Retail Therapy: A guide to the January end-of-season sale

I deeply apologize for the long stretch without posts!  I was doing my MTU rotation (the horror!) and then buggered off to India for three weeks.  I had to go to an internet cafe to get on the web while I was away, which was rather quaint, but made it difficult to blog.  Also, India was cold.  It was confusing.

My second day back, true to form, I got off work early and walked across the street to the mall and SHOPPED.  There were some things I saw repeatedly on sale, so I present my quick and dirty guide to the January end-of-season sale.

Confessions of a shorts-aholic

I like Forever 21.  It's got cheap clothes.  It's got trendy clothes.  But best of all, it's got cheap trendy clothes that are sometimes buy one get one free.

I first experienced the miracle of the F21 BOGO sale when I was in Ottawa earlier this year where I made out with three maxi dresses, a top for my mom and two lace cardigans for roughly $30.  I then suffered the ill effects of this, during which everything at regular price at Forever 21 seemed much too expensive (quelle horreur!).

The store is once again having a BOGO sale and I saw some things that made me jump to make an online order, which is not something I do very often.

Cheap Thrills - Score!

This is the fifth (and sadly final) post of a series on cheap fashion, Cheap Thrills- Score!  Hope you enjoyed reading!

I love a good deal.  It's very rare that I buy something at full price, because often I can get it or something similar on sale.  I like to think I've gotten pretty good at scoring deals-- here are some I'm most happy about.

Cheap Thrills - Where's the sale section?

This is the fourth post of a series on cheap fashion, Cheap Thrills- Where's the Sale Section?  The following posts will continue in showing you how I find good deals-- it's a long read so I split it up over a few posts.  I'll also later detail some of my most triumphant steals.

My favourite part of a store is the sale section.  Sometimes I feel bad for the sales staff, so I browse around half-heartedly in the new arrivals before drifting to my real destination-- the sale section.  It's usually in the back, it's usually messy, and often it's weird stuff no one wants anyways.  

(c) JMGRIFFIN via sxc.hu

I often read about the great deals people get when thrifting, but I feel like I'm never particularly enthused about thrifting myself, and I think this is because I can often get almost as good a deal on new items.  How, you ask?  By learning how to shop sales.  Most of this is trial and error, but here are a few things I've learned.

Cheap Thrills - Shop Like You Mean It

This is the third post of a series on cheap fashion, Cheap Thrills- Shop like you mean it.  The following posts will continue in showing you how I find good deals-- it's a long read so I split it up over a few posts.  I'll also later detail some of my best steals.

So you've got your plan in hand, and are ready to go spend some money.  Or are you?  The next step is indeed to head out to the mall, but hopefully you're not going to spend a cent--yet. 

In order to determine what is available and at what prices, you need to get out there and browse.  I probably head over to the mall every 1-2 weeks to just look at things.  Its important that you go mostly to look, not to buy, as that defeats the entire purpose of being cheap.  What you're looking for is what's available in stores.  For example, sometimes I am looking for a particular item.  From my list in the previous post in this series, for Spring, I've been looking for coloured denim/pants and plain metal cuffs, but since these are very trendy items, I didn't want to spend too much on them. 

Retail Therapy: What's black and white and has a wedge heel?

For some reason, I wanted these zebra booties.  Nevermind that they're insane.  But they weren't too expensive and weren't final sale, so I decided to order them and see what happened.  Of course, ordering online from Forever 21 meant that I had to get up to the free shipping amount so I bought some other stuff too.  (PS. Thank you F21 for the free shipping to Canada!  You're awesome and I love you!)

I generally don't buy a lot online, because I really like to try things on beforehand and make sure they fit.  I also like the process of going out and shopping, and I find it to be a pain to have to return and exchange things you don't like, or that you need another size in, etc.  I was really lucky this time around though, and everything more or less fit, even the pants! (!!!)

