A Review of my 2016 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale Purchases

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Now that tickets for the 2017 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale are available for purchase, it's time to start planning. Tickets are available for the first three days of the sale on Ticketmaster. Vera Bradley only charges $5 for the tickets, but Ticketmaster added another $8 in ridiculous fees, so be prepared for that nonsense.

One thing I thought might be helpful for planning is to review the items I purchased at last year's sale. I try to plan and make lists before the sale, but once you're on the sales floor and the pressure of the crowds and time are on you, decision making can be quite frantic. So, now that I've had my items for 10 months, how do I feel about my purchases?

As a reminder, here are the items I purchased at last year's sale.

Let's start with the bigger items in the left side picture.

Cooler Tote in Marrakesh - This was an item that I had pinned to my Vera Bradley Wishlist on Pinterest, but wasn't sure I'd actually find it at the sale. I grabbed one when I saw them at the sale, but wasn't sure I'd get it due to the price. I'm so glad that I did decide to get this. I use it for frozen and cold items when I'm grocery shopping and it works so well! I live 20 to 30 minutes away from Meijer depending on traffic and I didn't have any problems with frozen items defrosting on the drive home during the hot summer. My ice cream was still frozen!

Vera Bradley Laptop Messenger in Impressionista - This was one of my must-have items at the sale and I'm glad I got it. My laptop fits perfectly in it and feels so much more secure than when I carried it in a Vera tote. I do wish it had a shoulder pad on the strap though. The bag gets a little heavy after awhile and the strap digs into my shoulder.

Vera Bradley Glenna in Cheery Blossom - I wasn't going to buy another Glenna, but I fell in love with the Cheery Blossoms pattern. I still love the pattern and carrying it in the gray winter cheers me up. I really love how much I can carry in this bag and the outside pockets are great. However, I think I'm done buying Glennas. I now have 4 of them. I really would like to have a crossbody bag I can carry every day. Especially in the winter when my bulky winter coat makes carrying a shoulder bag more difficult.

Let's look at the smaller items I picked up in the right side picture

Pencil Tin in Hello Dahlia - I grabbed this for 99 cents. At the time, I thought I'd find a use for it, perhaps carrying chargers. I still haven't used this. I don't regret buying it since it was only 99 cents, but I'm still not sure what I'll use it for.

Vera Bradley Binder Clips in Impressionista - I confess that I've only used one of these. I use it to mark my place in my planner. Did I need these? Probably not, but they're pretty and I'll use the rest of them eventually.

Vera Bradley Mini Notebook with Pocket in Alpine Floral - I haven't used this one yet, but I love my mini notebooks. I carry one in my purse for shopping lists and it's a great size.

Vera Bradley Lanyard in Flower Shower - I used this one for my keys and whistle at summer camp last year. I like that they are comfortable and lightweight with 2 kinds of clips. Flower Shower worked well with my brightly colored camp shirts.

Colorful Hair Clips in Midnight Houndstooth and Lucky Dots - These are a necessity for ponytails which is how I wear my hair daily during camp. They work perfectly for holding short hairs and don't slide around. Sadly, I don't see these on the Vera Bradley website anymore, so I don't think they're making them anymore. I will be buying these in every pattern available at this year's sale.

In the Loop Keychain in Lucky Stripe - I really like this one! It makes finding my keys very easy and it's handy when I'm carrying bags to my car.

Vera Bradley Stretch Headband Set in Midnight Paisley - I'm pretty meh on this. I wore the wider one on camp days when it was windy to hold my hair back and I still had problems with it sliding on my head even though they have grip strips on the bottom. I had high hopes for these, but I won't buy any more of these.

Wash and Wear Organizer in Tango Red - Not pictured This was a free item I received for having to wait to check out for 2 hours due to computer issues. I haven't done any traveling in the past year, so I haven't used this. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll ever actually use it. It's kind of small, so maybe only for weekend trips.

So there you have it! I think I did pretty well for shopping in such a chaotic environment. Apparently, I'm a sucker for the accessories section of the sale, but most of them worked out well. Doing my research and having a list going into the sale definitely helped. I already have ideas for this year's sale and can't wait to start my wish list.

If you are interested in learning more about the Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale, here a few of my posts you might find interesting -

My Experience at the 2016 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale
My Tips for the 2016 Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale