, and I left with a decent haul and a worthwhile new destination for my shopping shortlist. I’ll be back.

Photo from BoCoCaLand

Deep discounts and sales are all well and good, but to really lure the shoppers in? Freebies, dear store-owners. Freebies. (And they best be good—not those calendars from the local real estate office). Case in point: the free manicures Shen Beauty is offering to its holiday shoppers this Thursday, Dec. 2. The Court St. beauty shop, writes BoCoCaLand, is offering manicures and “light fare” between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. to keep you presentable and energized while you’re perusing the shelves. There’s also a sale going on and some other holiday-themed stuff… which we’ll let you read all about here. Shen Beauty, 315 Court St. between Sackett and Degraw Sts., Carroll Gardens.

via BoCoCaLand

Everything tastes sweeter in a Brokelyn t-shirt. Looking sharp, Mike!

If you’ve ever confronted that age-old fashion dilemma — Whatever do I wear to a casserole party? — Mike of the blog Brooklynauts has the answer for you. That’s him at left, rocking our newest Brokelyn t-shirt style at a fun-looking potluck we’ll forgive him for not inviting us to because he’s doing such a fine job repping the Brokelyn colors. If you have a casserole party / pie bakeoff  / other reason to wear a shirt / in your near future, why not make like Mike and proudly don your own Brokelyn t-shirt? They also make great holiday gifts because the out-of-towners love ‘em as much as locals do.

Bird is having a benefit party for City Harvest at its three Brooklyn stores, featuring raffle prizes from Frankie’s Spuntino, The Farm on Adderly, Blue Ribbon, Brooklyn social, and other places we’d love to win a raffle ticket to — plus 15 percent off all merch, which includes labels like Alexander Wang, Martin Margiela and A.P.C. Watch the wine if you want to emerge with your credit score intact. Stores in Park Slope, Cobble Hill and Williamsburg. Click here for addresses.

Re/Dress NYC, an ample gal’s vintage and modern resale shop, is throwing a party/protest: Fill out a postcard or video blog to sponsor the campaign that’s highlighting the lack of attention paid to size 14s. Everyone who participates gets a shopping incentive and the first 50 guests get a gift bag. 109 Boerum Pl., between Pacific and Dean Sts., Boerum Hill.

Hayden-Harnett is having a live broadcast with Newtown Radio while you have drinks with the designers and a chance to win $250 gift certificate, scarf or Ibiza tote. 211 Franklin St. at Freeman St., Greenpoint.

Dalaga will have champagne, free totes and Brooklyn designers on-hand. Any purchase puts you in the raffle to win a $200 goodie bag. 150 Franklin St. between Kent St. and Greenpoint Ave., Greenpoint.

In God We Trust will have free tattoos, caricatures and custom wallet stamping along with drinks and a dj. Also, in collaboration with The Parlour Brooklyn, there will be straight razor shaves. 70 Greenpoint Ave. Greenpoint.

Kingdom, home of Brooklyn Royalty, is throwing a blowout event at the Knitting Factory with live music, video, photography, models and designers, specialty cocktails and more. 361 Metropolitan Ave. at Havemeyer Ave. and N. 4th St., Williamsburg.

Market Publique‘s the place to show off your own fashion that night out: Get your outfit photographed by one of their street style photographers to win a gift certificate in the Best Outfit Contest. 177 N. 10th St. between Bedford and Driggs Aves., Williamsburg.

Sir will be featuring a “window set” by singer Alexa Wilding, along with designer Joanna Baum and new collection from the SOCIETY of LES. 129 Bedford Ave. at N. 10th St., Williamsburg.

We do! This ring from the Claypot made the cut.

When you’ve found the dame of your dreams, you want to give her the engagement ring of hers: one her friends will gush over, her family will discuss at the dinner table, and her cousin studying abroad will demand to see pics of on Facebook. While not everyone’s into mega-rocks (thankfully for you) even the most non-trad alterna girl wants a ring that she considers beautiful—whatever her taste may be. And you don’t have to eviscerate your savings accounts to find it. With a maximum budget of $1,000, we visited local jewelry stores in search of some baubles for every kind of Brooklyn bride.

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Fashiony
Andie Woo Gowanus 251 Smith St. 718-694-9336
Don’t be distracted by the lingerie, hand bags and home decor, the jewelry here is amazing. From as close as the diamond district and as far as Germany is a solid selection of reasonably priced gems. Our favorites were a citrine-and-diamond ring set in yellow gold for $456, and a white gold ring with a circle of chocolate diamonds for $523. The uber-sparkly set of three diamond flowers atop a white gold band for $448 gets honorable mention.

