the pretty year

It’s that time of year…  The carolers are caroling, the season is bright, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, folks are filled with good cheer and wrestling with somebody’s grandmother over the last PSP at Radio Shack.

Except you.

You get your holiday shopping done early, or late, or online, or you don’t have much holiday shopping to do at all.  A fine, upstanding citizen such as yourself has no need of “Black Friday,” right?

Wrong.  

Start a new holiday tradition.  Make Black Friday, (aka the day after American Thanksgiving), all about you. 

Why should you be left out just because you don’t need a Tickle-Me Hannah Montana Dream House with Robo Laser Vision?  You need gloves, don’t you?  Skinny jeans?  Cashmere?

To review:

Sleeping over in a Wal-Mart parking lot and hanging all your hopes on snagging one of four 49-cent plasma screen HD TVs actually in stock = No

Waking up early (but not insanely early), taking advantage of a couple of your favorite clothing stores and crawling back into your own, still-warm bed before noon = Yes, Please

If you’re like me and you need a new winter coat, or you just can’t pass up a chance to score cheap shoes (check and check), follow my tips for a Frugal Fashionista’s Black Friday.  They’ve gotta be worth something– last year I bought 4 pair of designer shoes for $40, two $70 bras for a total of $17 and a Gianfranco Ferre dress for about $40.  And I was back in bed by 11 am, long before the grandmotherly elbows came out in full force.

The Pretty Year’s Black Friday Tips:

• Do a little recon.  Before you make any plans, head over to a Black Friday site like GottaDeal and survey the landscape.  Macy’s fan?  Take $10 off your $25 purchase– on top of crazy deals like 50% off select boots.  Prefer Old Navy?  How about $15 jeans?  That’s every women’s and men’s jean in the store.   Don’t forget to grab some Performance Fleece for $5 and take an additional $10 off your purchase of $50 or more.  Of course, not every store is popular enough to be found on a Black Friday site.  If you haven’t already, sign up for promotional emails at your favorite store sites (or follow via Twitter or Facebook).  If I hadn’t been on the mailing list, I might not have known that Loehmann’s is offering Buy One Get One Half-Off deals and a $25 off your $50 purchase coupon.  As long as you’ve got that high speed Internet working for you, it wouldn’t hurt to Google folks’ BF experiences in previous years if you’re trying to decide which store to make your first stop, or what location is likely to be less crowded.

 

• Don’t sleep on outlet malls.  Literally.  A number of outlet chains (all heavy on the clothing options) have begun “Midnight Madness” traditions in recent years, with sales starting as soon as Black Friday does.  Prime Outlets, with locations across the US, is giving away free gift bags (including sleepwear) to the first 500 customers at each center who come in their PJs, not to mention markdowns at nearly every store.  Chelsea Premium Outlets also opens their locations at midnight.  A quick survey of the Chicago location shows deals from 20% off a single item at Calvin Klein to 50% off your entire purchase at Aeropostale.  Worth staying up for!
• Unless it’s a midnight sale, get out early– but not too early.  The great thing about shopping for clothes on Black Friday is that your favorite store is not most folks’ #1 destination.  Last year I decided to make Loehmann’s my first stop.  The first ~100 people in line got coupons for (something like) an additional $20 off any purchase of $40 or more– this, on top of their sale prices and specials.  I got to one of the most popular locations (Friendship Heights in DC) about 15 minutes before they opened.  I was Shopper #8.  Conclusion?  This isn’t Toys’R'Us or Best Buy.  No need to camp out overnight.

• Have a plan and have a coupon (or two).  First, sketch out the order in which you want to hit the shops.  Last year, I hit Loehmann’s first and then popped across the street to Filene’s Basement, because I figured the Loehmann’s “Doorbuster” coupons were going to be in shorter supply than the famous FB scratch-off coupons (see below)– I was right.  Once you have a plan in place, Google additional printable coupons– hey, you never know!
• Impulse buy!  When deals are this great, you need to grab first and ask questions later.  There will be no putting it back on the rack and expecting it to be there tomorrow, and many stores will not hold items for you on big sale days like BF.   Not to worry– if the chain is big enough, they’ll take returns– most of them through the end of January for after-Thanksgiving purchases.  When in doubt, make the purchase– especially when it comes to “chance” and one-day coupons.  What do I mean?  Every year, FB hands out scratch-off coupons to the first few hundred customers at each location.  They offer something like 10%, 20%, 30% or 50% off your purchase, or, if you’re really lucky, you can get your entire purchase for FREE.  You won’t know your discount until you get to the register, but if you’re even considering an item, I say– get it.  Who knows?  You could get it for free, or half off.  And if you don’t, and you change your mind?  You can always return it.  (I’m assuming Filene’s Basement will have the scratch-offs again this year, though I haven’t been able to confirm.)

• Let someone else do the driving.  If you live in a major metropolitan area, consider planning your morning around public transportation.  Since Black Friday is, you know, a Friday, most major public transit systems will be running during normal rush hours.  In DC, for example, this means that you can get to most destinations before 6 am.  What’s the advantage?  You won’t have to search for parking on perhaps the very worst parking day of the year.  The disadvantage is that you’ll be lugging your purchases around, but given that they won’t be big-screen TVs, a handy backpack should lighten that load.  If you live in an area that requires a car, see if you can scam a friend into dropping you off at your shopping center of choice.  Worth a shot to avoid parking several states away.   
• When all else fails, go Saturday or go cyber.  Lots of chains have special Black Saturday (?) deals and many now offer many of their Black Friday deals to their customers online– some starting on Thanksgiving Day.  Always an excellent choice for folks who are sized out of brick & mortars, who have disabilities or who would rather shop in their pajamas.  I mean, without anyone seeing them shop in their pajamas.

Just do it!  Share your tips here!  And report back with your awesome finds!  After I take a little Friday afternoon nap, I know I will.

Related posts:

1. Pretty Savvy Friday: Where Do You Get Your Best Bargains?
2. 150 of 250– And a Pretty Savvy Friday Question
3. Pretty Savvy Friday: What Kind of Shopper Are You?
4. Pretty Savvy Friday: The Best Deal Ever
5. Pretty Savvy Friday: Regrets, I've Got a Few