1. Make A List (and check it twice) — Don’t go shopping all wily nilly. You will only end up buying things you don’t need just because they are on sale. Do a closet inventory and figure out exactly what you need to add to your wardrobe. If you get something you don’t need and won’t really wear, it is a waste of money.
2. Know Your Limit (that’s how much cash you’ve got to spend) — Don’t just run out and shop with no thought to how much you want to spend. When you are clear on a budget it will help you to avoid over spending on one item. If you have 10 things on your list and a $200 budget, you might not want to spend $150 on that little black dress, instead you might keep searching the sales rack for a better find.
3. Be a Visionary — When shopping sales, they may not always have your exact size so you might need to be able to envision how well something will work after being tailored. So if those pants are an inch too short, imagine the hem being let down. Or if the size is just one size too big, imagine how well it will fit once a tailor has taken it in for you.
4. Breathe and Have Patience — Because it is the end of the season it might be hard to find your size or even sizes close to what you wear. So if you find some items you love, have the sales person check for them in the back stock, on the mannequins, and at other locations for you. They are bound to have your size somewhere — just be patient. The nicer you are, the harder they will work for you.
5. Take a Day Off — This goes hand in hand with number 4. If you go on a day when everybody else is busy at work: one, you won’t have to fight the crowds — hundreds of you trying to search the same overcrowed rack. And two, the sales people will be more likely to have the time to search for your correct sizes at the other stores. Just don’t let your boss know you’re playing hooky to shop.
Now go out there and hit those sales racks. Then come back and leave me a comment so we can all know the great places to shop.
Make sense?
