The most exciting sale of the year is almost upon us! I absolutely love the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. It’s unique, because it features items going on sale BEFORE they are in season. Generally speaking, items usually go on sale at the end of their season. This is not the case with the anniversary sale. This means you get to shop the latest fall trends on sale, before fall even begins! It’s the best way to get trendy fall clothing for a great price. There’s no need to wait for that trendy jacket to go on sale in December, because you’ll already have it! Right now all we can do is prepare ourselves for this awesome sale, but as soon as the sale is live, I will be posting shopping guides, and showing you what I’m purchasing myself!
July 11th: Level 4 Cardholders (Those who spend $10,000+ in a calendar year) are invited to pre-shop the sale in store.
July 12th – 19th: Early Access begins in store and online! All Nordstrom cardmembers have access to shop the sale!
July 20th – August 5th: The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is open to the public!
Now that we know when everything is happening, let’s talk about how to get the most out of the anniversary sale. This is some advice I’ve picked up from my years of shopping the sale, and the one year I spent working it.
Be a cardmember, and shop the presale. If you’re planning on shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, but you don’t have a Nordstrom card yet, go get one! Cardmembers get to shop the sale a full eight days before non cardmembers. During those eight days, the best items will be flying off the shelves. By the time the sale is open to the public, most of the best pieces will already be sold out. Don’t miss out! Click here to apply for a card. You can always do a debit card, in case you don’t trust yourself with a Nordstrom credit card (it can be a little dangerous, I don’t blame you).
Go through your closet before you shop. If you’re going to be taking full advantage of the sale, you must know what pieces you’re in need of, and exactly what you’re going to be shopping for. This will make it easier for you to commit to buying what you need. Things will be selling out left and right during the sale, so there is no time to wait and think about that dress, or new bag for a few days before purchasing. It could be gone by the time you decide!
Stick to the basics. Coats, dresses, cardigans, purses, jeans, shoes. This is something I always try to stick to while shopping the sale. It’s pretty much guaranteed that the basic pieces are going to sell out. Basic pieces are also the hardest to find on sale throughout the year, so the anniversary sale is a great opportunity to take advantage of their lower prices! So while that unique blouse with the fun print might be extremely cute, it will most likely end up on sale again at a lower price! It might even end up at the Rack!
If you love it and can’t imagine your closet without it, buy it. While not everything is going to sell out, a good number of items will. When you fall in love with an item, I highly suggest buying it. If you’re worried about committing to a purchase because you think it might go on sale again later, you can always purchase it now, set it aside with the tags on, and wait. Watch the item online. If it does end up going on sale again later, try bringing it back into the store to see if you can return it/purchase it again for the lower price!
Stock up on Zella Live in Leggings. When I first started working at Nordstrom, I asked everyone on my floor what they suggested buying on the anniversary sale. The answer was a resounding “Zella live in leggings”. I now own three or four pairs, and they are amazing. They’re regularly $54, but on the anniversary sale they will be around $32.
Set a budget, and stick to it. During the anniversary sale it can be easy to go a little overboard. Setting a budget is super important, so you don’t end up having to return anything later on.
Make an appointment with a personal stylist, or sales associate. If you want a little extra help shopping the sale, or if you want someone else to pick out all of the best pieces for you, I highly highly highly recommend making an appointment with one of the personal stylists, or sales associates! They are all very knowledgable, and can make the experience very easy, and less overwhelming!
Now all we can do is wait for July 12th! In the mean time, click here to check out the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale catalog! I’ve already made a little list of the items I’m interested in! Later this week I will be talking about the new trends we will be seeing during the sale. On July 12th I’ll be publishing a guide of my favorite items on sale, and showing you what I am purchasing! Click here to check out my anniversary sale post from last year, in case you need a better idea of what exactly will be on sale! (Or just to get you pumped about this years sale)
A few of my favorite purchases from last year’s N sale.
