Savings: $621.98.

You know how in the months leading up to Christmas, Andy Williams is constantly serenading us through the TV about how it's the most wonderful time of the year? That's an outright lie, because this is the most wonderful time of the year. It's truly exquisite timing that my birthday happens to fall in January, when sale stickers read 90% off. ("Don't know what to get me? Take me clearance shopping!") If you haven't experienced this blissful bargain hunting season, you really must dive in and see for yourself. I recommend hitting up your favorite stores often throughout January and February. With unwanted Christmas presents being returned, you have the opportunity to score some absolutely insane steals, but clearly inventory will be extremely limited. Nearly everything in this post was the sole one on the rack. I even held off heading for the dressing room when I spotted a clerk restocking some go-backs. It may be obsessive, but my stalkerish behavior ended up paying off. Anyway, since I've about exhausted the clearance racks, here's what I tracked down this year.

You may remember my post about my first January excursion, spent successfully chasing down the shoes that I'd been eyeing for months at Kohl's, here. A few days after that, I trekked to a Kohl's a few more miles away and had some spectacular luck there, too. The best part was that I still had that 30% off coupon! The first photo shows the $130 Chaps blazer that I got for $9.10 plus a Chaps striped shirt that only set me back $3.15. Next up, a pair of Simply Vera Wang velvet leggings for $4.20, an Elle lace-trimmed floral skirt for $3.08 and some capri leggings for $1.40.

I found this Pink Floyd thermal in the men's department, but almost put it back since it was marked $9. In the end, I decided to "splurge" and turned out, it was tagged wrong anyway. It rang up $3, and with my discount coupon, was just $2.10. Also got a couple of scratch n' sniff tees in the boy's department to use for sleepwear ($3 for the Peeps, $4 for the Tootsie Roll).

And finally, this Apt. 9 bootie was just $10.70. It was the only pair I was looking for that had escaped me during my shoe shopping a few days earlier, and this pair was the only pair left in the store. And they were in my size!

9 items.
Cost: $41.01.
Savings: $390.99.
Average: $4.55 an item.

Several weeks after that was my birthday, and I figured I'd best enjoy the day tracking down some more bargains. (Yes, I'm sick.) So on the 28th, I discovered the JCPenney clearance extravaganza. Entire racks full of merchandise marked $2.97? That stomps all over what my local Salvation Army is pricing their stuff at!

All four items below were $2.97 each. Left to right: Worthington pleat sleeve print top, Worthington belted tunic, American Living skirt and Olsenboye polar fleece flyaway.

Last but not least, I found this Olsenboye plaid messenger bag for $4.97.

5 items.
Cost: $16.85.
Savings: $213.00.
Average: $3.37 an item.

I also snatched up some $5 Airwalks at Payless.

On that note, I will be attempting a year-long break from shopping ... or at least until the end-of-season summer clearance. Time to put the plastic away and style these babies!

Also, I've been fiddling with the html of my about page for the past few days and have added some features to basically make it Orphaned Apparel headquarters. In addition to my little bio and herd of links, there are boxes that display my most recent photos and blog entries, plus the albums, books and movies that I've recently experienced and recommend. Also embedded in the page is my last.fm radio station, which plays all my favorite songs, from indie rock to novelty pop to classical. I'm sure I'll be tweaking it over the next few weeks, but I'm thrilled that now, after feeling like all my sites and profiles were a tangle of loose ends, I have one spot that everything branches off from. Please check it out here!

I've recently added a few branches to this digital web, as I've just joined Formspring, Boutiques and Goodreads. If you have accounts at any of these places, please either leave your link(s) in a comment or add me and I'll return the favor. You can also find me (brace yourself!) at Bloglovin', Chicisimo, Chictopia, Facebook, Flickr, Last.fm, Lookbook, MySpace, Polyvore, Rate Your Music, Twitter and Weardrobe.