Yesterday I made the pilgrimage down to Oaks, Pa to the annual Lilly Pulitzer Warehouse Sale. After three trains, a 30 minute drive, and a 20 minute wait in line, we entered the pink paradise. This sale isn't for the feign of heart. There are women dressed in workout clothes power walking around the giant warehouse searching for their favorite Lilly prints. At the entrance the workers (who are some of the nicest people I've ever encountered) give you a giant bag to throw your loot in, and man, some of the women at the sale had three or four big bags full of clothes.

The Sale Floor

Me, I was just there to buy one, maybe two dresses, some of the Lilly sorority stuff, and a phone case. However, once you get into that warehouse, all bets are off and you just start literally throwing dresses, scarves, accessories, and shirts into your bag. Grab now, try on and sort later.

Now at the sale there is a section called "Samples." It's basically some last season stuff and a mish mosh of random clothing. Then,when people have a change of heart at the registrar, the discarded clothing is loaded up into a brown box and it is then dumped on the sample table.This is where the real deals are in my opinion. I found a dress there for $30 that was originally marked at $278. The sample table has layers of clothing and you really have to dig for good finds.

When I was ready to try on, the line to the dressing rooms was huge. Initially I had heard that there was to be no trying on clothing on the sale floor, but clearing that rule flew out the window. There were women all around the back wall of the sale floor in various states of undress trying on bag fulls of clothing. I ended up buying two dresses, one I'll be wearing to my sorority's formal, the other a more classic Lilly printed shift dress. Also I bought a AXiD print makeup bag and a key chain ( which I had never seen before, maybe a warehouse exclusive?). The checkout was efficient and once again the lady who rung me up at the register was so sweet, complementing my finds, excited it was my first time at the sale ( Seriously kudos Lilly Pulitzer, your workers are A+).

Throwing a Xi in front of the Lilly Jeep!

Getting to the sale was more of the challenge. As I mentioned before, I took 3 trains down to the sale, and it's a long trek. I'm always cold on the train so I usually wear a scarf, this time I wore a bright springy floral over my chambray shirt. Underneath it all I wore a cami and leggings so I could try on clothes at the sale with ease without completely stripping. I always carry my large Longchamp tote when I make big shopping trips. You can fit so much into those bags, for example yesterday when I left home it was raining and I had on boots and a raincoat, by the time I left Philly for home, it was sunny and warm. I ended up shoving my boots, coat, and my purchases in my tote. I don't like travelling long distances with lots of bags, it's a hassle to juggle everything. Having one bag to plop everything in is one of my travel essentials. I usually keep a crossword puzzle in my bag for the train because I don't want to waste my phone battery, ripping them put of a magazine at home gives you something to do and isn't as heavy as a big crossword book. Also, I always write down my trains and connections on a piece of paper before I leave home. Yes I have the apps but phone batteries can be temperamental.

I'm happy I got to go to the Lilly sale and would definitely go again next year. My only complaints were that the scarves were still pretty pricey and the only cell phone cases were for the iPhone 4/4s ( I have a 5). Other then that you can't beat the prices.