I live to catch trends after the fact. Especially when they are on the sale rack.
My new obsession that has transformed into a retail deal compulsion? Trolling the sale rack at the Gap for odd pieces no one else wants. I often grab tops for $3.99 and jeans for $9.99.
Sure, these aren't exactly your "basics" I find tucked away ... like white T-shirts or your everyday "blue" jean. These are Gap's more experimental, more editorial pieces. Dare I say, it's Gap's version of prêt a porter couture?
The pieces are never arranged in particular size or style order, so a Recessionista Fashionista must have time on her hands and be motivated to pick through each piece.
You must use a discerning eye to discover the potential in that sheer metallic button-down a size too large for you, or to find a creative, inventive way for that piece to fit in to your wardrobe.
This is not about practicality.
This is about power shopping for fashion potential.
My latest victory is a pair of rayon-polyester blend, plain black "Hammer pants," labeled "The Non-Jean" by the marketing wizards at Gap corporate.
Yes, I am referring to the king of '90s party rap, the soundtrack to my middle school dance circles, MC Hammer – and the pants that gained his namesake. I bet his were rayon-poly blend too! Gap is so historically accurate.
True, they are bit more tailored and in a much quieter pattern than the original version, but a stylista scouting bargain-fab knows "You can't touch this" when she sees it.
Imagine my delight when I snagged the only pair of these trousers that hung nimbly on the Gap sale rack.
The rush I felt just pulling them off the silver pole, liberating them from being smashed in with purple striped cotton t-shirts and beige cardigans was almost better than – well, do I even have to say it?
I examined the label. For real? $17.99 down from $59.99??
A bit of disappointment hit me as I normally draw the line at $9.99 for pants, but these were too good and too bizarre to pass up.
I checked the size.
Why? I don't know, because I never let the size on the label stop me. I can make an XXL top work as a drapey, off-the-shoulder piece.
And bless the Gap for making all women think they are a smaller size than they expect. Those brilliant design minds clearly have a different set of sizing standards – and I appreciate it. In no other line of clothing can I squeeze my ample hips and "athletic" thighs into a 00.
Gap is clearly on a mission to improve the self-esteem of women everywhere.
A special thank-you to spandex and its integration into denim for that achievement too.
But, back to the Hammer pants. The dressing room sealed the deal for me. I even requested other colors, but to my disappointment – they had none.
Yes, it will be "Hammer Time" for me as long as the seams stay intact.
I encourage you to stretch your fashion boundaries with a sale rack expedition. I'd love if you'd send me pictures and tweet me your favorite bargainista finds!
Lindsay Garric is a Milwaukee native who calls her favorite city home base for as long as her lifestyle will allow her. A hybrid of a makeup artist, esthetician, personal trainer and entrepreneur all rolled into a tattooed, dolled-up package, she has fantasies of being a big, bad rock star who lives in a house with a porch and a white picket fence, complete with small farm animals in a version of Milwaukee that has a tropical climate.
A mishmash of contradictions, colliding polar opposites and a dash of camp, her passion is for all pretty things and the products that go with it. From makeup to workouts, food to fashion, Lindsay has a polished finger on the pulse of beauty, fashion, fitness and nutrition trends and is super duper excited to share that and other randomness from her crazy, sexy, gypsy life with the readers of OnMilwaukee.com.
