I wanted to go to my local mall, Crossroads Center, today as Bath & Body Works was in the final days of their big sale; and I also saw Old Navy post on Facebook that they were going up to 80% off clearance items starting today. I hit Old Navy first...but the 80% off wasn't in effect there. However, they did have 40%-50% percent off the clearances prices, so I picked up a few things. Please note that these items had already been marked down at least once, some twice....and then an additional clearance percentage was taken off of that.
First clearance section I came across was a bunch of gift bags. These were supposed to be holiday themed, but other than some with Santa and Snowmen, in my opinion these can be used any time of year. The 3 large pink/orange/red striped bags were originally $2.50 each; I paid 88 cents each. The Santa and Snowman bags were originally $1.50 each; I paid 58 cents each. Finally the glitter bags were originally $2.50 each; but my price was only 77 cents each. So...that's 12 gift bags for only $9! Score!! Unfortunately, most of them weren't ringing up right at the register; however, I had a great clerk who manually entered in the discounts without any issues.
Also in the holiday section were water bottles (originally $5; my price was $1.79 for 1) and 4 Santa head paddle balls that I going to give to my nephews next Christmas (My 20-something nephews, mind you! Hoping these are as popular as the Chinese Yo-Yos I gave them a few years ago! Those yo-yo's annoyed the crap out of everyone else at our Christmas gathering, so I am always on the lookout for something that will do the same next year! ). In the men's section, I picked up a long-sleeve tee for $5 (half-off) that I'll probably wear to bed. I love the men's section at Old Navy for lounge and bed clothes.
I headed to the children's section to look for my great-nephew, Sawyer. While there was a HUGE section of girl's clearance, the boy's clearance section was tiny. I found one striped polo shirt (originally $10.50; I paid $2.69). Since it was such slim pickings in the toddler section, I actually bought this in a 3T for him to wear next year.
I browsed the women's section, but there was nothing there to my taste. Everything was either arcylic (I'm allergic), had faux-fur (not a look I can pull off) or was just plain ugly. Other than lounge clothes or basics, I generally avoid Old Navy for clothing as the quality tends to be pretty low and I wear their clothes out super fast.
Worst part of shopping without a man is having to carry your own bags! I had to hike all the way out to the parking lot to put my Old Navy stuff in my car, then walked all the way over to Gordman's.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Gordman's! So many people overlook it, but they have great stuff! They were also having an additional 50-75% off clearance prices sale, so I grabbed a cart.
I used to find great purses at Gordman's, but I haven't had any luck lately. They used to carry Tommy Hilfiger bags at ridiculously cheap prices, but now they just seem to have lots of House of Deron, Kathy Van Zeland, Fossil, and other labels that are popular, but not my taste. So, no handbags this trip. They did have some Coach-looking wallets with tags that said "Depeche Mode", which I found odd and rather funny....but not enough for me to actually buy one.
There was some Christmas stuff in the aisle that said it was an additional 75% off the clearance price. However, none of it was marked with clearance stickers. I made sure at checkout that I doubled checked that they rang up on clearance, and they did. I got 2 dog treat holiday gift sets from Sammy's Gourmet Treats that were originally $15 each; my price was $2.25 each. Each set had carob dipped bone-shaped treats and a toy. Max and Lucy have both given these treats their paws up! Of course, they also eat rocks and goose poop...but they did like these treats. I also got a box of Harry & David peppermint truffles (originally $5.50; my price $1.80) and a box of Lindt chocolates (originally $5; my price 87 cents).
I headed to the men's clearance racks to see if I could find anything for my dad or for my brother/nephews for birthday/Christmas gifts. I ended up getting 3 shirts for my dad - 2 Van Heuson shirts that were originally $45 each and a Russell Athletic sweatshirt that was originally $25....for only $2.50 each!!!! There was some good stuff in the men's sections - tons of jeans, Vikings and Packers gear, and a good selection of big and tall.
There was a much better selection of toddler's boys clothes in the Gordman's clearance section compared to Old Navy, and I found 2 t-shirts for Sawyer. Both were originally $18, but my price was only $2.50 each. I also got a Curious George sleep set for $4 (originally $20). For those of you with kids who are Packers and Viking fans, the kid's football jersey's are in the clearance racks for only $9!
A note about Gordman's pricing: Some of their items have the original manufacturer tags on them, while other things have a "their price/our price" tag. In listing the original price, I put the absolutely highest price that was on the orignal tag.
Since I had no man to leave on a bench with my bags, I headed back to the car to put my Gordman's purchases in the trunk before heading back into the mall. Next stop was Bath & Body Works for the final days of their big semi-annual sale. I knew there wouldn't be much left at this point, but that was okay as it would prevent me from going crazy and buying too much. I ended up with 3 body splash sprays - the mango mandarin was half off for $6, while the pearberry and pink grapefruit were $3 each. I also bought a bottle of lemon anti-bacterial hand foam for only $1; plus 1 wallflower plug-in (just a basic one, not the kind that lights up) and 2 refills (chocolate mint and peppermint) that were all originally $6.50 each, but were clearanced priced for $2 each.
Before I headed home I popped in to Dillard's to look at their handbags. I love Guess purses, which Dillard's carries...but none were on sale or clearance.
So, that's my birthday mall haul!! Still wish I could have done this as a video. though....maybe I'll figure out the video camera on my computer eventually.
