One last Graduation

After finishing my last Master's class in December I waited 5 months for Graduation.  Graduation started at 8AM and I was up on stage and back in my seat before 8:30. I thought, "That...was fast... now what?"  I then thought and realized there were two things I was happy about on that day: 1. My awesome 3.98 GPA and 2. My under $30 outfit.  Yes, I did think that.

Outfit:

A one shoulder, just above the knee, dress with simple heels.  Yes, I know, heels!  I call them cheat-heels.  They have more support on the bottom which allowed me to walk in them without looking like a dude in heels.  I just love the pattern and style of the dress.  It was of appropriate attire since I must say I saw a number of Vegas dresses with flashy 4 inch stilettos at Graduation/Honors Convocation.  Ohhh yeah, CSUN.  Represent.

Item 1-- Black/Teal/White One shoulder dress
From: Macy's
Brand: Rampage
Type of sale: Macy's one day sale- Take an additional 60% off on Women's/Junior's select reduced dresses (Below I will discuss more on how I go about finding these deals.  This is because I have encountered many people insisting they know when there are sales but how do they go about finding a great deal in a sale?)
Original price: $59.00
Purchased price: $35.40 with final price $14.16
See the item here

 

Item 2-- White simple strap heels

From: Ross

Brand: BCBGeneration

Type of sale: Ross everyday + Clearance

Original price: Compared at $89.00

Purchased price: $27.99 with final price $13.99

Side Note! 

Try the new Jamba Juice fruit refresher for $2!  Valid now until June 6th.

With Coupon Here! (Courtesy of my Uncle Ken)

So, how do I find that great deal?

I will give an example using the dress I purchased at Macy's One Day Sale!  I absolutely love their one day sales and if you watch enough television as I do you know how that theme song goes..."ONE DAY!"

When I go to Macy's I quickly aim for the racks with a percentage off in each section of a department.  Number of clearance racks vary from store to store depending on inventory and number of people who actually buy things before it can even go on clearance.  However, on a One Day sale, there will be racks with percentage off that are not clearance racks.
The Junior's department is usually divided up like this... 6 sections: American Rag, Material Girl, XOXO/Rampage/BCX/Grass, GUESS?/Jessica Simpson, Levi's, and Glee T-shirts/random graphic Tees/Soffe shorts (I never bother with this section for obvious reasons of not wanting a picture of Lea Michelle across my chest).  The women's department (at least the contemporary section) is usually divided up like this...2 sections: INC and Impulse.  INC is Macy's own contemporary clothing line and Impulse is anything from BCBG to Free People to Macy's own Rachel Roy.  In between they also have such brands like Calvin Klein, Lucky Brand, and Michael Kors.  I am going to leave out brands like Charter Club and Style&Co. as I am not a middle aged woman.  All sections within a department will have its own clearance rack.  Aim for those!  Impulse usually will have 4-6 clearance racks with an additional 40% off already reduced prices.  INC will have one rack that will be at least 70% off already reduced prices and many racks with an additional 50% off listed prices.  Michael Kors will have 60% half of a rack.  Yes, half.  It's not much and you may have to arrive right in the morning to get a particular size before they are all gone.  XOXO/Rampage/BCX are known to have 40% to 65% off listed price.  GUESS? and Jessica Simpson usually have 40% off listed price and 60% off already reduced prices.  Formal and cocktail dresses in the Junior's department can vary from 40% to 80% off already reduced prices.  My Rampage dress came from the Junior's department with an additional 60% off: $59.00 to $35.40 to $14.16.

Tips:

• Arrive on the first day of the One Day Sale.  It is a One Day sale with a "Preview" sale on the day before.  Preview day is the same as One Day!  So get there to get stuff before crowds come in on the actual One Day sale.
• Get a Macy's card to get an addition 15% off your purchase. You will also receive coupons in the mail for 20% off your total purchase and $10 off your $30 dollar purchase.
• Scan your bar code on the price tag!  There are many scanners located in the store that you can use as a self-scan.  I find that half the time at Macy's the price on the tag of a One Day sale is not the same price when scanned!  Rather, it can sometimes be half the cost of the price seen on the tag.
• Eat something before hand.  I'm not sure how this is a tip but I know I always get hungry at Macy's One Day Sale.

Fashionably cheap,

Tina