Mad for Plaid (Jackets)

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is currently underway. For the uninitiated, the annual sale is a special event featuring discounts on fall merchandise. It's been popular among the back-to-school shopping set for years, as it allows one to build an entire fall wardrobe for a fraction of the cost. Having worked the sale one summer at the Tyson's Corner location, I am privy to the mass hysteria that the event induces in suburbanites. I recall arriving at work that day expecting business as usual, with a bit more foot traffic. A line had formed by 6 AM, wrapping around the block. I shuddered with a shiver of ominous portent and went about my business.

Nothing could have prepared me for the scene that was about to ensue. The doors were flung open to the bargain-minded hordes and within minutes, the sales floor we had tidied up so well the night before lay in shambles, ravaged at the hands of soccer moms, precociously fashionable pre-teens, and gaggles of flaxen-haired sorority sisters. By noon, the racks were nearly empty and I was a worn-out mess. I surveyed the wreckage around me and spied a lone sweater coat (for it was the Year of the Sweatercoat) dangling from a hanger and was moved enough to rescue it, carefully de-snagging its shoulder where the hanger had punctured it.

As a result of the post-traumatic stress I suffered after that frightening episode, I've never so much as set foot in a Nordstrom during Anniversary. I usually peruse the offerings from the comfortable distance of my laptop, plugged into the safe walls of my apartment. However, the limited range of merchandise offered online usually disappoints, as the real treasures are to be found and plucked from the tenacious grip of a stranger on-site. This year's online assortment was no exception, but I did happen upon a delightful discovery: wonderful plaid coats and jackets in lovely, interesting styles, at UNDER $100 (see for yourself). Go to the site and see them enlarged -- the details are really pretty.

This one is my personal favorite. BB Dakota Hilda plaid trench, $64.90. After sale, it goes back to $98.

Live a Little plaid jacket, $51.90. After sale, $78. I like this photo better, but the other one shows the stand-up collar better.

This one also comes in a different colorway. Susina three-button babydoll coat, $44.90. After sale, $68.
Photo credit: www.nordstrom.com