The Coastal Grandmother shops the “Best Sales”!

Is This Really a Bargain

STOP before you shop! The very first thing you need to do before you go shopping is to analyze your wardrobe and determine what items, if any, you really need. After all, if you have taken the Color Quiz and the Personal Style Quiz on my website, tonitalksyouthru.com, you know your “Season” and your “Personal Style”. Hopefully, you have at least started to clean out and sort your wardrobe by now. The last thing you want to do is clutter it up again by buying clothes “just because they are on sale”.

The best way to tell if you are guilty of doing this (and I am), is to see if there Iis anything in your closet with the price tag still on it. It has been a full year, and you have yet to wear it! I bought a beautiful Frank Lyman dress over a year ago at a boutique that was going out of business. I had heard my friend, who worked in an exclusive dress shop, talk about that particular designer. The dress was 70 percent off! I had to have it, right? Guess what, it is still hanging in my closet with the price tag still on it! Number one, I don’t wear dresses much anymore, even to church! Number two, I think dresses to the knee, like this one, look much better with heels (just me), and I don’t wear high heels ever!

Note: I just found a pair of black suede pumps with a small wedge heel on sale yesterday, so I AM going to wear this dress!

Think it Through

When I analyzed my wardrobe this season, I realized what I really needed was some coordinated casual outfits that I could wear around the house or to run an errand . My neighbor ALWAYS looks “put together” even if she is just staying home. If I stop over at 7:00 a.m., she has on a cute outfit and earrings! I wanted to look like that! At 7 am, I throw on a pair of sweat pants and, who knows what else, to go out and walk the dog. I wanted to feel like if the UPS man came to the door, I would actually answer the doorbell. Better yet, if I ran to the grocery store, and a handsome older man asked me where something was, I would not want to hide behind a stack of canned goods! WHAT? It could happen!

My friend and I went out shopping at the outlets last week. . The first place we stopped was the Sketchers store. I like the “slip on” Sketchers. They are really comfortable and come in a lot of pretty colors. After all, Emmy is still a puppy and when she has to go out, she has to go NOW! I don’t have time to get on a pair of tennis shoes and try to lace them up with my arthritic fingers. They had them on sale. Buy one pair, and the second pair was 50 percent off. My friend got a pair, I got a pair, and we split the price of both. She is on their mailing list, and had accumulated points, so we got an extra $10 off. Such a deal! Naturally, I signed up for their mailing list. They also had their athletic gear on sale, so I got two tops to go with the shoes. I was on a “mission”, and I was not going to be swayed by anything I didn’t need!

The next place we went to was Chicos. They had a huge sale going on. I stayed on “task” and only bought one casual top that coordinated with my new Sketchers. It was 30 % off the already marked sales price, so I got it for $20! It was one step up from my athletic tops ,so I wore it to my “bridge lesson” the next day. I felt perfectly coordinated, but still casual. Oh, and I wore earrings! Guess what, there was an older man there who was recently widowed, nice guy. He helped me with my bridge lesson, and then, we all went out to lunch! Just saying . . .

I hope you are getting my point here. If we aim to have a coordinated, workable wardrobe, we have to go about it in an organized fashion. That means some thought has to go into it. You need a plan, and you have to stick to the plan! While we are on that topic, remember, if you bring in a new item for your wardrobe, an old item has to go (2 new, 2 old go etc.) - no exceptions! Another tip for an organized wardrobe is NEVER put a piece of clothing back in your closet that needs repair. If a button is missing, or a hem is coming out, fix it before you put it back in your closet. The next time you pull it out to wear, you won’t have to hang it back because it needs repair.

I didn’t think twice about buying this classic “Sympli” jacket on sale a couple of weeks ago when I was in the Outer Banks. Sympli hardly EVER goes on sale, so when Miss Lizzie’s had it for 50 % off, I grabbed it! I already had the navy pants in full length and capris, so I knew it would make a great outfit for Spring and Summer. I would wear this to church, the symphony, or even a dinner date (wishful thinking)!

If you remember, in my blog, “Coastal Grandmother Winter Wardrobe”, I talked about investing in a good winter coat. It appears to me the best sales in the department stores are on winter coats. I have seen several lovely winter dress coats that are drastically reduced. They are still pricey, but at 65% off (Dillard’s) or more, they are a good investment IF you need a dress winter coat. Anytime after you graduate from college, you will have occasions where a puffer jacket is just not appropriate.

Everyone has different needs at different times as far as clothing goes. If you take a close inventory of your wardrobe and where the “holes” are, you can often fill in those gaps with great sales items. I would just encourage you to have a plan before you go out shopping. If I don’t really need a certain item, even if it is 70 percent off, I have learned to leave it for someone who really does need it! It saves me money and having a cluttered closet full of clothes I don’t wear. Happy hunting!!