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Modern
The Clay Pot Park Slope
167 7th Ave 800-989-3579
Carla Caruso has a great set of organic stackable rings, each with one (or even better, two!) bezel-set diamonds on a 14k gold band priced at $866. Brooklyn-based designer Marian Maurer caught our eye with her $800 Armilla ring (above), as did a $830 smokey topaz

stunner by Ray Griffiths.

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DIY
Elleven Jewelry, 168 Court St., Cobble Hill, 718-624-2611
Understated is the theme at this Cobble Hill shop that doesn’t have a fancy web site to go with their fancy jewelry. However, their on-site studio lets buyers name their own budget, and will design a ring to your liking, drawing from their own collection of stones or even your own family heirlooms.

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Traditional
Facets
Park Slope 97 7th Ave #A 718-638-3898
Some of the pieces here induced sticker shock, but that didn’t keep us from looking. We were excited to find a delicate ruby ring for just $750 (right), as well as a few Art Deco pieces from the 1920s and 30s in the $850 range.

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Boho
Norbu Williamsburg 218 Bedford Ave. 718-302-8830
There’s a ton of great jewelry in this store, but most of it doesn’t scream “I do!” The exception: a small collection of antique-ish rings imported from India. Ranging from $565-958, most have more than one metal (white gold on rose gold, oxidized silver on yellow gold, etc.) and intricate designs accented by small diamonds.

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Indie
Catbird Williamsburg 219 Bedford 718-599-3457
This artsy Williamsburg shop is filled with stuff hipsters won’t hate—like the Vampress ring—a miniature set of vampire fangs “biting” onto a brillian-cut stone. Prices start at $800, and rings can be customized to include the stone and metal of your choosing. For the earth-mother, we spotted a twig-shaped ring wrapped around a marquis diamond for $650 and a diamond-accented earthworm ring for $675.

Big thanks to our friend Jessica Dodell-Feder for sending us this tip. If you’re a merchant, local craftsperson or a reader with a fun find for our growing list, please send photos and descriptions to faye [at] brokelyn [dot] com. And check the site every day through Christmas for our latest additions.

Order a pigeon feather in a test tube here, and if you’re a merchant, local craftsperson or a reader with a great find for this daily post, please send photos and descriptions to faye [at] brokelyn [dot] com. And check the site every day through Christmas for our latest additions.

The author boards the bus. Photos by Eric Reichbaum.

Ikea is practically its own sovereign Swedish colony on the banks of the Gowanus Bay. So it only makes sense that the store has its own intricate system of transit involving everything save for aircraft (so far, at least). But which mode of transport is the best for you? And by that, of course, we mean: which one is the cheapest? Herein then we lay out the specific costs of all the different ways to transport your Ektorp or Aspelund back to your apartment so you can choose smartly, and not fall into the fjord of poor decisions.

To standardize the results, we picked a set address, that of the now-fabled “stash spot” from Jay-Z’s banger “Empire State of Mind,” 560 State St. And we picked a standard item to test across all platforms: the Kullen, a three-door beast of a wardrobe that comes in two boxes and clocks in at $149 dollars and 228 pounds, which we choose as a fair representative of a difficult-to-transport item (and maybe hoping for some accidental search traffic for New Moon fans).

ONLINE DELIVERY

Total Cost: $149

Not to come off as biased or anything, but if you choose to have your item delivered directly from Ikea’s Web site, you are D-U-M dumb. Getting our Kullen delivered from Ikea.com comes out to a whopping $149—a 100 percent shipping fee, meaning you could get two Kullens (Kulli?) for the same price!!

Plus the earliest delivery we could get was in eight to 11 days, and only during weekday business hours, when we’re never home.

If you still wish to choose this option, please instead send $148 to Tim Donnelly, c/o Brokelyn.com, and he will personally pick up your item from the store and bring it to your doorstep on the very same day along with a complimentary package of Swedish meatballs.

GYPSY CABS

Total cost: $25-35 for a van

Typically, a crowd of guys with vans and cars station themselves across the street from the store (and sometimes hand out cards at the Borough Hall shuttle stop), offering to take your junk home. You have to approach them with all the subtlety of a drug deal, and they speak in whispered tones.

Downside: Dealing with unlicensed delivery folks has its risks. Plus, prices may vary depending on who’s out there. And we bet getting them to climb the flights of stairs will involve extra dough.

The shuttle: comfy seats, free ride, lets you off nowhere you need to go.

IKEA SHUTTLE

Total cost: Free

The complimentary shuttle runs to Smith and 9th, 4th and 9th and Borough Hall subway stations from 3pm to 9pm daily Monday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. While it’s free, odds are it doesn’t take you anywhere near your door.

