I'm a sucker for sales

Who isn't, though?

Forget Black Friday, my favorite sales come around back-to-school time.  I can usually find some end-of-summer items, like shorts or a nicer shirt, and some cute fall clothes, like sweaters and such.  This year was definitely heavier on the fall clothes, but I am totally okay with that, because I made out like a bandit!

My new favorite place for end-of-season sales is the Philly Premium Outlets in Limerick, Pa.  There is a great selection of stores to explore, on all ends of the spectrum.  I'm a huge fan of Ann Taylor Loft, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap and New York & Company.  There's also this new place I discovered called Max Studio, and they've got tons of dresses for any shape, size, or style.

Before my weekend in DC, I decided I wanted some new dresses.  I'm super picky with dresses because there's really only one style I like and look good wearing, and it can be difficult to find.  That would be the empire-waisted dress.  I can pull off a shift dress (kind of), but it's not my preferred choice.  I also hate strapless dresses, so those are automatically ruled out.

Mom and I spent an entire day at King of Prussia once, in search for a couple dresses.  Out of 17 dresses I tried on, only one of them was decent.  One out of seventeen.  As frustrated as I was, I refused to give up.  So the next day, Mom and I ventured to the outlets.  We had always been a day late and a dollar short at the Max Studio store, but we decided to stop in, anyway, and maybe we'd get lucky.

Oh, we definitely got lucky.

I found these two lovely dresses (and that teal tank top I'm wearing in the pic, if you can see it)...

I wouldn't go straight to saying they were cheap, but we got a good deal.  All three pieces are well made, so it was okay spending a little more money for them.  I also grabbed a cute fall dress and a couple of cardigans from Ann Taylor Loft.

Yesterday, my parents and I went back to the outlets for end-of-summer/back-to-school sales.  And like I said above, I made out like a bandit.

First stop: Gap.  Gap is usually hit or miss for me, but yesterday's trip made up for all of my misses in the last year.  I found this adorable 3/4-sleeve sweater, for 40% off...

Love the navy/tan/coral combo!

replacement tank tops, because you can never have too many, for 50% off each...

...and a few other smaller items.  In total, I got about $115 worth of clothes for $67!  How can you beat that?  Also, shout-out to the gentleman who passed along his 40% off coupon to me as I walked into the store.  I paid it forward and gave it to a young man who looked to be restocking his fall jeans collection.

The success did not stop at Gap.  My favorite find of the day was this perfect gray peacoat from Eddie Bauer.  It was originally marked at $69.99, but I got it knocked down to $62.99 with a student discount!

Pro tip: always ask stores if they offer student discounts.  More often than not, if you show your student ID, you'll get a discount.  Student discounts usually aren't huge, but 10% off is 10% off, right?  AAA also offers discounts at certain stores (like Ann Taylor).

And last but not least...my favorite article of fall clothing (second to scarves, of course) is cardigans.  I have a closet full of them and I'm not ashamed.  They're comfy and versatile; you can wear a cardigan with almost anything.

I have found my favorite cardigans at Old Navy, Gap, Target and Ann Taylor.  Sometimes I'll look at mall department stores--Boscov's and Belk tend to be my favorites--but my favorites are generally from the four mentioned here.

Now that my closet is fully stocked for this fall, I can't wait to break out the new clothes and enjoy the fall in Blacksburg.  Scarves, cardigans, boots and jeans...what could be better?