In which I pay retail: Designer Clothes for Goodwill Prices

I hope you guys had a fabulous christmas! Mine was filled with love, laughter, family and lots and lots of peanut butter balls.

yumm....

oh wait, where were we?

oh yes, 

retail.

Something I am not a fan of.

I am cheap.

and by cheap, I mean I buy the majority of my clothes at secondhand stores like goodwill.

But I also have general things that I refuse to buy secondhand.

things like underwear, bras, socks.

cause that would be gross.

but my cheapness doesn't stop when I walk into a department store or the mall.

I think I would die if I actually had to pay full price for something.

I either 

A. buy things on sale

B. use a coupon

C. buy things on clearance

or

D. buy things on sale, on clearance, and with a coupon

(this is the best)

So, with the holiday sales so great these past few weeks, I thought I'd share a few deals I snagged up at actual stores

not goodwill.

and share a few tips with you on how to save money while shopping retail.

Tip #1:

Shop Outlet Stores

this is the best way to save on designer/ name-brand items

Now, I am lucky enough to have a ginormous outlet mall close to my house.

If you don't know if one is close, google your area to find one.

(Stick around even if you don't, most of these tips can be used at regular places too!)

Outlet malls are great.

Stores will generally have things that didn't sell out, or with minor imperfections at a discounted price.

Plus, on top of the already marked down price, they usually have sales.

You can score some amazing things.

For example:

This J.Crew sweater

So, the original price was $75

(crazy! who would pay that for a sweater)

it was marked down at the outlet for $54.97

(still crazy)

the store was having a 40% sale which brought the price to $32.98

(getting better)

AND,

when I walked into the store they handed me a 20% off coupon in addition to the already 40% sale.

(This is where it gets good.)

so, with the coupon it came to $26.39

THEN

I had store credit from a return which brought my total to...

$10.27!

for a nice (and cute) J.crew sweater!

that's 85% off!

now, granted not everyone will have store credit,

but still, at $26

that is a great price.

Tip #2: Take advantage of Coupons, and stack them with sales!

I probably wouldn't have purchased that sweater if I didn't have that extra 20% off. $32 is a lot to me to spend, but since I stacked that coupon with the 40% off sale, I walked away with a great deal on an adorbs sweater.

I also scored this scarf from J.crew for $11 with all the same deals.

After J.crew, I went to one of my favorite stores

The Loft.

Crazy expensive normally, 

but at the outlet, 

I can afford.

which brings me to

Tip #3:

 Skip the regular priced items and head straight for the clearance section!

This particular Loft outlet has a normally priced section with everything you'd find in the regular store

and a clearance/ outlet section

I got this blouse:

It was on clearance for $19.99

and the outlet was running a 30% off sale.

I got this top for $13.99.

and in my opinion, that's a great buy!

also I got this tee

I love final sale stickers.

this means that this is the lowest price the store can offer.

and the best part is, the precent off also included the final sale items

I got this shirt for $8.94

and the last stop I made at the outlet mall was to

American Eagle Outfitters.

I love this store, but they are expensive.

Following tip #1 and #2, I scored big.

I found two dresses.

I fell in love with this one.

I loved the peter pan collar and the vintage feel.

It was on clearance for $29.99

and the entire store was 40% off.

I got this for $17.99

that's around 55% off.

This next dress is amazing:

This dress was not on clearance.

and it was expensive.

I know, I know, I broke my own rules.

BUT.

I absolutely loved it.

Tip #4: Know when to splurge (and save on those splurges!)

It was a really good quality, heavy material.

It could be dressy or casual

It can be worn year round for every season 

when styled accordingly.

I loved every single aspect about it

the bow, the cut-out, the color.

I tried it on and it fit perfectly.

  Keeping all these things in my head, 

I knew the dress would get worn often, 

and it would be worth the splurge.

and....

It the 40% off sale was even for regular priced items.

that was the icing on the cake.

I got it for $29.97

So, it was more than I'd normally spend,

but I loved it 

and it was on sale.

which leads me to 

Tip #5:

Find something you love? Wait for a Sale (or even clearance!)

Okay, say you don't have an outlet mall near you.

Do not be afraid my friend!

I still snag some great deals at regular stores

Example:

Old Navy

Love the store, but without sales, things are way over priced.

I had been eyeing these pants for a while,

but refrained from buying until they were on sale.

They did, in fact, go on sale for $19

I still felt like that was a lot for jeans that wouldn't last that long 

(old navy's quality is questionable.)

So I waited even more.

and I am so glad I did.

Literally the day after the sale ended, 

they went on clearance for $16.99

and with old navy's  40% off (one day only) christmas sale

they came to $10.19

ahh, much better, no?

and if I wear them twice and they wear out,

I will feel better knowing I'm only out ten bucks, rather than $22!

and my final deal of the day came from Khols.

I either can't find a single thing I like there, or I find a lot I love.

Nevertheless, they always have great deals and almost always have a coupon available.

I found these maroon/purple-ish jeans on the 90% off clearance section.

(which by now you should know is my favorite section of the store.)

They were originally $48

I found them on sale for $4.80

which is an amazing deal by itself,

but all the clearance merchandise was another 20% the lowest marked price

which brought them down to $3.60

and the best thing is

I had a 20% off anything coupon!

The total for my jeans came to

$2.70!

Thats around 95% off!

See, I told you I'm cheap.