All right, ladies, it’s time to gloat a bit. We’ve heard some great stories from friends of amazing sales — so share! What are you most excited about getting in the after-holiday sales? Where did you have the best shopping experience (racks and racks of sales, additional discounts, or just a really nice shopping experience)? (Pictured:  Sale in a Sale Shop Selling Sale Signs, originally uploaded to Flickr by the justified sinner)

(We’d share our own story but, alas, we’ve just moved into a new apartment and spent the post-holiday time unpacking, organizing, and hunting for new furniture pieces.)

We just returned from a hard day out shopping and movie-watching to find this tantalizing offer from ShopBop, and we’ve already filled our cart (seriously, we’re getting about $500 worth of stuff). Lots of good stuff, including this lovely dress (Shoshanna Combo Sheath Dress) from Shoshanna — was $340, marked to $170, price comes to $136 in your cart. Not bad. Not bad at all. (And, for those of you who’ve been waiting, you will be thrilled to know that those Alexander McQueen stretch leather shorts are also on sale.) (We’re joking, but if you can pull them off, more power to you.) 2 DAYS ONLY! EXTRA 20% Off Items Marked 50% AND 70% Off at Shopbop with code EXTRA20. Ends 12/29 @ 11:59pm PST.

And, of course, don’t forget about our holiday open thread…
(L-4)

Bloomie’s is taking 50% off all sale merchandise, including a ton of cute cocktail dresses. For example, this lovely David Meister gold spun dress was$490, is marked $392 — so the price drops to $196 when you put it in your shopping cart. David Meister Sleeveless Spun Gold Cocktail Dress
(L-0)

We’re going to be a bit pressed for time today, so we may skip our afternoon post and instead point you to some great deals we’ve found lately. There seem to be a lot going on, so post more in the comments if you’ve found them…
First, the Endless sale has been continued (it was supposed to end on Tuesday). It’s kind of tricky, so here are our tips for searching the site:
- Go to the website and type in the code “Extra40Off” in the search field.
- From there, you can either a) further limit to “Sale and Clearance” (our tip if you’re on a budget) or proceed directly to b) shop by brands you like. We find it easier to toggle through the site that way, but maybe that’s just us.  (You can also searcht the site by color, or style of bag.)
- Once you find something you like, make sure the product page (near the price) has something that says “Special Offer Available!” — that’s how you know it’s 40% off. The deal won’t actually show up until you’re at the last step of the checkout process (but you can still delete things if you want to at that point, or walk away entirely.)
For example, the Kate Spade nylon tote above (Kate Spade Quilted Poppy Fields Maryanne Tote,Cherry) was $325, now about $145 with the sale.  TONS of Bally, Botkier, Bulga, Cole Haan, Kate Spade, LeSportsac, and Treesje bags. (Anyone who does not have our preferred travel bag, the Lesportsac Large Weekender, can make out like a bandit at the sale. Trust us, these things are great for stuffing into that front compartment of your rolling carry-on bag, and then using them as another carry-on bag on your way home to transport all the goodies you’ve picked up on your trip.  It can also function as a laundry bag while you’re on the trip.)

Second, Banana Republic has 40% off today with code BBCY91N3DTCQ. We’re still trying to figure out if that’s a unique code (it was sent to us by a friend) or if that’s a good-for-everything code — we didn’t receive an e-mail notification from Banana today about the sale, for some reason.  (Booo.)

Finally, the Barney’s sale has hit the 60% off mark.  We got some great pieces at this sale last year (including the cashmere sweater we’re wearing today).

Like we said, this is in no way a complete survey of the sales out there — just some good ones we’ve heard about.  Let us know if you’ve heard of other good ones — seems like the sales season is starting to get underway.  (Yay!)

(L-4)

Happy Monday! We’re going to have our Splurge Report later this afternoon… and in the meantime, let folks focus on the Cyber Monday sales. If you see any that we’ve forgotten, please comment below…

Check out the Cyber Monday deals at Amazon – tons of great electronics deals, as well as deep discounts on games and DVDs…

Take 30% off all sale merchandise at Anne Klein. Offer valid 11/26-11/30. Plus receive free shipping on all orders!

Exclusively Online. 11/30 Only! 20% off + Free Shipping on $0 from Gap, BR, Old Navy, Piperlime & Athleta. Enter Code MONDAY Banana Republic

Cyber Monday 2009 – Free Shipping no minimum TODAY ONLY at BareNecessities.com. Ends 11.30.09.

