As promised, I’m back this morning with my top picks from this year’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale**. So, grab your credit card and settle in…let’s shop!
It’s time, friends! The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is here! (well, if you’re a Nordstrom cardholder, it’s here…if you’re not, you’re just annoyed that everyone else is pre-shopping and you’re left out. Sartorial politics, I tell you.) By now, my annual guide has become a bit of a tradition, so I hope you’re as excited as I am to show off my picks from the best of the sale. I’ll have those for you bright and early tomorrow morning.
But first, a little pre-game strategy session. Pre-sale starts tomorrow, 7/10, and it opens up to everyone on 7/19. If you’re dying to shop early, just go get a Nordstrom Debit card and be done with it. It attaches to your debit card, no credit check, no heinous interest rates – easy peasy.
Even if you’re not a cardholder, I have a little treat for you. You can peruse the entire catalog here, right now!
Now, let me tell you about the designer insert. Not everyone got this special 12-page booklet in the front of their catalog – a little birdie told me these picks are virtually guaranteed to sell out during pre-sale, and I couldn’t even get advance photos to show you. But, I can tell you that the standouts from these limited pieces are a fantastic Vince cardigan with leather trim, and two Rag & Bone boots – one of which is the Harlow in black suede, and it’s gorgeous.
You can officially start shopping at midnight tonight (Pacific time), and I’ll be back first thing in the morning with links to all of my favorites. Stay tuned!
Well, I had other things planned for today, but friends, I’m too darn giddy about all of the amazing things that are happening in the world today. Honestly, there aren’t that many days in life that you’re bursting with pride in your government, but today’s one of them, and I’m going to bask in it for a few moments.
And…well, okay, there are a couple of exciting shopping points worth making. Read on
All of those Memorial Day deals in your inbox felt crazy, I know. Too good to resist. But if you did, if you were patient, your virtue is about to be rewarded. Shopbop, Barneys, Saks and Net-A-Porter all launched their summer sales today, and there are goodies aplenty. Read on
I had other plans for today, friends, but the sales this morning…they’re just too, too good (for all of the codes, from Shopbop to J.Crew, check out my Facebook feed and its never-ending stream o’ deals). I thought I’d share a few of the many, many items lurking in my shopping cart this AM.
Editor’s Note: My helpful hints today on iVillage are all about navigating Black Friday – when to dive in, when to bow out, and how to prep for battle. In that spirit, I thought I’d have our Sale Spy, Roxanna, give you some tips on my retail Achilles’ heel: the clearance store! I have yet to master these bargain bastions, but now that I have her tricks in hand, I just may give it another try!
Roxanna K.K. ~ Everyone can shop in ritzy boutiques. With their racks of carefully edited merchandise and judicious use of white space, they’re a piece of cake. But only die-hard sale hounds can shop at clear-out retailers like Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx. This is where you become a shopping ninja.
Now I know many people are overwhelmed and intimidated by these stores – the unending racks of jumbled up merchandise shoved together like sardines, the fluorescent lighting, the nonexistent service. But trust me – there are amazing deals to be found here, people. It just takes a little courage and a lot of chutzpah. Luckily you have your trusty Sale Spy to guide you through the process so that you, too, can score the best finds without developing a migraine in the process:
{Editor’s Note: Every year, mid-October rolls around, the fall sales begin, and I’m in a retail panic. Friends & Family is always first…should I go for it, or wait for the first round of markdowns? Is it too soon to be thinking about holiday buys? But this year, I have a secret weapon: SMC’s own Sale Spy, here to lend her expertise to the best sale season of the year!}
Roxanna K.K. ~ Friends, it’s my favourite time of year: the mid-season sales! (wait – do I say that every sale season? Well, I heartily mean it every sale season. I am always envisioning the unlimited sale possibilities…)
Anyway, I really do love mid-season sales. Now, for a sale devotee, you’d think I’d go crazy for the hard-core post end-of-season sales in January and February, and while I do love finding some crazy bargains at that time, the October/November sales offer so much more possibility. Here’s why:
The selection. At this point, stores have only gone through 1 or 2 rotations of fall merchandise (they typically change every 6-8 weeks,) so there are still plenty of sizes and colours in stock.
The season. You can actually buy something now and wear it from tomorrow to the end of the season. No hoarding clothes for next year or trying to squeeze in the last few wears before the season ends, as I am wont to do after end-of-season season clearance sales.
The trends. This is most important in my book. At the beginning of fall, there are so many trends to shop but you have no idea which will actually last through the season and beyond. At the mid-season sales, you’ve had a chance to see what sticks, and can now pick it up for a significant discount. For example, it’s worth splurging on silk blouses, leather details and colour with a capital C (especially fall staples like oxblood and mustard). However, neon, crazy prints and peplums, while still around, won’t have the same lifespan.
Some tips on shopping these sales:
+ Hang on to those receipts! Many big name stores will reduce merchandise initially and then have an additional markdown on sale merchandise a few weeks later. I get the merchandise at the first markdown for the best selection, but I will then get a price adjustment or buy it again if it is further reduced, returning the original item. This year alone I have saved hundreds of dollars this way (don’t ask how much I’ve spent!)
+ If you had your heart set on specific mid-priced items that are now on sale, go ahead and buy them instead of waiting for them to be reduced further (a lot of merchandise disappears from now until Christmas.) On the other hand, if there are more expensive pieces you have in mind but haven’t found exactly the right one yet, hold off buying them at these sales. There will still be two more rotations of merchandise and much steeper discounts heading into Thanksgiving and Christmas.
+ Investment items like jewelry, bags and fragrances may go on sale closer to the holiday season because they are good gift-giving items, so hold off on these for now as well.
Good luck, and happy sale-hunting!
This week’s sale picks: Navy tweed jacket, J.Crew, $90 (from $268) / Strapless dress, Zac Posen, $417 (from $1,390)
Roxanna K.K. ~ Last week, I was perusing the very last of the summer clearance sales when I spotted it: an amazing silk tank dress (designer, natch) at 70% off! It was the last one. It fit perfectly. The shop assistant said it looked great on me. I had to buy it that very minute!
At least, that’s what my inner voice said. I’ve been in this situation more times than I care to count, and as an impulse buyer, my impulses usually send me swiftly to the cash register. But over the years, I have learned to (sometimes) control those impulses and make a smart decision about whether an item belongs in my wardrobe or back on the rack. Here are some of the questions to ask yourself if you, too, have a hard time resisting the almighty bargain:
If I am really torn about a sale bargain, I will resort to two final tricks. First, I put it on hold. If the lure of the bargain lessens considerably the minute I walk out of the store, I know it’s not meant to be. Second, I phone a shopping-savvy friend. She will often be able to see the item with more objective eyes and tell me whether it really is as amazing as I think it is (or whether I’m sporting my sale goggles.)
What about you? Are there any tried-and-true techniques that you use to separate the wheat from the chaff?