Sleuthing--a Carter Tradition

No, I do not come from a family of detectives. No, I am not an expert at solving crime. Sleuthing, while known to most as seeking out clues or hints, is known to me as "the art of bargain hunting". As a child, I would anticipate Saturday Sleuthing with my mom and 6+ siblings. We would wake up at what seemed to be before the sun rose, and head out to all the garage sales. My mom had an eye and a nose for the best sales in the county. I can thank my mom for my keen sense of bargain price shopping.

To some, a bargain is 20% off full price. If you are one of those people, you should feel a small sense of satisfaction, because indeed, you have not paid the full price. But sleuthing takes it up a notch. As a child, I would often feel embarrassed and maybe even a little inferior when friends would come to church in their brand new Limited Too outfits. The cool fashions just never seemed to be at the local garage sales. Never mind though, my mom always did make sure me and my siblings were as stylin' as the local Red White and Blue would allow.

My first "real" job at TJ Maxx opened by eyes to a whole new type of sleuthing. Being at the store when the trucks would roll in gave me PRIME opportunity to get "the maximum for the minimum." I developed a method of shopping that i'd like to share....feel free to stop reading, but I happen to think this method is pretty amazing! The method simply is this statement:

I will pay no more than______ for _________.

For example:

I would pay no more than $7.99 for a shirt/blouse.

$9.99 for a sweater

$19.99 for a pair of jeans

$16.99 for a pair of dress pants

$24.99 for a pair of shoes

To some, these prices may seem high--to some, they may seem low. But this system never failed me.

As I got older and developed a more classy (or atleast i'd like to think so) wardrobe--some of these prices had to adjust. There is no such thing as juniors prices at Ann Taylor loft. Still my sleuthing skills STILL came in handy as I shopped sale racks at the right time of season, allowing me to upgrade my look to more business professional.

Now I shop by the above method-with a twist. After filling in those blanks, I try whatever the item may be on, and say: "This is cute (if it really is cute!), but is it ______cute? (is it $20 cute??) I have found that prices can help determine levels of cuteness. A trendy shirt can be cute if it's $3 at Target--but if it's $50 at Arden B--and you won't wear it next season, then it isn't cute.

The point of this blog? Hmmm--well I just wanted to share a piece of my background, taught to me by my fabulous mom. The 21st century Proverbs 31 woman. Some moms teach their daughters the art of cooking and baking (and trust! my mom did try that with me---another blog, another time!)--but my mom taught me the art of sleuthing-a Carter tradition.