Cyber Monday Super Deal: 25% Off Any 1 Item at eBags.com!

Cyber Monday One Day Sale: Save 30% off sitewide with coupon code “cybermonday”. Hurry sale ends at midnight on 11/30/09.

Take $30 off your order of $100 at www.endless.com

Get 50% off everything at ShopGoldyn.com for one week only with code HOLIDAYSPECIAL! Offer valid through Wednesday, December 3rd.

FREE Shipping on orders $29+ on HOT Cyber Monday Items at LOW prices + $5 off $50 w/ KMART5OFF50

60% Off Selected Diamond Jewelry

The Limited Cyber Monday: 40% off all merchandise plus free shipping on all orders today, 11.30.09 only!

20% off on Cyber Monday at Naturalizer.com. Use code CYBERMON on 11/30/09 Only

50% Off Absolutely Everything! Starts 11/25 Through Cyber Monday Online Only – In Stores on 11/27

Save 20% the Entire Nicole Miller Site…including SALE! Discount applied at Checkout.

New Nine West doorbusters! TODAY, MONDAY11/30 ONLY, plus shop up to 50% off (select styles).

Exclusively Online. 11/30 Only! 20% off + Free Shipping on $0 from Gap, BR, Old Navy, Piperlime & Athleta. Enter Code MONDAY

80% off Restaurant.com $25 Gift Cert. orders. Use code SAVE and Pay $2 thru 11/30/09.

Tons of big sales on sports equipment — the best deal we found was this: NordicTrack Incline Trainer on sale $1299.99. Save $1200 11/29-12/5

Enter CYBER to save 20% on your entire purchase at Shoes.com plus Free Shipping. Valid 11/30/09 only

Cyber Monday coupons of up to 80% off retail, and free shipping site wide — check out deals on bedding, diamonds, pearls, and outerwear

Cyber Monday – Shop The Most Wonderful Deals of the Year at Target.com

One day only, get 1 cent shipping on $49 or more at Wine.com. Use code CYBERMON. Expires at midnight on 11/30/09.

20% Off Entire Order + Free Shipping with Offer Code 8002. Plus FREE Gift with Purchase with $100 Purchase (11.30 Cyber Monday: starting 11.29 9PM EST)

These are some of the best deals we’ve found… please add your own in comments!

Check out the Black Friday deals at Amazon – tons of great electronics deals, as well as deep discounts on games and DVDs…

Take 30% off all sale merchandise at Anne Klein. Offer valid 11/26-11/30. Plus receive free shipping on all orders!

40% off your entire purchase with code “Turkey”

BLACK FRIDAY ONLY! Save 39% on Refurb REBEL XT Camera (Silver) 18-55 with Bag, Memory Card, Battery, and Filter! Expires 11/27.

Take 30% off your order through 8 AM EST on Friday with code “Thanks”…

20% Off Any Order at eBags.com!

Black Friday Deal: Save 30% off Little Black Dresses at eDressMe. Shop now, sale ends 11/29/09.

30% off for 4 days only at www.endless.com

Biggest sale of the year at Freshpair.com — 20% off Chantelle and Panache, lots of other 25% off deals

Black Friday: $5 off any prepaid 3-month order. Use code GMCBF5 (Black Friday: coupon valid 11/27/09-11/30/09)

25% off LeMystere at HerRoom.com!… also Buy 1 get the 2nd at 60% off on all of your favorite brands at HerRoom.com!

FREE Shipping on orders $29+ on HOT Holiday Items at LOW prices + $5 off $50 w/ KMART5OFF50 11/28 – check out deals on cameras, televisions, and more — lots of online-only deals…

The Limited Black Friday: 40% off all merchandise plus free shipping on all orders today, 11.27.09 only!

Lots of boots on sale for 30% off (some as much as 70% off) – also, 10% off Naturalizer.com with code FALLNAT09 thru 11/30/09

50% Off Absolutely Everything! Starts 11/25 Through Cyber Monday Online Only – In Stores on 11/27

Today Only! Save 20% on Rachel Zoe’s picks with promo code: RZPICKS

The saks Thanksgiving Sale: take up to 60% off! Shop 11.26.09–11.28.09.

