Dillard's Clearance CenterWhat to buy and what discounts there are

This is my absolute favorite store of all. But the selection is very changeable: you can show up and find nothing interesting, then come back a week later and leave with a full cart because you want to buy everything.

Dillard's Clearance is a treasure trove of discounts: on our shopping trips it went as high as 98%. There aren't that many of these stores across the US, but if there's one near you, definitely go in. Premium brands aren't in every center. But if your nearest Dillard's Clearance does get premium, go as often as you can: you can find real treasure there - Max Mara, Hugo Boss, Marella at a fixed price of $20-40. But you have to catch that too: sometimes the store runs a sale on both clothing and shoes - everything for $1. Antonio Melani and Gianni Bini shoe sales at $5-10 are especially good, and once you could buy Coach boots for $40.

If you didn't get it the first time, just come back a few times until the selection changes: it's hit or miss. My first year in America I couldn't understand this store at all: the selection at the one near me didn't suit me. But when I visited stores of this chain in other cities and got a taste for it, I realized it's simply the best place for shopping there is.

The selection varies a lot from center to center. I did a real tour of Dillard's Clearance: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Casa Grande between Phoenix and Tucson, Colorado Springs, then St. Louis, Kansas and other states - and everywhere the mix of items was completely different. You can see that in the shopping trip examples below too.

My favorite is the center in Casa Grande, between Phoenix and Tucson: I've never found as many premium brands anywhere else. The premium sells out from time to time, then gets restocked. And some centers don't get premium at all: there's nothing above Ralph Lauren, not even Antonio Melani.

We've done more than a dozen shopping trips at Dillard's Clearance, each with anywhere from a hundred to almost four hundred items. Most items cost $6-15, and the maximum discounts in almost every trip reached 92-98%. The most common picks were Michael Kors for $20 instead of $255, Levi's denim overalls for $5 instead of $100, and evening dresses for $10 instead of $200.

Photo: What we bought on my shopping trips at Dillard's Clearance: a Weekend Max Mara blazer for $40 instead of $525, Max Mara Studio pants for $40, BOSS pants for $40 instead of $300.

Photo: Colorado Springs: a dress rack with a "Last chance clearance" sign - $4.99.

Photo: Las Vegas: boots with pearls - $14.99, like everything else on that shelf. You have to catch things like that.

Photo: More finds: a Marella sweater for $40 instead of $275, leather boots for $30 instead of $300, a Marella shirt for $20 instead of $500.