They should give out medals for this. July 11, 2008

I consider myself to be a truly superb bargain shopper. Not in the sense of “bargain” shopping at Wal-Mart or anything like that, because it’s only a bargain if it’s a good deal because it’s great quality. As such, my favorite place to bargain shop is at Macy’s- their clothes are great, the quality’s fantastic, and when you can get something good, in your size, on sale, it’s like magic.

So a few weeks back I was given two Macy’s gift cards worth $100. Now, this wasn’t my money, I could have done what ever the hell I wanted to do with it. I could have bought one decent looking dress- done. But, I decided to take it as a challenge to get the absolute most for my the money. In the end, after trips to a few different locations I finally spent all of it, $100, and wound up getting stuff originally worth about $350. God I’m awesome.

A pair of really cute shoes, an adorable short sleeved cardigan, a super chic coat, and a nice dress for the wedding that I’m attending in a few weeks. All fantastic quality, all wonderful, all amazingly on sale. I rule. Now, due to a post a few weeks back about how the world needs to start dressing up and giving a crap about their appearance again, I was met with questions about how one does find a way to always wear nice things while keeping with a tight budget, so here a few tips.

1. Sales/ clearances are wonderful if you work them right. Go someplace that has a good quality of clothes to begin with, so you don’t buy some piece of crap just because it’s cheap. Don’t buy something on sale that you would never pay full price for, otherwise it will just end up sitting in your closet, which turns out to be a much bigger waste of money in the end than if you had bought something full price, that you loved and wore frequently.

2. Learn the times of year that everything goes on these super dramatic sales (At least 40-75% off). We all know about the post-holiday ones, but also think about the big sales in other times of the year. Usually check stores around March/April for clearance winter stuff, check back in Late June/Early July for old spring stuff, and look for sales around Oct. for all the summer and fall stuff that they’re so desperately trying to get rid of before the holidays hit.

3. Go to different locations of the same store. They all have different buyers so what they originally have in stock may differ. The clientele of the area can also differ so something in you preferred style may go on sale there sooner. Don’t be afraid to look.

4. Don’t be afraid of stores like Marshall’s, TJ Max, or DSW. While these can be very hit or miss stores, they all do specialize in carrying top and even high end brands. Most of the stuff is from the previous season’s line or something like that, so in reality most of the styles will all still be main stream enough to wear for a few more years.

5. When ever you do spend legitimate money on something make sure that it is a classic piece for you*, something that you can wear for years. If you buy something trendy, go cheaper. By the time it starts to fall apart the trend will probably be waning anyway.

6. With anything you buy, even on sale, you should be able to mix it into at least two or three different outfits out of clothes that you already own, this makes it more of a bargain if you don’t have to buy three more articles of clothing just to make one cohesive outfit. Also, you should be able to come up with at least a few different social situations where you can realistically wear the outfit. This is especially important with anything dressy, that gorgeous cocktail dress or ballgown might seem amazing but if you can’t really wear it anywhere, or only once, without looking ridiculous or overdressed for the situation, then it’s probably not worth it.

* Everyone’s “classic” pieces will differ, your classic piece will not necessarily be the dictated classics of the past. I.e. white button down, trench coat, strand of pearls, ect. But as long as it’s something that represents your personal style and you feel will continue to represent it for years to come then buy it. Remember, the more use you get out of an item then the overall better deal it turns out to be.

These are just a few tips I wanted to impart so go forth find some good deals, and happy shopping- remember, it’s supposed to be fun.