There are only two things in the world that I wake up early for: interviews and shopping. So when I heard Henri Girl Boutique was having a liquidation sale, I knew it would be another early morning. I kept seeing fliers and Facebook posts advertising items would be 50 to 70 percent off, and my heart raced just thinking about all those discounted, beautiful clothes. Yeah, I’m a bit of a shopaholic.
It’s 9:59 a.m., and the salesgirl walked up to open the door. Already there were about 15 shoppers scattered outside, ready to pounce. The doors opened, and the chaos commenced.
Girls were everywhere, blocking clothes from my view. I could feel my competitive nature reaching new heights as they pulled items off the racks and stole them from my view.
You know that scene from Confessions of a Shopaholic where Rebecca’s at that sample sale and women are just going nuts? She sees a fabulous pair of Gucci boots, but she doesn’t really want them until another lady snatches them up. That’s exactly how I felt. I was grabbing stuff that didn’t really fit my style just to make sure another girl couldn’t take it from me.
I mean, who could blame me? The clothes were gorgeous. There were so many wonderful fabrics, prints and colors. I wanted it all. Shoes were also 50 percent off. Since I’m a complete sucker for Bamboo heels, I could barely contain myself.
After finding out that purses and jewelry were half off, too, I just wanted to drop everything in my arms, look up at the sky and shout, “Hallelujah!” I was in bargain shopping heaven. Here I was getting boutique clothes and accessories for Forever 21 prices.
While I was juggling a shoe box and about seven full hangers, I overheard a girl call her friend.
“Come in and shop,” she said. “I don’t care if you don’t have make-up on!”
Oh no. More girls were coming? Without make-up! I had to step up my game if I wanted to make it out of here in one piece.
After going through the racks a third time, I finally got a fitting room. I tried on a satin one-shouldered romper with ruffles, plenty of unique shirts and even took a risk with gray silk shorts. I ended up splurging on a magenta open sleeve top and gray Bamboo platforms.
By the time I was through, the sale racks had been ravaged. None of the cute tops or dresses I had seen earlier were left. I looked at the time. It had only been 47 minutes. Damn. Girls in Gainesville sure know how to shop.
I felt instant relief when the salesgirl handed me my bag and told me have a good day. Thank you, Henri Girl, for the perfect start to my day.