.008 POST-BLACK FRIDAY

When I woke up this morning, I realized that it was November 30th. Not the 29th, but the 30th. I had survived Black Friday, but at what cost? My feet ache, my head is killing me, and my heart is still thumping at an abnormal rate. Just twenty-four hours ago,  I prepped and opened for Urban Outfitter's "midnight madness," an event that was guaranteed to bring in hundreds of customers and thousands in sales. Sure enough, the event lived up to its title. In true apocalyptic fashion, once the store opened, people came running through the gates and towards the back where our store had set up the 50% off sale section (yes, as in, our sale was an additional 50% off). I heard people fighting, a few people yelling at employees, and watched as customers hummed happily to themselves while carrying a mountain of discovered goods. The energy in our store was next-level and to be honest, it was contagious. As much as I wanted to hate these people for making me work 11pm-5am, I wanted to be them. So careless in their sweatpants and sloppy placed messy buns...

Alright, perhaps I did not want to be them, but at least I wanted to be on the other side of things. Though lately, I have been shying away from sales. The beacon of red tags and back rooms has become less and less interesting to me as the years have passed on. I no longer want to find the best deal. Instead, I look to find the dream dress or the shoes I cannot stop thinking about, both probably could be found out on the sales floor and without a red tag. Maybe it is keeping up with trends or perhaps I started to realize something. When items are on sale, they suddenly have this appeal to them, I start to see them in another light. The dress that I thought was "alright" suddenly becomes "very cute." I make the purchase and head home to hang it in my over-stuffed closet. A week goes by. Maybe I wear the dress, maybe I do not. Suddenly a week becomes a month and soon I wonder why on earth I bought that dress. Then I remember. 

Oh, it was on sale. 

The story could be told time and time again, it just took me years to learn that I settled when the price went down. It is not to say that I do not search the sale racks to find the dress of my dreams, but I do so with a frame of mind that says, "Hey, just because it is on sale does not mean it is that cute." Sure enough, I have saved myself from some pretty awful trend disasters (I am looking at you, high-low dress of 2011). I have been testing my theory for the past year and there is little to not doubt in my mind that my theory has remained true. Just a few months ago I bought a cropped sweater for five dollars. I thought I would love it and hell, five dollars is a steal. I was wrong. Wore it once (see below, it is in my first post) and honestly, I am not that enamored with it. So the next time you are going out to find some sales, think to yourself: Do I love it because it is true to my sense of style or do I love it because it is on sale? Trust me, even if full priced are two scary words, you will save the same amount of money in the end and get more wear out of one item that you love rather than a few items you are partial to.