The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The most wonderful time of the year (at least in Memphis) actually comes around twice, once in spring and once in fall. It's called Erika's Ladies Consignment Sale, and it is the best thing to ever happen to poor girls trying to pass for non-poor girls. It runs for about three and a half days, and my is that rented space filled with secondhand steals!

Nikki at the Fashionable Wife  discovered this gold mine last spring, when she heard about it on the radio. I tagged along. We swung by after work and an obsession was born.

Consignment sale number one, Spring 2010: Pair of 7 jeans, BCBG dress (for work of course--completely reasonable purchase) and random Gap button up for about $100 give or take a dollar or two.

The jeans were $40 and don't look this worn in real life.

Today was the second day of the fall sale, and we went at 9 a.m. You won't believe what we found!

Tory Burch flats, $55

Two pairs of Tory Burch flats for $55 each! Nikki got the navy pair and I bought the white. Not my very first color choice had I paid full price for these, but I could do worse than white Tory flats. I'm actually quite thrilled! Nikki assures me I can pass them off as "winter white," and she is the Fashionable Wife, after all, so I shall be wearing these all through the frosty season. (They're not as white as this picture makes them seem.)

French Connection dress, $20

This fab find is kind of a dark purple (I think?) and I thought it was too big. Nikki immediately belted it for me and I loved it! (Did I mention the dressing room at this place is a a big open room with mirrors, and everyone stands around awkwardly in their underwear together, and in our case offers belting advice? Less shocking the second time around.) I got a sale Target belt for $5 to wear with it, and plan to pair it with my new boots (courtesy of a gift card).

BCBG dress, $20

Also at the recommendation of the Fashionable Wife, I will pair this one with a white long sleeve tee underneath and boots! It ties in the back and I think it could be quite cute for a work environment. I'm very excited about the fashionable ensembles in my future, as I am just now learning to accessorize. I can literally count the pieces of jewelery I own on my fingers, and most of those are things like a wedding band, pearl studs, etc. which are great, but not the best for dressing up blah clothes. I also received word (via gmail chat) that bff Lexi went to the sale too and bought some wonderful things for way less than they are worth! (Think Free People and J.Crew, y'all.)

Do you have any great secondhand stores in your area, or sales like this? If so, can I stay with you when I roadtrip to shop at them? Just kidding. These may well be my last purchases in a long time (well, hopefully not) but more on that later. I can't wait to start belting! Woot!