The June Sales Edit
It's that time of year, people!
There are many good things about living in Sydney in June. The Vivid Festival of lights is not one of them (unless you really like queues, in which case go for your life). Neither is the weather (this Summer is shaping up to be a lot warmer than usual - where’s my sweater weather, dammit?). But there’s the Sydney Film Festival, watching the annual humpback whale migration from the cliffs, and it’s Sales time!
Those of you not in Australia will be thinking “yes we have those too, plus also we’re getting nice weather right now”. You are right, you do have Sales - but not like we do. Here’s where being in the Southern Hemisphere a million miles from everywhere comes into its own. Because, while the rest of the world’s Sales feature clothes from the season you’re leaving, in Australia we are just going into that season. If you buy a coat in the Sales in the UK, it can be 4-5 months before you have the chance to wear it. If you buy a coat in the Sales online and you live in Australia, you can wear it now.
I buy a lot of my clothes in the Sales (and many others I buy second-hand). There’s an art to it, but most of all it involves being flexible and knowing what you’re looking for.
Here are the rules I live by for Sales shopping:
1. Be prescriptive about what item of clothing you’re looking for – and open beyond that. For example, if you want a suit jacket, look for a suit jacket – but don’t pin your hopes on finding that particular suit jacket you’ve had your eye on. That almost never happens.
2. Buy things that are new to the Sale. The majority of brands will try to offload the clothes that aren’t selling well the rest of the year during the Sales (which can work well if you’re not someone who’s into the latest fashion like me). But some brands will throw into the sale the items that they’ve been trying to offload forever in their outlet store – often at no additional discount. There’s often a reason no one has bought these clothes; because they fit and look good on literally no one.
3. Don’t settle for less than 40%. I’ve seen 15% off markups this Sales season. Like Linda Evangelista, I wouldn’t get out of bed for less than 40%.
4. Go high end. A decent reduction on an expensive item of clothing is more of a saving – that’s just maths. Buy that investment piece!
So here are the best Sale brands and bargains I’ve come across this time around. In the words of Oscar from Duolingo, “until next time, my fellow treasure seekers”.
WithPockets X
Paul Smith
I’ve written about how good Paul Smith women’s officewear is before on WithPockets because a lot of people only associate Paul Smith solely with menswear. The thing I love about Paul Smith is the cheeky little flourishes; a black suit with an colourful lining, a merino cardigan with multi-coloured cuffs. Also, their clothes are made in Italy (despite being sold as a quintessentially English brand), where expert tailoring and high-quality fabrics are still standard.
Paul Smith also do very good Sales. This year some items are 70% off. I bought this Navy Wool-Blend Seersucker Blazer this week for 60% off. When it arrives, I’ll take a picture.
As well as clothes, Paul Smith do highly attractive accessories if you don’t want to spend big but want to have a bit of that multi-coloured magic in your life. This Navy ‘Signature Stripe’ Polka Dot Virgin Wool Scarf is really striking and will instantly elevate any outfit this winter. It’s also 60% off.
Paul & Joe
Parisian brand Paul & Joe have a capsule sale going, only they don’t call it a Sale (or Soldes in French), they call it interchangeably a “pre-Sale” or “private Sale”. This functions to make it sound more exclusive, but it appears to be visible to everyone, not just me, with the right URL. Presumably if it’s a pre-Sale’ there will be more items available soon, and if that happens, I highly recommend their quirky accessories.
Roland Mouret
If you’re in the market for a show-stopping dress for work (or a special occasion), head to Roland Mouret. It sounds ridiculous to say that they’re a bargain, given the prices, but when you look at the price they were, you’ll see just how much of a deal this sale is. Roland Mouret has been a favourite of mine since I saw Dita Von Teese in the Galaxy Dress 20 years ago.
Victoria Beckham
Same rules apply for Victoria Beckham (show-stopping dresses, big prices, big discounts). If you like Roland Mouret and you’re surprised to find you like Victoria Beckham too, this is no coincidence. Victoria Beckham studied fashion design under Roland Mouret.
ME + EM
Some terrific bargains to be had at ME + EM, including some particularly good looking knitwear (now all we need is the cooler weather…). Sale highlights include this cornflower blue lace a-line midi skirt, which is 60% off and even has a pocket! This may be my favourite pick of the Sales.
Jigsaw
Jigsaw has up to 50% off in its Sale, which is very comprehensive and includes some of the best clothes they had at full price this season (i.e. genuine bargains, not stock they can’t offload…). Highlights include the Shawl Lapel Tuxedo Jacket shown below, which is 40% off and genuinely different from most suit jackets I’ve seen in the last year.
Reiss
I’m cheating here as Reiss has an outlet sale on year-round – but there’s more than usual on offer in the suits category right now so it’s a very good time to visit if you’re in the market for a new suit.
Reiss is also really excellent if you’re petite-sized (i.e. on the shorter side). However, if you’re not, read the descriptions carefully or you can easily end up buying a petite item by mistake (yes I have done this…).
Finally, can I just say a big thank you to Reiss for regularly showing women of other races and religions on their Instagram feed. God my feed is boring and unrepresentative right now. If I see one more picture of a white woman in a summer dress with an Aperol somewhere near water in Italy I’m signing out permanently.
What Sale bargains have you seen? Am I missing some deals? Let me know…