Jackets in July

While my stubbornness is the dominant trait I possess that has been passed down from my mother, my ability to bargain shop follows it closely. That woman had me scouring the sales racks at JC Penny as soon as I was able to read a price tag. Every August, my mom and I used to take our annual trip and buy new school clothes and supplies for the coming year. I always looked forward to this day with my mom, free from my two brothers' rough housing and my little sister getting any of my hard earned attention. My mom was probably just happy to fit all of the shopping into one day with me and shut my sassy middle school mouth up with a soft pretzel. Little did she know she was implementing one of the greatest life lessons I have learned, and will use until the day I die - always start with the clearance rack.

Now I won't deny, there are some items that are on clearance for a reason - no one should be wearing them. But if you take a few minutes to sort through the holiday sweaters and wool ponchos, there's a good chance you'll find some pieces with prices so low, you'll almost feel guilty. The key to success in the clearance rack is shopping outside of season. I will tell you now that concept is the biggest contributor to my overwhelming wardrobe that comes with a very underwhelming price tag. Buying jackets and sweaters in July may seem foolish at the time, but you're getting it at a fraction of the original price, and unless the piece is an extreme trend from the previous season, it's almost guaranteed to still be in style in the colder months to come.

 Just to prove the truth in my theory, I recently went to Nordstroms Rack strictly to window shop and left with three amazing bargains (Yes, for me, strictly window shopping hardly ever results as just that). I snagged a gray cotton cardigan, originally $54.00, for only $8.50, a Calvin Klein chunky knit cardigan that had once been $90.00 was only $13.54, and my steal of the week - an olive green canvas jacket that was originally priced at $108.00 was marked down to $16.80 (pictured - and I will confirm that is the size of my closet behind it, and that will be discussed in a later post). With prices like those, I can't blame myself for not sticking to window shopping. The same applies to summer essentials, specifically swimsuits. As soon as September hits, you should be running to the sale rack to snatch up your classic black bikini for next year, along with the tunic and flip flops you know you'd be purchasing next season anyways.

Shopping the clearance rack for items that aren't necessarily needed at the moment goes beyond clothing as well. For instance, recently window shopping (again) at the mall led me to one of Bath & Body Works' infamous sales - $3.00 for any classic scent of body wash, lotion, and body spray. Who doesn't go through countless bottles of body lotion during the summer? Knowing it would eventually go to good use, I left with three bottles of lotion, two bottles of body wash, and one body spray - completely stocked up for the rest of the summer, and spending only $18.00 to do it.

Unless you're a shopping trip away from someone signing you up for TLC's "Hoarders: Buried Alive", out of season shopping and reasonably stocking up on sale items is always a guarantee money-saver for a shopaholic, and a great way to build a wardrobe with classic essentials at a price that won't break your budget.