Vente by Vanessa

So after a two plus hour wait we were lucky enough to get in on the first wave.   The warehouse was filled with box after box of recent J. Crew items. Clothes, jewelry, shoes, coats- everything at crazy prices! When we entered we were given a trash bag and a price list with instructions (like- you can only spend $500 at a time, you can only purchase so many of each item-an effort to ward off resellers, and my favorite rule "disrobing to try on clothes is not allowed" etc.)  The items were piled into large boxes on tables and were somewhat sorted by gender. For example, a table might be marked "women's tops" but you would find everything from women's tops to skirts to belts to the ocassional men's or kids peice.  I adopted the practice of going from box to box, picking up anything in my size that I was remotely interested in and shoving it in my bag. Once I was tired and overstimulated I moved to a quiet corner and paired down my bag to the peices I wante...

Wow. I think I had the cheap shopper experience of a lifetime yesterday. About a month ago I'd planned a trip with my best buddy Jen to Lynchburg, Virginia to check out the J. Crew outlet store.  We knew that occasionally they hosted huge warehouse sales on the same property but they typically are not announced until a couple of days before. Last Thursday we read a blog post announcing a warehouse sale that would coincide with our trip! Jackpot! We drove down Friday and shopped the outlet store first. They had deals but only two extreme deals. There was a rack of white button down shirts for $5 each (regularly $50-$80.) Grabbed one.  Also, bathing suits were buy one or one peice, get one for a dollar. Got a cute skirted bikini for $16 (probably retailed for $120.)  There were some $10 tees, $130 originally priced dresses for $50,etc. There was an additional 20% off all "regular" priced items.  Also, J.Crew heavily promotes their 15% discount for students and educator...

Check this out- This is my receipt from an online order with Last Call by Neiman Marcus (their online outlet.)  Not a place I typically shop but a friend sent me an email promoting a Living Social deal for Last Call.  Are you familiar with Living Social? They're a lot like Groupon. Limited time offers for deals on services, local and national businesses, etc. The deal I bought was $25 for a $50 gift certificate. When I put the deal in my cart a message came up offering me another 20% off making my total $20. What my receipt above doesn't show were the original prices on the two items before they became "Last Call."  The dress was originally $185 and the bracelet was $40. Crazy!!  So for a total of $35 I ended up with $225 worth of merchandise! Did I mention free shipping too?

Are you as blown away as I was?!?! These are Vince Camuto sandals, regularly priced at $60, value priced at Burlington Coat Factory at $29.99, on clearance for $3.98!!!!! Get there now!  A new Burlington opened last week here in Hanover, Pennsylvania and today was my inaugural visit!! Im familiar with the chain and have visited several in Maryland and Pennsylvania but I was blown away by the number of designer goods this particular Burlington carries. Lots of Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, etc.  and great prices! They have a super jewelry selection and awesome kids clothes.