Shopping the Sales (J. Crew, Factory, LOFT and Bloomingdale's Outlet)

Pardon the hiatus but I've been trying to rein in my shopping these days. Still, a girl has to have fun once in a while so $360 later here are some of my recent purchases.

I wanted these plaid pants from Loft since the moment I saw them in a magazine, but I'm not paying full price for anything at Loft where items hit the sale racks in less than two months. Scored these pants for under $40 (and might have grabbed a better deal if I waited two days later.) As much as I love a good sale, the day-to-day changing of sales at Loft really irks me. At least J. Crew lets a promotion run for an entire week! For anyone contemplating these pants, I say buy them, but maybe size down.

I also bought this frayed tweed pencil skirt in coral from J. Crew Factory during the CARDPERK online promotion. I had a rewards card so the total with shipping came out to $9.99. I think this item will be great for fall, winter, and spring. Sold out, but watch for popbacks (which is how I got mine.)

At J. Crew where I have managed to (thankfully!) spend very little money this season, I grabbed the Plaster Peonies Tee and the Vintage Cotton Floral Tee in Ivory. Both were 30% off the marked down price and could have been stacked with the 25% off $100 (except I didn't spend that much -- and NOT from lack of trying!)

So wait -- that all adds up to .... how did I spend.... must have been.... OH YEAH that's right - I made this impulse purchase! Lo and behold the Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran Bag in Gunmetal. Once I saw her sitting by herself in Bloomingdale's outlet there was no turning back. No way do I need another bag but this one is going to be my new everyday go-to neutral dress-it-up or dress-it-down bag. It just fierce with every outfit. And the best part is the price -- the retail is about $400 but at the outlet it was $230 plus tax. Check it out below:

 Do you own any of these items? Are you considering any of these items? I love to read and respond to your comments!

I'm back!

Apologies for the delay in posts. I started a new job and frankly wasn't shopping much. Rather than get into the mundane details, let me just share what I bought over the weekend.

I got the J. Crew Factory version of the Hothouse Floral. I wanted this print when the retail store sold it last year, but frankly I prefer a blouse like this in polyester. For the price and the machine washable factor, J. Crew Factory's version was the better choice. During their 50-percent off storewide sale, it only cost $40.

While there, I also grabbed a pair of Winnie stretch pants and Leopard pajama pants... because you can never have too many pairs of either! 

Have you visited the Factory this weekend yet? The sale is going on through tomorrow.

Got "two" (at Gap) for the price of one (at J. Crew)

I have a love affair with army green khaki. If you have read my blog in the past, you know that I have many items in a similar shade of green. From army jackets, to khaki pants and shorts, this is the color that is my "other" chambray. It is a timeless neutral that isn't so neutral and it seems every year it is back in style. With that in my mind, I have had my eye on the J. Crew skinny cargo pants for months. When I heard the pants were on sale, I tried them on in store. Green olive, however, did not make it's way to my store's sale rack. Although I tried on both the aubergine and sand colors, they just didn't "do it" for me. The price tag ($59.99 - 25 off) wasn't screaming my name either so I left empty-handed. (J. Crew's rather bland clothing in recent months been very good for my wallet. Another post for another time.)

After leaving, I made my way into GAP which was having a 30-off store-wide sale. I wanted to see what I might grab from the sale rack and, lo and behold, I found both of these terrific skinny style olive khaki pants. Since I couldn't decide which I liked more and the price was right, I bought them both! (For reference, they are called the skinny mini cargo skimmer khakis and skinny mini skimmer khakis)

If you look closely you will notice that they are different. One is more of a straight legging style with only welted back pockets. This would look great with a long top. The other is more of a cargo style, very similar to the one I wanted from J. Crew. The price for each after discount was around $18. I felt better buying both knowing I would have spent more on one pair at J. Crew. And frankly, these pants fit me better than the colors I tried at the Crew.

After, I meandered into Banana Republic, which was offering an extra 40 percent off already reduced items plus an extra 10 percent for cardholders. There, I bought the Soft Wash Dot & Stripe Button-Down Shirt ($30 after discounts) and the Issa Collection envelope clutch in Cognac ($30 after discounts) I was concerned to see some of the clutches had scratches, so I was careful to choose the clutch with the least scratching. I plan to put some leather protectant on it. I love the safari cat print on the inside lining. It has also has a structured feel to it. I expect this will be a great bag for spring, but the deep neutral color will allow me to use it in the summer and fall.

Have you felt the J. Crew selections have been rather bland and overpriced? (My wallet is secretly happy!) Did you take advantage of the sales at Gap and Banana Republic this weekend? What are your thoughts on these items? I love to read and respond to your comments!

