I like my money right where I can see it. Hanging in my closet.

As all who know me know, I am a card-carrying shopaholic.  And by card, I mean Visa.  With my habits, the AmEx will probably be a long time coming.

How did I get this way?  I attribute it to a childhood replete with stirrup leggings, animal sweaters, and glitter-penned overalls (thanks, Mom).  My mumsie had wonderful intentions and is a snappy dresser herself.  To be fair, my wardrobe probably wasn't much of a shocker for the early '90s.  It was a dark time.  But let's just say that by the time I was old enough to dress myself, it was time for a change.

I've left the overalls and leggings in the past (the leggings made a brief return in 2007, but luckily I sobered up quickly and they're now exiled to my gym-and-pj drawer).  Nowadays, I'm about as girly as they come.  I'm all about retro dresses and flowy silk tops, eyelet and lace and blue satin sashes.  If I'm feeling rebellious, I might wear a black accessory.  Maybe.

Yes, I like ruffles and kitten heels and party dresses...and I have a lot of all those things.  I probably have too much of all those things (wait...is "too much" a thing?).  But I'm not all bad.  I almost exclusively buy on sale. This habit, combined with my obssession with (eventually) obtaining every single thing I fall in love with, has made me an extremely vigilant shopper.  I'm pretty much a clearance ninja, and the purpose of this blog is to share my ill-gotten expertise with anyone who wants it.  I'll share it all, and hopefully my little habit will save you guys some cash.  I'll be sharing all of my sales news and a few of my clothing love affairs.  Expect some rants and raves too (ick, bubble hems).  Check back on the daily! ;)

Now that I've introduced myself, here is my shopping parable of the day.  JOIN IDEELI!!!  I command you to click on this and sign up: http://www.ideeli.com/events/latest2.  Ideeli is a free, subscription-based sample sale website which has several new sales everyday.  They offer everything from Betsey Johnson to BCBG to BB Dakota to Vince Camuto to Steve Madden to basically every label under the sun.  Other sites I recommend are http://www.ruelala.com/ and http://www.gilt.com/sale/women.  Gilt and RueLaLa tend to have higher-ends brands and designers on sale, whereas Ideeli offers a broader range or price points.  I recommend Gilt for investment purchases--I got my fave Hunter rain boots through Gilt for nearly half price.  


Basically, two weeks ago I saw this dress on ideeli and snapped it up for $50.00 and today it appeared on Modcloth in the new arrivals section for...$100.00 (http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/wrapped-in-joy-dress).  So I pretty much got this dress two weeks early for half price.  Sign up!!!