This Weekend’s Sales and Strategies for Shopping Them

For whatever reason, this weekend seems to be a big weekend for clothing sales. Perhaps the tone was set by NordstromÂ’s awesome Anniversary Sale, or maybe itÂ’s just getting late enough in the summer that stores are trying to get rid of their summer items and start preparing for fall (Oh no! ItÂ’s way too soon!).

So if you can manage to find the time, I would definitely be scoping the stores this weekend – I will be! In particular, aside from just the most expensive retailers like Nordstrom, a lot of cheaper clothing stores are having big sales as well. For example, I know H&M is running a huge sale right now. One of my friends went to her local store and bought three dresses for five dollars each! That scoop definitely got me thinking about making the trek to H&M, Forever21, and other similar large stores this weekend.

But sometimes I just find those stores so exhausting. IÂ’ve had some bad experiences where it feels like there are just too many clothes, too many people, and too little space to actually find anything worth the while.

But over time IÂ’ve learned a few secrets that cannot only make the experience more enjoyable, as well as a million times more successful. Feel too overwhelmed to brave the daunting clothing racks at H&M? Well here are my top three tips for making the trip amazing:

1. Wear an outfit that you can change out of easily. I absolutely hate shopping while wearing jeans, as it takes forever to take them on and off. I also frequently make the mistake of wearing my oversize menÂ’s watch while shopping, and it always gets caught on clothes. So make things easy for yourself, pick a simple outfit and easy to take off shoes.

2. Go to the store early. In San Francisco, where I live currently, most of the stores open between 9 and 10 am. By getting there early, you can avoid crowds as well as the mess left by crowds. Going early in the morning means the store wonÂ’t be out of sizes and will have a full, clean selection to look through.

3. Try on everything that catches your eye. One of the nice things about these stores is that they give you nylon bags to throw all your clothes in. And especially in this situation, you want to try on as many things as you can, as youÂ’ll never know what might fit.

What are your tips for making shopping at a large store bearable?

flickr.com/photos/idhren/2763787804