Gilt City -- J. Crew Factory coupon

As much as I am TRYING to stay out of J. Crew (and I am -- I don't even carry my card with me anymore!), it is pretty hard when I keep learning about these storewide discounts from Gilt city.

Gilt city is a website where you can get various items for less for a limited time, or a coupon off a store (which is the case with J. Crew Factory.) The voucher I received (free) last week was for 40 percent off at Factory, so I had to go take a look.

I didn't spent much -- my two clearance items came to $30 total with the voucher. I picked up a pair of hot pink Matchstick jeans (because THIS girl needs every color of the rainbow, apparently!) and the shoreline striped dress, which is an incredibly lightweight jersey knit sundress that will be perfect for 90 degree weather. (Apparently, there will be such a day tomorrow where I live!)

Although the 40-off was a one day voucher, there is still a 25-percent off deal that is good until next week. Click here for the offer. It's definitely worth a visit to the store.

Cranberry and pink color combo

It's the WEEK-END and I am so happy. What a hectic week last week was!

Shopping has been minimal these days so my posts are not that frequent. I did manage to grab two blog-worthy items. Both have similar hues of cranberry and pink, which seems to be a trend right now.

The first item is a color block clutch from The Limited. I grabbed it during one of their 50-off the entire store deals. They offer these sales for a limited (no pun intended) number of hours every once in a while, and I usually get a heads up about them in an email. The clutch was normally $49.50 but I paid half of that. I just loved the deep rich colors and thought it was be a great fall (or even winter) bag. I became so into clutches this year; when going to dinner or a family get-together they make so much more sense than a huge bag. I also liked the quality of this clutch and I expect to get some use out of it.

The next item is one I "slept on" --- I didn't love it the first time I saw it and when I eventually changed my mind, I found that I had waited too long. The tiny dot tee from J. Crew Factory reminds me of this scarf that I bought last Labor Day. I suppose that is why I wasn't in love with it because I already had the scarf. But as someone who owns multiple Heartthrob and leopard print items, I should know by know that different items have different uses.

What do you think of these items? Do you love the red/pink color combo as well?

J. Crew Factory purchases

Happy September! (Where did summer go?)

I've been pretty "good" about not shopping for the last few weeks, so there hasn't been much to post on my shopping blog. I did, however, grab two items from J. Crew Factory lately and they are worth sharing.

The first item is the Factory's cotton shift dress in Cerise (a blood orange color). It was a dress I had tried on when it was full price . My issue was the long straps -- I knew I would need to have them altered and that didn't seem very cost-effective. Weeks later when I saw the dress in clearance, the last of its kind and color in my size, I decided to get it. I still need the straps altered, but I think I will hold off on that until next spring. The rest of the dress fits great, and it cost $30 after all discounts.

The other item I bought at the Factory was even more exciting: a denim Madewell shirt! I've never seen Madewell items in my local Factory store, although I do remember reading about this particular item on Life is Short ... Buy the Shoes. I've blogged about Madewell before ... it is a store that is very hit or miss for me. I do, however, think their denim items are classic and the Rail Straight Jeans that I bought earlier this year are among my favorites. The item is called Western Jean Shirt in Nightsky wash. I think the shirt looks better in person than in this image.

I tend to purchase medium sized shirts to avoid gaping at my chest, but I was able to buy this shirt in a Small which makes it look flattering to my body.

I am thinking about stopping by Factory later, being that it is a holiday today and I have no plans for any barbecues. I can't believe school starts tomorrow! Truthfully I am excited for this year because I was fortunate enough to find a new job. Nevertheless, I want to make my last day off from work count!

Finally mine! The J. Crew floral lattice crystal necklace is mine!

Oh how long have I wanted this necklace!  At least three months! When I saw it on Jcrewismyfavstore I knew I had to have it! Each week I stopped in J. Crew hoping to see it marked down. And of course, the week that I am unable to browse the B & M is the week it is finally marked down. I nearly missed out on it -- my store was sold out as were most stores in my area.  It is thanks to a tip on J.Crew Aficionada that I found out it made it's way to sale.

This necklace is extra special because my husband saw it two months back and thought it would look great on me. I, of course, agreed. He told me if the price went down (I would not let him pay $228 for this... way too much for costume jewelry), he would buy it for me for our five year anniversary. I'm happy to say I now have something to wear when we celebrate next week!

So the necklace at retail price was $228. Today it is marked down to $149 plus 30 off. I was also able to apply the educator discount, which brought the total with tax to under $100. My husband loves it and said it was worth every penny.

What do you think? Do you have this necklace? Will you try to buy it?