My shopping trip yesterday was a phenomenal success. I was looking for fashionable, versatile clothing that would be professional enough for an upcoming business trip and comfortable enough to wear in my pretty casual office. I shopped with a friend, and we went to Anthropologie, Banana Republic, and Old Navy.
Before the trip, I decided I could afford to spend $150. That felt like a lot of money to spend on clothing in one month, but I haven’t shopped in about a year.
My friend suggested Anthropologie because I was looking for fashion, and even though they offer a pretty large sale selection, the sale prices were high for me. I did end up getting a nice cardigan from the sale rack, but at $40 it was the most expensive item I bought today.
Banana Repubic and Old Navy (as well as the Gap) are offering 30% off your entire purchase this weekend. This is in addition to sale prices and clearance mark downs. I found a TON of great stuff. After Banana Republic, I was still under budget, so I took my coupon to Old Navy where I bought some plain layering tees and camis — stuff that I always need, but usually don’t want to spend the money to get.
Here’s what I bought:
- 1 pair dress pants
- 2 cardigan sweaters
- 3 dressy shirts
- 5 layering camis
- 2 t-shirts for me
- 4 t-shirts for Tony
My total ended up being $165.22. If I had paid full price (which I would never do, but it’s still fun to see), it would have been $478.77. That’s a savings of over 65% off the original price!
It’s unlikely I would ever pay full price since I always shop the sales. A more likely scenario is that I would have paid sale and clearance prices without the 30% discount. If that was the case, it would have been $218.03 (including my $40 cardigan, which wasn’t marked down another 30%). So the 30% discount at Banana Republic and Old Navy saved me roughly $52.81.
How did I do it? Well, obviously, the 30% off everything sale really helped. But I also shopped exclusively from the clearance and deeply discounted racks. Not a single item was full price, even without the 30% discount.
My favorite item is a button-down cardigan. It was hanging on the clearance rack, marked down to $9.97 from $79. Why was it marked down almost 90%, and why on Earth was it still on the rack at that price? Well, there was a pretty big rip in the seam on the neckline. Because it was “damaged,” they took an additional 10% off the clearance price. Then I got another 30% off that. I paid $6.28 total for the sweater, which is a total savings of 92% off the original price.
When I got home, I stitched up the rip in the seam, and now the sweater is good as new. Even without the extreme discounts, it probably would have been my favorite item because it’s so versatile, comfortable, and cute. Never disregard the “damaged” items! It’s often a simple fix, and you can get some amazing deals if you’re willing to do some stitching.
The most important thing is that my wardrobe is refreshed with nice, versatile clothing that I can wear for business and daily life. But it definitely helps that I found such great deals!
If you haven’t checked it out yet, I strongly suggest you head over to Old Navy, Banana Republic, and the Gap to see if there’s anything left on the clearance racks. The 30% off sale ends today!
I cannot tell you how simultaneously happy and rueful I am to not have heard about the Banana Republic sale. I love BR but can only shop at the outlet store (okay, usually the outlet store SALES) because BR’s prices gall me. And if I had known about the sale, I would have gone. And I would have loved the new duds, but hated the new debt. So thank you for sharing about that sale (and thank me for not checking this post until after 11 p.m. Sunday)!
Still, it sounds like you made out like a bandit. Congrats on getting such good deals, and on letting yourself spend!
Congrats on the bargain success! I’m amazed that anyone pays full price at BR, The Gap and most other retail stores that have sales constantly.
Abigail: BR has sales constantly, so you’ll find one soon enough. Their sale rack is generally well populated, and if you check the website or other coupon websites, you’re regularly see specials for 10-25% off, free shipping, etc. When I miss a deal, I try to remind myself that it’s an even better deal to have avoided spending any money in the first place (which helps with my tendency to justify purchasing stuff largely because it’s a “good deal”).