If you've never been, the Seattle Goodwill saves up all of their best stuff for this sale: Vintage and designer clothes, shoes, handbags, beautiful jewelry, accessories, pretty much all the good stuff!
This the 29th year of the Glitter Sale and the BEST YEAR YET. Seriously, they did a great job running the sale this year.
While they do replenish merchandise throughout the sale, I firmly believe the VERY BEST stuff is there for the first people who come through the door. This is only our second year going to the Glitter Sale, so we're still refining the way we "do the Glitt".
The plan was to get there as early as possible. We live about 40 minutes away from the store. We were out the door by 6:40 am and arrived at Goodwill Seattle right around 7:20. The line already stretched the length of the store...
Around the corner, down the side street...
...and continued around the next corner behind us.
Some people showed up at 1:30 am to be first in line! The doors didn't up until 9:00. The wait, though cold, was entertaining.
A Goodwill employee came around to let us know how the sale was going to work this year.
- At 8:00 am, Goodwill employees and volunteers would start handing out numbered lanyards.
- At 9:00 am, everyone would be allowed into the store to warm up.
- Numbers 1 - 300 would be admitted in one large group into the Glitter Sale area just after 9:00 am.
- As the first customers filtered out, more lanyard holders would be allowed into the sale area.
- Once inside the Glitter Sale area, numbers would be called in numerical order for people wanting to look at jewelry. Each customer would be assigned their own personal shopper to show them through the jewelry cases.
At 8:00 am, volunteers in glittery, gold hats came around with giant boxes full of lanyards. We scored number 341 (me) and 342 (Erik)! Darn, just beyond the "Golden 300". Oh well!
After numbers were handed out, everyone got out of line, hit the port-a-potties, took quilts and folding chairs back to their car, made a quick run to the food truck and got back in line. It was really nice to have a number and not have to worry about saving your spot.
While we waited for the store to open, Goodwill sent around a few characters to entertain us:
Photo by Lauren Wolfe (laurenloves253)
Drag queens in all their glittery goodness, of course! Who else would you expect at the Glitter Sale?
Our friend Doppler from the Seattle Storm came by to pose for picture, tease shoppers, and bang on the port-a-pottie door while I was trying to get my tights back up. Have you ever tried struggling back into your stretchy tights inside a port-a-pottie? The only way to "up the game" would be by adding a hidden camera to the equation. I'm pretty sure.
At 9:00 we all gave a little cheer when the doors opened. Everybody streamed into the store to start warming up. We browsed around for a little while, and then found some comfy chairs and sat down to relax until our numbers were called.
Once the first group started leaving the glitter sale, it went fast. We were still reclining when our numbers were called. I went from dozing off, to UP LIKE A SHOT, and busting a move across the store.
And we were IN!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! I grabbed a blue shopping bag. The security guard asked if Erik needed a bag. "He needs a bag!" I said and pushed one into his hand too. **TIP: Always bring a friend. Always make sure your friend has a bag too. The more storage space for holding Louis Vuittons, the better.
Mission One: Find the Blog Items and Designer Shoes. Last year, there was a whole wall dedicated to designer shoes. I quickly found the Blog Items rack. There were a few designer shoes there, but most of them were mixed in with all the regular shoes. It was truly a hunting mission for shoes this year. They were organized by color, but not by size. I sped through the shoe racks and stuffed anything that looked promising into my bag.
Mission Two: Find the Purses. They were on racks, three high, separated by color. I didn't mess around with the "brights" (you can get those cheap at the outlet mall any time), but went right for the neutrals.
Mission Three: Find the Scarves. I love silk scarves and credit myself solely for bringing them back in style. Hehe. Obviously, because I wear them, they're popular, right? It's all me. Yup. Shhh... let me keep deluding myself. ;)
I had a few moments to grab Erik and start sorting through our bags before they called my number for jewelry. They do a great job keeping the jewelry shopping running smoothly. Volunteers take customers one at a time through the cases. You can take as long as you like trying on different pieces. I love this part. It feels so glamorous to go through the cases of shiny, pretty things. I'm pretty sure I tried on every ring they had. Mostly, it's costume jewelry, but they do get a few "real" pieces.
Once we were done with jewelry, we sorted our goodies one more time, headed to check out, and then jetted down to
Stanford's at Southcenter for lunch. Love that place! It always smells soooooooooooooo good.
Because I have the patience of a four year old on Christmas morning, I had to bring my jewelry into the restaurant. I have a little bit of an obsession with cocktail rings. Here's what I got:
A more refined person would wear them one at a time, but what fun would that be? :) I also got the bracelet (lower corner), a cute broach and sparkly earrings. Love the shiny bling!
When we got home, everything got dumped out to pose for pictures!
Top Left: One of my new silk scarves,
Top Right: New with tags Talbot's animal print skirt. Price on the tag is $134!!!
Middle Row: Furry/Sparkle shoes, Lacey Shoes, JOHN FLUEVOGS -- OMG!!!!! EEEEEE!!!!, Cute, brand new, electric green flats
Front Row: Pink Coach tennies, French sparkle slippers
Perhaps I previously failed to mention that I love Fluevogs. OMG. When I saw that pair sitting there, I couldn't believe it. Can I be the only person in Seattle who knows this brand? What else could explain them just sitting there on the rack waiting for me? This is probably my most exciting score. I've wanted a pair for about 3 years, and there they were. Sigh... Fluevogs. <3
The Purses!! Originally, I had a bagful of Coaches, a couple Guccis, a Betseyville, and a Prada, but they were kinda spendy and not really my thing. I narrowed it down to my two favorites:
A cute Fossil crossbody bag, and a Guess hobo handbag! Love them!!
We had the most fun, perfect day. It was cold, but we were comfortable. It was exciting, and a mad dash. We came away with some exciting deals. We spent a fun day together. Me shopping, him being my personal sherpa. He's a good man. It was a good day.
One more picture before I leave you. This is my Rusty Roo man in his new Glitter Sale silk scarf. Very handsome, no?
We hope you get a chance to hit the Glitter Sale before it's over this year! A few hours are still left! Best of luck! Hope you get some goodies!
-xo
