How to get the designer clothes you love cheaper

Shop off season

One of the simplest and easiest ways to scores designer clothes and accessories for less is to shop off season. Essentially this means buying winter stuff in summer and summer items in winter.

Once the season ends most designers will put all unsold items on sale to make way for the new season stock. The designers will either put older items in the sale section or alternatively send them to a clearance store – some designers don’t like to have sale sections in their stores. So if you don’t mind shopping for all your coats right at the end of winter, you can get a great price on designer pieces.

This system works in favour of us Aussies. As fashion seasons correspond with the seasons of the Northern Hemisphere, all the offseason pieces go on sale as soon as we’re ready to buy them.

Image source: Instagram user theoutnet

Buy from second-hand and consignment stores

This is an option that most people should consider. Not only is it better for your pocket but it’s better for the environment too.

High end designer pieces are made to last. If you’re buying quality, you’re investing in something that should last you 10 years or more. Many second hand designer clothes and accessories will often have years and years of wear left in them (unless the previous owner has been downright abusive to the items).

If you have your eye on something, have a look through a few consignment stores like Reebonz first. The savings can be unreal.

Image source: Instagram user farfetch

Try eBay

The answer to most shopping questions is eBay, and in this case it’s no different. You can get used but also brand new designer pieces on eBay for significantly less than what you would pay in store.

Last year I bought a brand new Saint Laurent Moujik bag that retails for around $3,500 for $2,000 on eBay. And that was not luck. There are loads of significantly discounted items on eBay right now just waiting for someone to snap them up. Before you buy anything in store or on an online store, double check eBay first.

However, it’s really important to do your research first – there are a lot of fakes out there. High end designer bags and some clothes come with authenticity cards and serial numbers. Make sure you ask to see these identifiers to make sure you’re not spending a fortune on a fake.

Image source: Instagram user reebonzau

Use outlet stores

When designers are ready to put a season or a line of clothes, bags and shoes on sale, they will often send them to an outlet store to preserve the premium feel of their store.

This means that there are entire sites out there dedicated to discounted designer items. YOOX, The The Outnet and Reebonz are just a few of the largest designer outlet sites. You can find pieces up to 80% off on these sites.

Image source: Instagram user theoutnet

Take note of when the sales are

Some designers and stores will have one or two big sales a year and they usually come around at the same time. For example, Shopbop has a 25% off everything sale usually in April and October every year. If you can keep track of when you’re favourite designers and stores have discounts, you’ll be able to tune in and snag a bargain.

Image source: Instagram user YOOX

Take advantage of sale events

Experienced shoppers will always save up their spending money for sale events and if you’re looking to save on designer pieces, you should too.

Sale events like Vogue Online Shopping Night, Click Frenzy, Singles Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday see stores and brands coming together to offer customers one-off discounts for a short period. These sale events are some of the best times to buy your designer items – especially Vogue Online Shopping Night and Singles Day.

Image source: Instagram user farfetch

Shop around

This is something that every single person should be doing before committing to a high end purchase. There are too many designer sites to count, , Stylebop, Shopbop, Matches Fashion, SSENSE, Farfetch, YOOX and The Undone just to name a few. If you see something you like, make sure you search all the other big sites for the same thing. Because these sites are all based in different countries there is often a price difference on the same item.

You don’t want to buy something from only to find out that the exact same thing was on Farfetch for $500 less.

Image source: Instagram user YOOX

Take advantage of exchange rates

Following international exchange rates can help you get a better price on designer pieces. Stores like Farfetch and Shopbop use calculated prices – all their prices are in local currency and the site converts them to AUD based on the exchange rate that day. If you wait until the Australian dollar goes up in value, the prices at stores that calculate costs will end up cheaper.

Image source: Instagram user reebonzau