When I opened this coral tiered dress, I was worried about the material.  Online, it looks like a chiffon-type material.  And it kinda is.  Every other tier is chiffon-y, and the rest are jersey.  But I showed my mom and she approved.  I've worn it twice since I've gotten it and it’s a definite keeper. (Does not come with sash.  That is my own doing.  Also someone should really pull their dress/shirt down when taking back views.  Just saying.)

I originally saw these white flared jeans (does it bother anyone else that I actually typed 'genes' first and had to correct it?) in red and wanted those, but I already had a pair of red jeans and no white ones, so I made a decision with my head.  They fit well through the hip and thigh, although they are loose in the waist (story of my life).  It's not too bad, but I hope they don't bag out!  They're also obscenely long.  I'm wearing my most giant wedges (probably 5 inches) in the picture and they still touch the floor.  Definitely need to be hemmed.  I can see them being perfect in the summer!  I'm wearing size 27, but I'd probably go for 25 or 26 in the future (they didn't have them in stock when I ordered).

Retail Therapy: Let it flow

Smart Set (it's a Canadian brand; sorry Americans!) has been having a fantastic sale since around Christmas.  Many things are marked down substantially, with a further 50% all clearance prices.  I mostly stick to silhouettes that are closer to the body, as being petite means that more loosely-fitting clothing often overwhelms me.  However, lately there's been lots of great blousy and flowing stuff in-stores and I've been tempted.  Smart Set in particular has a lot of dolman sleeves and cape-type stuff right now.  I bought a few things for my mom during Christmas but walked out with a few more things for myself (!).  At that time, they were offering a further 25% off all clearance prices, but since the 50% promo, I've returned and bought more things (not helped by the fact that I also received $20 savings cards with no minimum purchase).  The good news?  Nothing I got was over $15.

Here's part one of what I bought (yes I bought that much stuff, don't judge).

Chiffon back dolman top
This is a fairly plain top with two distinguishing features-- the dolman sleeves and the sheer chiffon-like panel at the back.  It's definitely looser but with a good drape.  I like relaxed fit and the length, and imagine it would look good with leggings, skinnies, or tucked into a skirt.  It's a sort of turquoise colour, but not too bright.  The chiffon panel at the back (sorry for the lack of photo; you can see a bit of it on the shoulder of the above right photo) starts at the top of the shoulders and goes down to about the armpit and there is definitely an issue with bra straps showing.  I've got a nude bra and some clear straps, so I think I'll be OK there.  The fabric is a thinner jersey knit, which is good for the drape, but probably won't last too long.

Retail Therapy: The Forever 21 sale section

I just placed a Forever 21 online order today and was struck by how many cute things they've got on sale!  Here's some stuff that didn't make it into my cart but I wish it did.  Please note that these are from the Canadian site, and there is in my experience some difference from the American site in terms of selection and price.  Everything listed below can be found in the sale section or in fabulous finds.  As for what I did get?  Saving that for a future post!

Perforated Leather Gloves - $11.99 CAD

They're real leather!  And blue!  I've already got two pairs of leather gloves, and one pair has bows, so these were a pass for me.  They also come in a cognac colour.

Basket Weave Handbag  - 24.99 CAD

Basket weave accessories, particularly bags and clutches have been popping up all over the place.  I love the simplicity of this bag and the colour-- it looks almost black but is actually a dark brown.  I don't use different handbags too often, so I try not to buy many.

Metallic Details Belt - $6.99 CAD

I really like the shape of this belt and think it would just look fantastic on.  It could also toughen up some girlier pieces, and I don't have many 'tough' pieces in my wardrobe.  However, I didn't get this belt as I got two belts already, and I would have preferred that this belt's design go all the way around to the back, whereas it actually has a solid black stretch panel.

Braided Leatherette Belt - $5.99 CAD

Similar to the metallic details belt, I like the shape of this a lot.  I didn't get it for the same reason-- I would have preferred the design to go all the way around to the back, but it doesn't.

Sheer Lace Turtleneck (Taupe) - $16.99 CAD

I love the scalloped hem and the turtleneck neckline, as well as the colour, which I thought would look good with my skin tone.  The only reason this one didn't make it is its sold out in my size!