By Roberta T. Vowell

The Virginian-Pilot

Debra Haynes knew the handbag was not a sensible purchase.

True, it sported a black-and-white herringbone print. But that classic pattern was crafted in shiny patent leather, edged with studs and rhinestones, and the whole deal was centered with a clock, an actual ticking, salad-plate-sized clock.

Over the top? This bag was flying miles above over the top.

"I like that crazy thing," said Haynes, 61, holding the bag aloft during a shopping trip last week at Lili's of Ghent, a women's clothing boutique in Norfolk. "This is a conversation piece. This is the bomb, right here."

The markdown clinched the deal.

"On sale," murmured Haynes, a Norfolk resident. "From $78 to $39.90. Sold."

Haynes had just discovered a secret more holiday shoppers need to know: As malls and Stainless Steel Set discount marts become standing room only starting this week, locally owned boutiques offer a less hectic option. Many have clearance racks with unusual, affordable style finds.

Boutique owners say there are two main reasons for steep discounts. Smaller shops must move old merchandise to make room for new, and loyal customers want to see fresh goods on each visit.

"We don't keep anything more than 60 days," said Jim Fields, who has owned Lili's of Ghent for more than 20 years. "We have the same customers over and over. If they come in and see the same thing over and over, well, they didn't buy it the first time, why would they buy it the third or fourth time?"

Unless it's suddenly a bargain. "Everyone has to look at those racks," he said, nodding to two huge, circular sale racks at the store's center.

At The Finer Things, a boutique in Portsmouth's Olde Towne, a customer gently stroked a two-piece evening suit last week. It was brown with a bronze shimmer and boasted a $245 price tag.

"I don't suppose this is going on the sale rack soon?" she asked owner Beryl Rooks.

"Just came in," Rooks answered promptly, then took another look at the woman's face. "Someday. You know?"

Rooks laughed, and the customer laughed along with her.

"I have my regulars who continuously come to the clearance rack," said Rooks, who has owned the shop for five years. "They'll look at a piece over and over, and they know I might just mark it down some more."

For the truly thrifty, Rooks has a box of costume jewelry, every item $1.

"I have customers who make a beeline for that box," she said. "I had one woman who dug through there, looking at each piece, and she finally got to the end and handed me $75 and said, 'That's my Christmas shopping.'

"

Her shop is a narrow squeeze that doesn't allow for storage, which is why last season's attempt at selling shoes ended up in the clearance section, for $10 per pair.

"They sold too slow and took up too much room," Rooks said.

Allison Dodson, owner of the 3-year-old A. Dodson's The Art of Living ... Well in Suffolk's Bennett's Creek area, said she likes to keep her inventory moving.

A temptingly cluttered back sale room bears a painted motto: "indulgence - guilt = sale!"

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