I was reminded about how much I learn from my 3-year-old when I read this post today.  Her Bad Mother writes about the top 10 things she learned while letting her Kindergartener dress her.  I’m not so bold as to let my child dress me.  My child has definitely pulled off some amazing outfits, but I’m just not sure I can keep up.

Among the outfits that come to mind are the neon shoes with coordinating…coordinating nothing.  Try not to stare directly at them – there is a small chance of being blinded.  Then it’s the crazy pattern and color combos – stripes and checkers, red and purple, neon and anything.  Which, I might add, always garner compliments and inevitably causes me to question my rules of fashion.

And of course, there is no way I can keep up with her crazy hair do’s.

Ok.  The crazy hair do was really us playing with her hair.  She was not involved in this at all except being a willing participant.  Actually, she was really too young to be willing or unwilling so we took advantage of it and gave her a Mohawk.

I’ve learned quite a bit from my child when it comes to taking risks with your wardrobe, but the biggest lesson is it’s ok to shop the sale rack.  Not only is it ok, but it’s really a good idea.

Recently I purchased for my daughter 3 shirts, a hoodie, 2 pairs of tights and 2 pairs of leggings for $30.  All of this from one of my favorite stores.  Even though I was drawn to the new arrivals, I realized there was a gold mine of clothing to be had in the clearance section.  When it comes to toddlers – the pretty white spring dresses at full price are a waste of money.  Keep them clean?  How is that possible when markers, dirt, food, the dogs are within reach? Also, they grow out of those clothes.  Why spend their college tuition on great clothing now that will end up going to Good Will tomorrow?  So that my daughter can go to college, I shop the sale rack for her clothes.

Confession – I don’t practice what I preach all the time.  Shocking, I know.  I don’t like to shop the sale rack for my clothes.  Bad parent.

Not because I had some morally enlightening moment or because I wanted to be the best example to children everywhere, I started to checked out the sale rack for myself.  I did it because I needed some new pants.  I needed new pants, but I didn’t want or have a lot of money to spend.  So far so good, but the problem is I still like to shop at my favorite stores.  So I hit the clearance rack.  There they were, pants for 9.99.  What a steal.

Most of you are shaking your head.  This is not a great new revelation.  People have been shopping the sale rack for years.  But for me, I always bypassed the sale rack because I wanted the latest things.  I want the biggest and the best right now.  I don’t want to wait for it to go on sale.  Give it to me.  I want it now! *cue the oompa loompa song as they go rescue the girl who wanted the golden goose egg*

Word of caution – sale racks have an addictive effect.  After that first find, you find yourself wanting more, and more, and more.  All of sudden, you convince yourself you need 3 pairs of pants.  One of those pairs is actually not very flattering.  Put the 9.99 pant down.  It does not look good on you and 9.99 does not change that.  Of course, this is hypothetical, that did not actually happen to me.

Ok, it really did.  I am proud to say that I did not buy the 2nd pair of pants at 9.99 that had pockets in the most unflattering location.  I really had to convince myself to put the pants back.  For Pete’s sake, they were ONLY 9.99.  Oh right, they make my thighs look even larger.  That’s right, it’s insane to pay someone $10 to make my thighs look larger.  It really is.

**Someone’s general warning and other clichés about sale racks –

A bargain ain’t a bargain unless it’s something you need.  ~Sidney Carroll

Buyer beware.

You get what you pay for.

Buying more than you need because it’s on sale is still excess.

Buying something on sale is a very special feeling.  In fact, the less I pay for something, the more it is worth to me.  I have a dress that I paid so little for that I am afraid to wear it.  I could spill something on it, and then how would I replace it for that amount of money?  ~Rita Rudner