November 29 has been announced as the date for this year's Secret Society Sale, with 40 Portland makers selling handmade goods including everything from jewelry and clothes to vegan truffles and "natural assemblages incorporating wax, resin, bones, and insects." These events are an awesome way to take a big whack at your holiday gift-list, especially for original stationary and stocking stuffers. I find that out-of-town friends and family are usually extra-appreciative of little treasures that represent a little piece of connection to your hometown culture (especially parents who don't understand how to use Etsy, and grandparents who recognize the return to handcrafted goods as an indication that your lifestyle might not be moons away from everything they know). Plus, given that it's at the Secret Society Ballroom (116 NE Russell), you can stop in to the Secret Society Lounge, open at noon, for snack and/or a little something to lubricate the extraction of money from your wallet. Cuz trust me, it's gonna happen anyway, and this way you can control its flow to benefit your people, and your economy.

For extra warm-fuzzy points, bring in non-perishable food items for the Oregon Food Bank—the first 200 people to do so will receive "goodie boxes," (and for further reading on how wack economic times impact OFB check out Patrick's article on the subject from last year). In addition, all of the vendors are donating 10 percent of their profits from the sale, and if you visit Burgerville (the MLK, Ivanhoe, or Hawthorne locations), Echo, Goldrush Coffee Bar (2601 NE MLK), Mint, Miss Delta, Union Rose, or the Secret Society Lounge on the 29th, 10 percent of their proceeds will go to OFB too.

The annual Catlin Gabel school's giant rummage sale has long been circled on the calendar of every avid thrifter in town—65 years, in fact. It's had the reputation of being a repository for castoffs from some of Portland's richest families, where one could therefore plunder for fancy labels and good quality in clothing, housewares, and more at thrift prices. The thing is huge, taking up 88,000 square feet of real estate at the Expo Center. But this year's sale (which starts at 5 pm this evening) will be the last. As reported in the O in September, the increasing use of Ebay to sell valuables rather than donate them has taken its toll on the sale's inventory and so after this weekend the rummage retires. Get it on for the last time. Same place, same rules:

Thursday, November 5 5 p.m. — 9 p.m. (35 percent markup on all items)
Friday, November 6 10 a.m. — 8 p.m.
Saturday, November 7 10 a.m. — 8 p.m. (25 percent discount all day)
Sunday, November 8 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. (50 percent discount and bag sales all day)

This beautiful Tocca coat at Parallel is so sharp and ladylike, it defies era:

Solid investment!

Okay, so booze and shopping combined is an ages-old combination. (It's a much better idea than combining weed and shopping, as I learned in high school after wasting my hard-earned babysitting money on the stupidest pair of sunglasses ever at Urban Outfitters because they made me laugh—not a good reason.) Today you can get your sippin' on and shop for the weekend beyond at Time Bomb Vintage (2540 SE Division) from 7-11 pm! Yay for booze and dress-up!

You may have heard that Mabel & Zora are closing their original location up on Alberta, but never fear—the newer, swankier store in the Pearl shall remain! This also presents an excellent opportunity to snap up deals at the progressive sale running throughout the month as the clear the racks and prepare to boogie. The deets:

25% off 10/1 - 10/4
30% off 10/5 - 10/11
50% off 10/12 - 10/18
75% off 10/19 -10/24

This applies to everything in the store. I actually prefer the term "gambler's sale." Do go you now? Later, in the 75% off zone? I say both, just to be safe.

Things are getting supa-green on the corner of NW 4th and Couch with the arrival of Seven Planet, which has also taken Greenloop under its wing. The two forward thinking companies now share a home at 412 NW Couch Ste 112, and the 'loop is unpacking and unloading some of their stock to pave way for the future lying ahead. Stop in for up to 80% off on good goods!

It's a bit chilly out, don't you think? Kind of an abrupt-seeming transition into fall, actually. Or... is it? My iPhone predicts sunny skies and warmer temps by Tuesday, so who knows. The upside to climate change is that it keeps things interesting. Regardless, when the weather does chill out, we are finally getting to break out the sweaters and knitted bits of all kinds from their cedar-scented hibernation. This always seems to be a telling moment, when you reactivate a piece it's always a "oh, yay!" or an "oh... " If you feel like tipping the scales towards the yays, the all-local, all the time Union Rose is offering 10% off its knits, including scarves, sweaters, hats, mitts, and collars, today through Saturday.

If you're feeling insecure in regards to your absolute beauty, now is the time to cast those worries to the wind, because it's the Back to School Sale at Soho Boutique! According to their press release, the fine folks at Soho can help you find "the exact pair of jeans that will make you ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!" Well, I'm sold. Especially if the jeans turn me into a foxy vixen like this chick (also on the press release):

The Back to School deals include 20% off all regular priced denim and 20% off regular priced clothing (it seems "jeans" are not included in the category of "clothing"-fair enough.). Head to 1605 NE Broadway to catch the sale, going on now through Saturday, September 19th.

About halfway through the summer I noticed that the ass of my bikini bottoms were almost completely see-through. I didn't get it at first—it's not like I had ridden my bike in them or anything. Then I realized they had been worn through just by lounging on the rough surfaces of our region's natural swimming spots, the sunning rocks on the edges of rivers and lakes. It wasn't quite sale-time when I splurged on some Malia Mills replacements over at Lille, but if you've managed to wait it out this long you're in luck: Popina Swim just kicked off their end of season sale, with 30% off all Popina print pieces, and 50% off all Tommy Bahama. Perfect if you've got an upcoming trip to escape the cooling climate (anyone else hear rumors of an indian summer in the works?) or access to an indoor pool. My friend Leah just scored this suit from Popina a few weeks ago and it is the cutest thing ever:

Sale is on through the 13th!

