Whatever you want.
Really, buy whatever you want because fashion is fun and it’s more fun when it’s on sale. For the anniversary sale specifically, I recommend buying whatever you think might be fun to try on and then returning items that you don’t love because items sell out and you don’t want to be stuck with anniversary sale FOMO. Buy multiple sizes and colors so you can try on items at your home with your current closet to see what will really work.
Here’s what I kept from the anniversary sale this year:
Spanx Jean-ish leggings in black size XL
I think they look close enough to real jeans to get away with it. They are as comfortable as leggings and they aren’t too long on my ankles (I’m 5’3″ so this is a common problem). Is $65 a lot for leggings? Yes, but I live in leggings in fall, winter and spring so I know I’ll get my money’s worth.
I bought my first set of “fancy” pajamas and I love them. Since we just bought a house in a neighborhood I imagine people will stop over and I’d rather be in pretty pajamas lounging in the house than in my usual sloppy oversized T-shirt and sweatpants. With these pajamas and my Breakfast at Tiffany’s eye mask I can pretend to have a more glamorous life than I actually have lol.
Stila eyeliner/lip gloss set (already sold out online)
I love this eyeliner and I thought I’d try out the lip gloss that came in the set. Now that I look back at it, it’s not that great of a deal if you only wanted the eyeliner to begin with. You can get the eyeliner for cheaper if you wait for a coupon from Ulta, but I like the lip gloss color so I’m okay with keeping this set. Just keep that in mind if you’re ordering it for the “deal” and you really only want the eyeliner.
Andddd that’s it. It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of a sale like this, but remember that Nordstrom has multiple big sales every year, so if you missed something this year, the sale will come again next year.
I’ve seen people recommend getting Christmas presents during the sale, but really, are you going to remember what you got by the time Christmas comes around? You really want to hang on to stuff for 6 months before gifting it to someone? I’m certain there will be sales around Christmas time you can take advantage of, so this is not something I recommend.