Downside: One time, this summer, my roommate and I were on the shuttle carrying a futon chair and a bag full of goodies when the thing broke down, stranding us in some godforsaken part of Red Hook for 40 minutes. We ended up having to call a cab anyway because the replacement shuttle was nowhere in sight.

CRAIGSLIST

Total cost: Prices are all over the board, with some listed as $50 per hour with a two-hour minimum to $30 per hour, to some that invite you to just make an offer.

Craigslist is loaded with ads for man-with-a-van guys willing to take you home from Ikea under the services labor/move section. Prices here vary wildly, as do spelling and punctuation. Some say they will bring blankets, dollies and other things to help the move and others offer assembly services.

Downside: It’s Craigslist, so you’re walking the fine line between cheapness and downright sketchiness. For all you know, this could be the person who comes to pick you up.

U-HAUL

Total cost: About $30 for up to two hours (including your gas expense); $19.95 an hour and 99 cents a mile after that (plus gas).

The store has a U-Haul desk stationed by the exit for your convenience. Both vans and trucks are available and the flat rate is $9.95 an hour for up to two hours.

Downside: A whole U-Haul truck or van may be larger than you need. Those trucks guzzle gas like Jay-Z sips Mai Tais.

STORE DELIVERY

Total cost: $119 (including additional walk-up charges to the fifth floor)

Ikea’s in-store delivery service (operated by Urban Express) has a flat rate of $89 for bringing your stuff around Brooklyn. Anything over 1,000 pounds cost an extra 10 cents per pound. You can choose from next-day or same-day delivery, and they give you a four-hour window to chose from.

Downside: Four hours can be a long time to sit around waiting for your furniture, and there’s a $30 fee if you have to cancel or reschedule the delivery. And the fee only includes delivering up three floors of a walk-up building. After that, it’s $15 per floor. But if you’ve got a half ton of furniture…

CAR SERVICE

Total cost (Arecibo in Park Slope): $10 for a town car plus tip; more for a larger car

Arecibo said our trip would cost just $10 for a regular town car, but the price varies for larger cars such as minivans and Suburbans. The guy couldn’t give an estimate (“it depends on what you have”) but we’re pretty confident we could cram our Kullen boxes into the car, even if it means riding shotty.

Downside: I’m not sure if there is a downside here.

RENTAL CAR

Total cost (Enterprise Rental Car in Park Slope): Intermediate SUV: $76.71 per day; economy car: $46.74 per day. Both do not include gas costs, which will run you between $10 and $20 bucks to and from Ikea with current gas prices.

Renting a car gives you the flexibility to move on your own schedule. Plus, you’ve got the car for the whole day! Do your big grocery shopping! Go apple-picking upstate! Turn up the radio’s bass and cruise down the street blasting “Run This Town!”

Downside: Ugh gas prices. Ugh street parking.

The city bus. Luckily this one is empty.

BUS

Total cost: $4.50 roundtrip bus fare

Same deal as the subway in terms of cost, but the bus will get you closer to the store itself. The B77 (which originates at 10th Street and 5th Avenue in Park Slope) and B61 (which goes to Greenpoint and Queens) take you right to Ikea. Bus drivers will let you haul one of the big boxes onto the bus.

Downside: While it is feasible to fit the large boxes into through the door and onto an open seat, a packed bus will leave you no place to stash the Kullen. Getting a big heavy box through the door and down the aisle isn’t a simple task either.

ZIP CAR

Total cost: If not a member, about $107 (including $50 to join, $25 application fee and about $32 for a three-hour trip in a truck); With membership: About $32 for three hours in a truck. Rates start at $8 an hour but vary depending on type of car.

This one breaks down to whether you already have a Zip Car membership, or can at least con the card out of one of your friends with one. The plus sides here are that you can drive your own car on your own schedule, don’t have to pay for gas, and you can get a variety of sizes of vehicle from sedan to truck. Plus, Zip Car has cars in several locations around Brooklyn ready for pick up and even a few cars stationed at Ikea to use while there. Plus, if your trip is taking longer than you thought, there’s an iPhone app that lets you easily add more time on to your reservation.

Downside: The application fee is a bit steep, so if this is the only use you’ll have for a Zip Car, you should look elsewhere.

And then, you have your basic public transit:

SUBWAY

Total cost: $4.50 roundtrip subway fare

The subway will take you as close as the 4th Ave./9th Street station on the F, D, M or R trains and there you can get on the free shuttle. Or take the 2, 3, 4, 5, M or R to Borough Hall and take the shuttle.

Downside: Unless you’ve got an army of at least four schleppers to help you lug the 228-pounds of Swedish ingenuity, or some sort of monstrous MegaUltraHyper Granny Cart with which to carry it, this option doesn’t do much for you. Plus, you ever try getting on the train with a bike? Try a hulking mass of furniture. Not recommended.