And this would be why it kills me to buy things full price

Disclaimer: I'm throwing out prices in this post - not to be all "I spent $XYZ on this" but rather to paint a picture of how I got owned by Von Maur.

I bought a Free People (I love that brand) sweater from VM before Jackson Hole. I was desperate for clothes to take and something to wear with my new Uggs (of which you'll hear more about). So, I bought it at full price - something ridiculous like $160. Totally unlike me but it was either wear old, balled-up sweaters or invest in something new. I chose the latter.

Going back to those Uggs - T Fitch got me some for Christmas. I exchanged 'em for a different style (kind of an unnecessary element to the story). Bottom line: Uggs = full price.

Fast forward to last night when I'm killing time at Von Maur before a KKG Advisory Board meeting. I'm perusing the sale rack in Expressions - my favorite department at Von Maur and home to the Free People section. What do I see on the rounder? (Thank you Gap job for the proper store fixture terminology.) The freaking sweater I bought for $160 or something ridiculous like that. Now - I'm going to give you a few seconds to sit before I tell you the sale price.........................................


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................................................................................................... $32.

If my College Algebra skills are any good, that's 80 percent off the original price. Slightly pissed, I walk to the shoe sale room and what do I spot on the shelf? My freaking Uggs, slashed from $180 to $155. Not a ginormous difference, but on sale nonetheless.

And that, my friends, is why I have a very hard time buying anything at full price.

In other VM news, our friend who works in Von Maur's men's department and was standing right next to one of the 12/5/07 victims as he got shot (I think it was Gary Scharf - the man shot on second floor), spoke pretty openly about the incident to us Friday night. More importantly, she spoke about the amazing support the Von Maur family offered the victims' families and the store employees. Two things that stuck out in my mind: the Von Maur family paid for all eight of the victims' funerals and attended all eight of the funerals. How incredible is that? The stories she shared about how awesome Von Maur was and continues to be make me a shopper for life. (Even if they put clothes on sale after I pay full price.) A few other things I found totally moving were the stories of some of the brands Von Maur carries. From buying merchandise back to a personal phone call from Ralph Lauren to a personal check to the victims fund from Steve Madden, it once again shows that this was a tragedy affecting more than Omaha and makes me want to tell Mark Boal from Rolling Stone to go to hell yet again.