what was that about scrimping and saving again?

Spring cleaning day has arrived and that means the following:

Drag 2 suitcases of clothes that have been packed since this summer into the living room.
Drag 2 suitcases of clothes that have been more recently packed for gigs or travels into the living room.
Empty 4 suitcases onto the living room floor.

Go through: heavy sweaters, light sweaters, nice pants, capris, workout clothes, nice tops, tank tops, too many pairs of 7s that I got on sale one day that have not been shortened, skirts, jackets, dresses dresses dresses (cocktail, Sunday, gowns, semi-formal, summer, etc. etc.) and DECIDE what I'm keeping, what I love but I've had for too too long, what I haven't worn in the past year (although that's probably not my fault since I haven't had a full closet of my own stuff for the past year either), and what I'm giving away of all of that stuff.

Things that went first: sweaters. They pill and pull. Can't argue with that.
Things that went reluctantly: a few skirts that I haven't worn in a while (and have most likely owned since 2003 or earlier), one of the 3 pairs of black pants, some tops and tanks that were looking shabby, not chic, and a whole bunch of T's from opera companies that I have worn as PJs and workout clothes for the past 5 years--but really, it was time for them to go.
Although the memory of the 2005 summer season will always be in my mind!!

What did I do to make myself feel better about giving away about 1/5 to 2/5ths of my clothes?
OUTLET SHOPPING!

Ooooh yea. I hit up Betsy Johnson even though the majority of her dresses are for teeny boppers now. Once in a while I DO find a steal there, and I was THIS close to buying a SUPER cute blue and white summer dress....but then I said, no, I'll wait.

Then I went to Ann Taylor--and after the teeny bopper of BJ, I felt like a mom shopping for my first day back at work in there. Plus it was all stuff from the fall season, which was another bust.

Third try- Michael Kors--umm, WHY is everything you have out right now inspired by Safari brown, beige and orange? That would be a big NO.

Next- Coach. I can ALWAYS find something I want there..and indeed- I found the cutest clutch purse--black and silver--TWENTY BUCKS!!! on sale for 50 percent off!
YEsss...

Then- Armani. Really, I never go in there, because I know that dresses, even marked down, will be over 300 dollars. But I just gave it a whirl.
And LO and BEHOLD, the HEAVENS parted and the GODDESS of FOOTWEAR delivered upon me the most AMAZING deals on two pairs of HOTTTT shoes.

Ok, you can't see them that well here, but I promise they are amazing PLUS I can walk on them without falling over! (Maybe this is a way to get NUMBER 17 on my list checked off!

And the cutest most sparkly silver flats that I want to wear every day under all of my jeans and with all of my skirts!

Ok, ORIGINAL price for the stingray stilettos---$730! Cha CHING! Final Price on sale because of the ailing economy and my general awesome-nity at finding a bargain at the store (it was their last pair)--Grand total: $69 bucks!!!!

Original price for the silver flats: $249....mine for the LOW LOW price of $39!!!

How sweet it is.