Angela’s Lab |Fall Fashion On Sale!

It’s mid-July and sweltering in many parts of the country, but the fashion media is running fall preview stories and moms everywhere are starting to think about shopping for back-to-school clothes. This is the time I start longing for luxurious knits, tailored tweeds and buttery leather boots. Fall is my favorite time of year when it comes to fashion. Hands down. And true to my Northwest roots, I get excited for the annual Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, which always officially kicks off my buying frenzy for fall. After all, I’m saving money by buying now since the prices go back UP after the sale. It’s a no-brainer. Because you will end up buying items you love later and paying full price. (Prices go up August 4th.) That said, make sure you go in with a plan of what you think you need and, for the love of platform heels, don’t buy something just because it’s on sale.

Shopping the sale has changed for me now that I have a daughter, however. Christina’s almost six and has definite opinions about what she will and won’t wear. This year we started with her selecting key pieces and shoes for back-to-school that she likes (with my guidance of course and the occasional “no, we’re not buying that, but what about this” distraction technique that still works, whew), followed by me promising we could go to the Disney store if she could sit and wait while I tried on a few things. Now, I know moms can fully appreciate that when you have a child in tow while attempting to shop for yourself, it’s time to employ bribery and/or break out the iPad. All the while thinking, why didn’t I get a babysitter? It is also extremely helpful to have a personal shopper pull items you are interested in ahead of time and have them ready to go in the fitting room. I repeat, extremely helpful. Not to mention, there are a number of limited edition designer items that often sell out quickly in some sizes and your personal shopper can pull them aside for you. Which is how I landed these fabulous Chloe dove grey boots. Thanks to my friend Brooke at the Scottsdale store.

Boots, Chloe

The end result? Christina made out like a bandit with a ton of new fall school clothes and 4 pairs of shoes. Don’t you especially love the little moto boots and buckled Converse high tops??

Moto Boots, Tucker+Tate // High-Tops, Converse // Flats, Ruby & Bloom // Sneakers, Skechers

And I walked away with some great new denim, a couple of blouses and sweaters (can’t wait to wear the Joie fur-trim cape sweater!), a floral silk dress, and my super chic boots that I will wear with my skinnies, pencil skirts and fall dresses.

Sweater, Joie // Sweater, Equipment // Blouse, Diane von Furstenberg // Blouse, Joie