Yesterday I posted about picking up some new items and mentioned flash sales. Kace requested I elaborate further on what these are and where you can shop them (tune out if you already know what these are). Flash sales are membership websites where deals are offered for a limited time on anything from clothing (even wedding dresses!) to shoes to home goods to getaways (kind of like LivingSocial and Groupon). Because of the limited time and amount of sizes/items, it isn’t good to browse these too much if you have issues with impulse shopping. Just use caution and also remember to check the brand’s official site to make sure the item isn’t cheaper there (this happened to me once). These sites do not always ship right away, but they post the policies online so you can plan accordingly if you are buying for an event coming up. Here are just a few things I’ve gotten from my favorite sites 
Designer denim! The pairs pictured above occupy my “designer drawer” of my jeans dresser (yes I have enough jeans to fill most of a dresser), and include Rock & Republic, 7 for All Mankind, Paige, and J Brand. Each of these pairs can retail over $150 and I probably paid anywhere from $60-$90 for each of them.
Cute shoes a plenty. Thanks to flash sales, I’ve cultivated a love for Betsey Johnson, Mia Shadow, and Steve Madden to name a few. Shoe buying online can be tricky so make sure you measure your foot and check the size chart. Same goes for any online purchase really.
Lovely purses to carry your lovely stuff. I turned on the flash so you can see the colors, because they are pretty and I wanted to do them justice. The two bright ones are Amrita Singh and the navy bag is BCBGeneration. The AS bags were the best steal. The purple I paid $30-$40 after shipping (I forget, I know it was less than $45) and the bag sells for $150.
Accessories like jewelry (high end and costume) as well as cute shades (more Betsey Johnson below) can help complete the new outfit you just scored.
Tops and dresses! I’ve gotten a few good tops for going out for under $20 as well as some fancy dresses that were under $100.
Some of the brands featured are well known and others I have never heard of but are likely part of small boutique-y shops in big cities that I never make it to. I got the following yoga gear from one site and it’s been a steady feature in a lot of my yoga classes, plus it’s cute to wear for any apres yoga adventures/errands.
You can really stock up on a lot of stuff with these sites for your entire life (occasional pets and boyfriends/husbands included!). There are a ton of these sites now since their popularity grows more and more each year (even Pac Sun does their own weekly flash sale), but I’ll share with you the ones I shop the most.
This site is probably my most shopped. They not only offer online deals to goods, but also local deals in a lot of major cities. A new features is the Rue 30. Their standard shipping rate is $9.95, which wasn’t too awesome before, but now you pay shipping once and for the next 30 days anything you order from the site ships free. Sales typically start at 11am EST. They ship out of Kentucky.
Very similar to Rue La La. This site tends to close membership for periods of time, then will email you when it reopens. Sales start at 12pm EST, but they offer membership upgrades to be able to buy an hour earlier. Shipping costs $9.95 and they ship out of NJ which makes for a fast delivery if you live close.
Hautelook ships out of California, but they are a great site to shop as well. Their shipping is actually cheaper by a few bucks, and often they have weekends of further discounted or free shipping. Their sales also start at 11am EST.
This was the first flash sale site I discovered. I purchased a bell-sleeve, bamboo cotton Splendid top and that was the end of it. They’ve featured some sales with Project Runway designers and more often then not will have Chanel sales. I still can’t afford Chanel on a discount. Sigh.
I’m not sure how I found this site, but I’m happy I did. As I mentioned in the previous post, The Clymb features a lot of gear/clothing made by companies involved in the fitness, outdoors, sports, and extreme sports industries. I’m excited for when they start featuring snowboarding gear and even Scott was willing to sign up for this site!
For returns, each site has their own policy, but the most common one I see if free return shipping if you receive your refund as store credit. If you want the card you used refunded, often the shipping is on you, whether you pay it out of pocket or it’s deducted from your refund. Keep this in mind while buying! There are a few others I check here and there, but I have not regularly purchased from them, so if you love one I have not mentioned feel free to leave your experience in the comments below!
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After snapping pics of clothes and making my closet even more of a mess, I decided it was time for a good dessert. I finally went to the grocery store earlier and Edy’s ice cream was on sale at 2 for $5. I could not refuse picking up their limited edition pumpkin flavor!
Topped it with a Halloween Oreo cookie (I blame Amy for the craving). I know not everyone is thrilled about the pumpkin invasion, but I sure as hell am. This ice cream was delicious and tasted just like a slice of pie. I could smell the spices the second I took the lid off. You can get it regular and slow churned. If you love pumpkin this will not disappoint!
Do you shop flash sales? What’s the best discount you ever got with them? Are you crazy about the pumpkin parade or is it driving you crazy? 