Doorbuster Deal: 25% off ALL Kenmore Elite Appliances from 7am-12noon 11/28… also Kenmore TRIO French Door Bottom Freezer Refrigerator only $749.99. Save 50% from 4am-12pm FRI 11/27… also Samsung HE Front Load Washer & Electric Dryer Pair only $999.98. Save $700 from 4am-12pm FRI 11/27

Enter YAMS to save 25% on sale and clearance items at Shoes.com plus Free Shipping

SmartBargains.com has a ton of great coupons — 30% off all boots, women’s apparel starting at $9.99, men’s cashmere marked from $300+ down to $79.95…

80% off Restaurant.com $25 Gift Cert. orders. Use code SAVE and Pay $2 thru 11/30/09.

Shop Target’s 2-Day Sale – 11/27-11/28 Only!–great deals on TVs, GPS units, and even Dyson vacuums (save $200 on the Dyson Animal!)

Toshiba Black Friday 1-Hour Doorbuster – a Satellite® L500 for just $299 + 3 FREE accessories! 9 am to 10 am Pacific 11.27.09 only or while supplies last. Make sure you’ve completed checkout by 10 am to receive this deal!… also,

One day only, get 25% off select gifts. Use code 25FRIDAY. Expires at midnight on 11/27/09.

20% Off Entire Order + Free Shipping with Offer Code 8954 (11.26)

Here’s our confession/boast: almost everything we own was bought on sale. Our favorite Iisli sweater jacket? Tried it on at Bergdorf’s when it cost $430, snapped it up at a winter sale a few months later for $150; then loved it so much that we bought another one on HauteLook for $125. We’ve gotten pants from Banana Republic for $6.99 and worn them a lot. We once snagged an entire ball gown at an outlet store for $20 and wore it to our firm’s black-tie gala. Alas, most of these amazing takes came from the days when we shopped the stores really regularly — since then, we’ve had to adjust our shopping habits for a life where a) we’re usually, you know, working when the stores are open and b) it’s harder to set aside time on the weekend to shop.  (Pictured:  “Closing Down” Sale 2, originally uploaded to Flickr by johnthurm.)

(A caveat before we start our tips — in our  minds there is a difference from buying good clothing at reduced prices, and buying cheap clothing.   Personally, we have serious ethical issues with shopping at stores that specialize in knock-offs.  (Hat tip to Counterfeit Chic, who covers the issue regularly.))

1.  The next time you’re actually out and about shopping, do a little legwork — learn your size in the brands you ogle online.  Are you a 7 or 7.5 in Cole Haan pumps?  Are you a size 8 or 10 in Tory Burch?  If you figure this out it’ll be much easier to snap up sales when you see them, whether they’re at online discounters like RueLaLa or department stores.

2.  Use online tools to help keep you aware of discounts.  We try to point you to a big sale if we see one, but a lot of the best deals (60% off) fall in the “lucky sizes” realm, when very limited sizes are left.  Particularly if you fall on either end of the “regular” clothing spectrum — an XS, a size 14 — then you should set up sale alerts because there are tons of great tools.  We love ShopItToMe, and we’ve heard good things about Savvy Circle as well.  ShopStyle can also be handy if you’re watching a particular brand of bags or shoes.

3.  Don’t pay for shipping more than you have to.  When we shop online, we haaate paying for shipping — it’s our number one pet peeve.  If there’s a minimum for free shipping ($75 or $200 are frequent numbers) then we will almost always try to fill our carts with at least that amount.  Bloomingdales had great sales recently and, the bag we wanted — a Treesje bag marked from $600ish to $180ish — would not have gotten us free shipping.  So we also bought a pair of Ralph Lauren shorts marked to $8 (we never wear shorts, but we always pack them on vacations, so the price worked well) and a Kooba bag (also marked to the $190 realm) that we were curious about.  We wound up returning the Kooba bag, but the Treesje bag and shorts were great deals, and we still got the free shipping.

4. Look for coupons before you checkout.  We almost always check RetailMeNot before purchasing anything online; we also get a lot of e-mails directly from stores, which frequently come with coupon codes.

5. Shop off season. That Treesje bag we mentioned?  White patent leather — it arrived the weekend after Labor Day, meaning we won’t get to wear it for nearly a year.  That’s ok, though — when Memorial Day rolls around we’ll be salivating for it.