What a bummer it is that there's rain predicted all throughout this coming Labor Day Weekend. Boo! On the upside, at least, is that if you have the verve to venture out you'll find killer bargains all over the Pearl district: up to 80% off at more than 50 stores! Surely you'll find something you like—peep the list here, which includes everything from Bubble Boutique to Whole Foods. A few of my picks:

It's the shoes that always get me. I love designer shoes. Dries Van Noten kills me dead. So obviously, it's necessary to be aware of sales (having an extremely small shoe size helps, too). When the savings reach the 70% off tier, that's when we're talking business. I can buy a pair and if I stay home with Netflix and bring my lunches to work for two weeks, I can sort of afford them! It's good to know, then, that Mario's is having one of its frantic end-of-season sales starting today, in the downtown Portland, Seattle, and Bridgeport Village locations. Look for that magic 70% off mens and women's clothing, accessories, and shoes for the next 10 days, and I shouldn't have to tell you that sooner is better than later.

A cutey little booty from Sigerson Morrison...

Oof. Only half of the season's wedding invitations have been attended and I'm beginning to notice that my wardrobe is looking... worn. Worn out. I'm on the prowl for summer formals and it's the perfect time for it, as stores begin to think more seriously about fall. One sale coming down the pipe is the three-day sample sale at Amai Unmei (2275 NW Johnson), this Friday August 7-Sunday August 9. Look for up to 60% off on one-of-a-kind sample pieces, plus up to 40% off regular spring and summer styles including silk coats—delightfully swingy coats being what Amai Unmei does best. They're also kicking in 40% off all handbags, including handsome Italian briefcases.

Your ass could, nay, should be appreciated as a work of art, and the sculptural boost of a good pair of jeans is a good place to start in getting it noticed. I'm assuming that's why Nolita is hitching a ride on the First Thursday wave, and offering 20% off all regularly priced items and buy-one-get-one-half-off on all sale items, both offers being good all day this Thursday until they close up shop at 7.

Aritzia is ever-more stridently alerting you, via me, of its new Portland boutique, open today. After carpet bombing the office with $25 gift cards, all of which ended up in my mailbox (yay for me, except that they can't be combined, meaning I'll have to make separate trips to redeem them in $25 installments, all prior to their date of expiration on July 27th!), they've also gifted me with the power of embedding this invitation to their private pre-sale June 12-17:

Please join us at our special Private Pre-Sale June 12-17th, 2009. Shop our discounts before anyone else. Up to 20 - 50% off! Simply print out this invitation and present at the time of purchase. Find the nearest Aritzia here. Click here to invite your friends & family to the Pre-Sale and enter for a chance to win a $2500 Shopping Spree at Aritzia! One winner will be awarded per store. *Printouts must be presented at the time of purchase. No exceptions. *Offer valid at the following US Aritzia locations only: Aritzia Bellevue Square (Bellevue), Aritzia Valley Fair (Santa Clara), Aritzia Washington Square (Portland), Aritzia San Francisco Centre (San Francisco), Aritzia Water Tower Place (Chicago), Aritzia Northbrook Court (Chicago) Click here to subscribe to Aritzia's email newsletters. www.aritzia.com Aritzia | 611 Alexander Street, suite 327 | Vancouver, BC | V6A 1E1

Wow. That's a lot of code.

Pros: Hello, peep that list of brands. I've been particularly jonesing for a pair of Current/Elliot and/or Ksubi jeans for the summer and beyond, plus I like the looks of these jackets they collaborated on with Mackage quite a bit, and I think they might be out-of-season enough to get a triple whammy discount when combined with the pre-sale and one of them there GCs:

Cons: It's a chain store, with seven locations in Canada, one in London, and this is their sixth in the States. It's also in Washington Square, next to Pottery Barn.

Do with this what you will.

In the past two issues of the Merc, Sold Out has featured articles from both Marjorie and Brett Glass on their top picks for Portland summer fashions. Now, living vicariously though the ideas of Marjorie, I've decided to take to the internet to dig up some more summer worthy wardrobe fixes.

I'm not typically an online shopper, I'm the kind of person who like to be able to try things on before buying, but I do online pre-shop. You know, like see what's out there before hitting the stores. I'm not sure how many people out there frequent local boutiques' online stores, but it's a subsection of Portland shopping that I tend to overlook. So, sticking with buying local, I've been hunting some of Portland's finest via internet to give you my summer picks.

Shorts: Frank James

Though I've avoided shorts for years, I'm very excited for the wider legged, high decorative waist, cuffed shorts I've been seeing at some stores. I like the plain shirt on top—leave it to the shorts to make the statement.

Shoes: Sotto Boutique (it's in Beaverton)

I tend to want to go sandal crazy in the summer, so I've been hunting for something sandal-y but a little less Rome and a little more Roman Holiday...meaning a little more fem and dainty.

Skirt: Frances May

I'm not gonna lie, folks, I work at Anthropologie. And I like their clothes, a lot. But (1) I can't afford them, and (2) I don't want to give them the money I do have. This reminded me of something we'd carry. I love the bright colors, which seem to be a big trend this summer.

Swimsuit: Frances May

I love Popina, but this suit from Frances May is so different and fun it caught my eye immediately.

Hey EVERYONE!
Keep the "Summer Livin' (and dressing) trend alive and leave a comment telling us your favorite places to shop (keep the places local if you can) and items you love.