As much as I love a good deal, I am not the door crasher type. Lining up in front of a store at ungodly hours for a chance to score a deal? Thanks but no thanks. That’s why it was very uncharacteristic of me to round up a few girlfriends for Fashion Crimes’ Boxing Day sale. I found out through the grapevine that the store is moving and everything is discounted at 60% off. I love designer Pam Chorley’s girly party dresses and the halter cut Jezebel Tivoli Mini is one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe. With most of the dresses regularly priced over $300, the sale is tempting all on its own. For added temptation, they advertised door crasher deal of $50 fill-a-bag for first 50 customers on Boxing Day.
My friends and I are on the same page about lining up in front of the store. We decided to arrive half hour ahead of the store’s 11am opening time and just let the chips fall. It was not ridiculously early. If the line up was already more than 50, we would go for breakfast and come back for their regular sale. If we luck out to be among the first 50, we wouldn’t have to stand in the cold too long either. Perfect plan.
When R and I showed up at 10:30, there were only a dozen eager fashionistas ahead of us. No. Way. I quickly messaged C and suggested her to meet us at the store ASAP. The door opened and all of us filed inside in the most orderly manner. No crazed stampede here, thank goodness. Each of us received a clear plastic bag and was given a few simple rules. All the items marked with a red tag were eligible. No try-ons. We had one hour.
I beelined to the rack full of Jezebel Tivoli dresses. The ones on sale were all solid colours (hello bridesmaid) so I picked out a silver one for versatility. R and I made best guesses regarding size (XS or S, mostly). I knew that even for two dresses in the same cut, different fabric stretches differently so there was no telling if it would fit for sure. We started a bit slow but the frenzy of deal hunting eventually set in and we started filling our bags with more and more dresses. C arrived soon after but the girly style doesn’t really appeal to her. After much consideration, she only picked a bolero. I suggested that she put her item in my bag as well and we could split the cost. R found us and we decided ALL of our items could fit in one bag. As you see from my photo above, our bag was about to burst.
Three of us left the store in a high of cheap thrill. We tallied 8 party dresses and 2 boleros which worked out to $5 average per piece. We pay more for a fancy cup of coffee at Starbucks! Of course we were excited to try everything on. On our way to the parking garage, we came across our gym. Can you say perfect timing? The gym was practically empty and we laid our purchases in the spacious change room. Time to play dress up!
Why all the white dresses? I had the brilliant idea of getting next year’s Diner En Blanc outfit. So R and I both picked out some white dresses for the occasion. We mixed and matched all the dresses to see which one fits who. I could not zip up two of my picks including an ethereal ivory strapless empire dress with tulle skirt and the silver halter. Fortunately, R looks beautiful in them and she graciously took them off my hands. The only dress that none of us could fit was the turquoise strapless dress with full skirt. Alas, the colour was so strikingly beautiful on both R and C.
I got home and immediately took photos of my conquests.
I styled an ivory textured satin Jezebel Tivoli Mini with red crinoline (purchased previously also at Fashion Crimes) for added pouf. The oversized rhinestone statement ring is 60% off which is a bargain at $8.80. The Seychelles Dynamite Fishnet wedge pump is a recent purchase. The MyWalit evening frame leather bag caught me eye back in Sydney and I finally tracked it down in Toronto.
My other dress is a black satin Jezebel Wiggle and a velvet bolero. The below-the-knee length and halter top lend an air of mobster pin up. I styled the outfit simply with Fluevog Body Part pump with gold heels and an oversized silk flower.
Am I hooked on door crasher deals? Gosh no. But it certainly was a fun morning hanging out with the girls and scoring some beautiful clothes for next to nothing. Boxing Day sale at Fashion Crimes continues until December 30th with 60% off the entire store. Don’t miss out!
