Battle of the after-’Black Friday’-math
It wasn't really a "Jingle All the Way" shopping experience, but it sure was for some others.
Although I was nail-biting eager to shop til’ the last penny drops, my wallet begged to differ for all of Saturday as I stepped outside into the debris of dented toy boxes, $300 laptops and pieces of flesh left from ‘Black Friday’ to hopefully stumble upon the remainder of the holiday deals.
Naturally I go straight to the mall; Saturday, however, I didn’t even go 500 feet near one. One reason was because nothing angers me more than going to a high-end mall with an attenuating budget, and the other was because I felt like stretching out what I do have as far and as reasonable as possible.
Which stores did I end up visiting? Target and the last-season goldmines of Marshalls and TJMaxx. Target has rapidly become the fashion stable for the budget fashion fiend, but it has recently started to attract even some of the most exquisite eyes (see Vogue’s December article “Hip and humble holidays: chain-store charms”) because as many of us have already realized: who knew spending so little can look this good!
For those who suffer the brand-affiliation syndrome, designers creating lines for Target like Thakoon (current collection), Jonathan Saunders, Richard Chai, Proenza Schouler, Issac Mzrahi, and Target’s upcoming GO International designer, Alexander McQueen, provides a detour to shopping high-end.
When I stepped foot into the Target located within the Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, I was perhaps one of the 300+ people in the store, as it was packed like canned sardines. My first stop was the dollar section of Target, as it blows the dollar sections of every other retailers out of the water. Here I scored an interchangeable Hello Kitty pens and mechanical pencil combination and some stickers; for myself, respectively. I then hurried to the women’s section and browsed through the sales section where, with an exception to outerwear, I settled for items worth $15 or less. My thrifty fingers aggressively worked against the shoppers adjacent to me, especially in times when our eyes and hands meet on the same article of clothing of the same size and style. But it was a fight with etiquettes, as to declare defeat was simply moving on to the next few items on the rack.
After a session in the fitting room, I finalized my inventory to two items that tickled my fancy: the Jonathan Saunders for Target Ombre top and the color block top with red belt from the same collection, together under $30. There was a gorgeous jacket of my size that made my eyes glisten, but I was given the finger of disapproval from my bank account; I plan to make another visit in hopes of finding it available.
The second stop was TJMaxx, but I ended up not walking out with a shopping bag in my hand due to the shop’s overwhelming outcome of attendees and the lack of items that appealed to me. But within the madness laid a gorgeous Emile Pucci gown marked down to $150 from it’s original $1,500 price, which I obviously didn’t buy, but wanted in my hands badly.
My last stop was Marshalls, which had a great amount of salon hair products marked off from their retail prices and ready to sell (Chi, Tigi, Fekkai). I found a myriad of perfect gifts for the holidays, and even more items to self-invest. Out of this trip, which not only included a creepy, situation-straight-from-Resident -Evil trip to the bathroom, I ended up buying a double-breasted light Ninety jacket, which has a baggy yet chic silhouette.
When I arrived home I bought two more things, from Target.com. Even more sales lies online, which if you want to take the risk of not trying before buying, is a much better alternative than braving the retail battleground.
So dark yet so divine. Source: hotbeautyhealth.com
The result of this weekend has donned on me the aftermath that would deem success upon many retailers: the buyer realizes the shopping does not stop here. I have kept tabs on the sales and the collection of new items that many retailers have announced to stock; suddenly I have a need and want to buy, buy, buy. Thakoon’s line for Target is set to launch December 28, and following that line is the much anticipated Alexander McQueen collection for Target. For MAC Cosmetics, Sanrio has collaborated with them to launch a limited edition Hello Kitty collection, including a small array of blushes, eyeshadow, lipgloss, and many more, set to release online on Feburary 10 and in stores two days afterwards. After the overly successful launch of Commes Des Garcons for H&M, Matthew Williamson will be debuting a collection for the popular store set to arrive spring 2009.
Given recent reports, it looks like my small contribution did not alleviate smugness from the suffering economy as many others have invested $41 billion into the Black Friday deals – more than what was spent last year, according to cnnmoney.com. (Also a good reason for retailers to show a little hint of happiness.) In return, however, these businesses had to drastically cut down prices and expect less profit in order to attract the reasonably stingy population of the United States.
Here’s to the Happy Holidays and an even happier time spent shopping!
