"Australia Rules" Strike Again!

Thing One was heading to Dillard's and asked if I wanted to tag along.  I said yes then took a look at the "sale and clearance" section of their website before we left, to see if there was anything I might be able to afford.  I saw this double-breasted jacket and wanted to try it on.  (Double-breasted coats look good on me.)  There was just one left in the store.  I had barely put it on when Thing One said "no" most determinedly.  However...  (Yes, you should expect this whenever Thing One and I go shopping together.)

She suggested I try on this jacket.  It's water resistant, lightweight yet warm, fits well, and, most importantly, I look darn good in gray.  Actually, I guess the most important aspect, at least as far as this post goes, is that it was on sale for 65% off (but I do look darn good in gray).  The original price was $120.00 (for a jacket?!), but it was marked down to $42.00

Since we were in the market for deals, and since I didn't succeed with the double-breasted jacket, she handed me this double-breasted peacoat.*  This one looked much better on me than the one which originally interested me, and it was marked down to $69.47.  That's still a bit pricey for me, even with the anticipation of wearing it for (hopefully) many years to come, but the original price was $198.50, and it looks good on me, so how could I possibly turn that down?

But wait, there's more!

For a number of years, I've toyed with the idea of buying a "classic" leather jacket but haven't found one I could afford.  Wait no longer, Cap'n!  A black, lambskin, bomber-style jacket (couldn't find a link to it, but it resembles this one, only with flapped pockets above the waist), originally priced at $395.00, was on sale for $138.25.  (And it looks good on me.)  Did I think that $69.47 was pricey?  Yes, but this is real leather.  And it's a classic style.  (Did I mention it looks good on me?)

I schlepped my deals over to the cash register, which rang up $124.85.  Hang on a minute.  How could that be, we asked the cashier, since the leather bomber itself was $138.25?  Oh, he replied, all outerwear is 50% off today -- yes, on top of the 65% markdown.  (Honest to God, I think Thing One's superpower is happening upon bargains we're totally unaware of.)

All of a sudden, those 100% cashmere overcoats started looking possible, not just looking sharp and feeling oh-so-strokably soft.  The link shows the original price accurately:  $595.00 (and these are American dollars I'm talking about).  The price tag showed the 65% markdown price of $208.25.  But, we know to cut that price in half, so...

Gray jacket (orig. $120.00) = $21.00
Peacoat (orig. $198.50) = $34.73
Bomber (orig. $395.00) = $69.12
Topcoat (orig. $595.00) = $104.12
----------
TOTAL (orig. $1,308.50) = $228.97

Ka-ching!  The savings on the topcoat alone exceeded how much I spent in total.  (Did I really think I couldn't afford to shop, let alone buy, at Dillard's?)

Oh, and that other topcoat I told you about buying a few weeks ago, the one that was only 60% wool?  It's going back to the other store.  I haven't cut the tags off yet, and I always save all my receipts, so I should be able to get a pretty hefty store credit.  (Hmm, what else do I need?)


* Mel Brooks once quipped, "They used to call them 'urine jackets', but they didn't sell."