...it's December 26th.

Lisa and I wear:

• Ballet flats.
• Skinny or straight leg jeans.
• Long sleeve t-shirt.
• Scarf for style.

Why?

Because every December 26th, at 8:00am, the doors of Saks Fifth Avenue open, and all reduced items are an additional 50% off, until noon only.  And you need to be ready to try on anything at a moment's notice.  Ballet flats can be tossed into your purse as you grab and try on shoes.  A long sleeve t-shirt can have any sweater pulled over it.  Jeans can be tucked into boots.

For years, Lisa and I (along with our friend Heather - who had a tank on under her sweater, for even easier trying on), have been up at the crack of dawn, Starbucks in hand, and at Saks around 7:40am.  Even when I've been in cities other than Boston, I've gone.  Here's what the door looked like at 7:40am at Saks in Boston this morning.

And here's what it looked like at 7:55am.

And here's what the shoe department looked like at 8:15am. Chaos.  Complete and utter chaos.

Why do we endure this chaos?  Because the prices are UNBELIEVABLE.  Here's a sampling of today's purchases:

Sample #1:  Chloe, stack-heeled, chocolate boots.  Original price: $990.  Reduced to $692.99.  50% off that = $346.49!  Lisa picked up a pair too, in black.  

Sample #2:  Prada, grey dress boots.  Original price unknown.  Reduced to $839.99.  50% off that = $419.99

Sample #3: Rivamonte knit fair-isle sweater.  Original price: $550.  Reduced to $335.99.  50% off that = $167.99

Sample #4:  Lisa picked up this gorgeous Philip Lim textured leather pencil skirt in cognac.  Will pair beautifully with a simple black wool sweater or demin shirt.  Orig $695, scooped for $232.50.  (This actually came from Neiman Marcus (stop #2 on our 12/26 journey) - Neiman was also having 50% off reduced prices before noon.)

Photo from Net-a-porter.com

Crazy deals, and lots of fun.  It's not for the light of heart.  We don't recommend trying for purses - there are "professional" shoppers that line up at the door closest to the handbag section, and scoop everything within 2 minutes.  The shoes are more manageable, but it's still nuts.  The line to actually get the match to the shoe in your hand will be 40 people deep.

But, if you have a friend, can divide and conquer, and have patience, the deals are totally worth it. ~ JH & LB