6.  Know the returns policy. Particularly if you’re filling your shopping cart in order to get free shipping, you need to  be sure you know how long you have to return items.  Some stores are very friendly — for example, we bought a ton of white dresses from Nordstrom’s, on sale, when we got engaged — different sizes, different brands, etc. — probably spending about $400 on four or five dresses.  Nine months later, when it was time to get dressed for the rehearsal dinner, we tried on the dresses and wore the one that fit the best; we returned the rest without hassle. (Just to clarify — we don’t recommend you stretch it out to 9 months on a regular basis. Rather, just know the returns policy so you aren’t surprised if it’s a 30-day policy and you thought you had 60 days.)

7.  Be flexible on the sizes. While in #1 we advise you to know your size, we also advise you to be a bit flexible on size when you’re ordering online.  A lot of great sales happen on clothes that have the wrong tag.  So if you see a size 8 and you’re a size 6, if the deal is right (and returns won’t be a hassle), give it a try.  (We would not necessarily advise this for shoes, though.)

8. Know what you wear regularly. Our weekend uniform tends to be black t-shirts and jeans, so we frequently check around for black t-shirts on the site that look worthwhile to us.

9. Consider buying multiples. If you see a deal on something that you already know and love, consider buying multiples, either in the same color or a different one.  We already mentioned our Iisli sweater, but we’ve done this a number of times — jeans, shoes, t-shirts, even bags.

10.  Understand that some things just don’t go on sale, while others might be able to be negotiated if you’re buying in person.  For example, we’ve never seen a classic Louis Vuitton bag on sale, and proudly bought ours at the store for full price.  On the other hand, they say that jewelry can be negotiated — for example, if you’re buying a good watch (Cartier, Rolex, etc.) from a reputable store it’s not uncommon for the sales person to give you a 15% discount.

Readers, what are your best tips for getting steals online?  Any victory stories you’d like to share? Also:  if you like this story, please consider “Digging” it:

Liking these posts? Follow Corporette on Twitter — this is the edited version of what we’re reading! (We also Tweet if we hear about a good sale.)

- We’re kind of against this kind of analysis, but we would be remiss if we didn’t point you to WaPo’s critique of Sonia Sotomayor’s fashion choices, followed by Fashionista’s and Jezebel’s critiques of the WaPo for not running similar stories about Alito or Roberts.

- Fake it till you make it: The Simple Dollar advises on ten ways to improve your appearance of confidence.

- The Harvard Business Blog advises how to be super productive at work. (Hat tip to Lifehacker.)

- The Frugal Duchess breaks down Kiplinger’s annoying slideshow on when to save money, on what.

Curious where the good sales are this weekend? We’ve done the legwork for you — check our round-up, after the jump…

Semi-annual sale — up to 60% off!

Take 20% percent off new arrivals at Banana Republic!

Take an extra 25% off already-reduced designer merchandise at Barneys New York

Take 40% off a selection of summer favorites at Bloomingdales.

Exclusively online — take an additional 20% off all sale styles at ColeHaan.com.

Take an additional 30% off permanent markdowns at Dillard’s.


Patriotic Prints and Solid Dress- 15% off through 7/4

Receive Free Shipping with $99 Purchase during the July 4th Sale at macys.com! Enter promocode: FIREWORKS at checkout. Offer valid 01-Jul-2009 through 05-Jul-2009.

Naturalizer.com Save Up To 50% Off Spring & Summer Styles starting June 11th

Up to 50% off summer styles at oldnavy.com


The Saks Designer Sale – get select designer styles for up to 60% off! Offer begins 6.20.09.

2 DAYS ONLY! Take an EXTRA 25% OFF All SALE with code EXTRA25 at shopbop

The Thomas Pink Summer Sale

Celebrate America’s birthday with savings of up to 50%. No promo code required. Shop now for best selection.

Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.

Okay, yesterday’s attempt at an A-line look may have been a swing and a miss, but we’re truly loving this silk colorblock skirt from Abaete, which is ever so helpfully included in Bloomingdale’s 40% off Fourth of July sales. We love the fact that it’s mostly black, but with just a bit of details that remind of us of an Art Deco painting we can’t quite remember right now. Gorgeous. And we love a good discount — this skirt was $242, and is now $86. Abaete Women’s “Kendra” Silk Color-Block Skirt

If you’ve recently seen a great work piece you’d like to recommend to the readers, please e-mail editor@corporette.com with “TPS” in the subject line.