Welcome. If you’ve endured the end of the lockdown in your country with the mental resilience of Mount Atlas shouldering the weight of the world, then congratulations.
I, find solace in shopping. Don’t laugh but this is an Asian artform. You need the talent to spot true bargains and intuitively know when websites are over-charging. Indians are born with this talent and non-Indians (excluding Chinese), well, you have a lot of catching up to do. I can’t help you there.
I heavily favour small brands that no-one has ever heard of. Why? First, the catastrophic environmental damage caused by fast-fashion brands such as Zara sickens me. If you have no idea what I am talking about, then this video, The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion, is informative. Second, many much-loved British brands – Jaeger, Aquascutum, Links of London, Austin Reed – have been sacrificed at the altar of fast-fashion. I would miss LK Bennett and Burberry if they too went the way of the dodos. And I dislike Amazon: the seamless efficiency of this service on a global scale disturbs me.
This is what I would love to buy in the sale…
DVF sale
I love this “watercolor-like ‘Kimono Leaf’ print” which the brand uses in a jumpsuit and 3 types of dresses. Most sizes are available on the outnet, the sister website of net-a-porter. I prefer both these options:
Available at theoutnet. GBP 234 (48% discount)
Available at theoutnet in Medium and Large. GBP 148 (45% discount)Summer by Priyanka Gupta
This was an accidental discovery, but I absolutely love the attention to detail on this tunic.
Blue Umbrella Tunic priced at Rs 12,000 available HEREElie Tahari sale
I like this white cotton dress and the seabreeze chiffon blouse that follows. This brand consistently gets attention to detail right and while the chiffon neck appears to be uncomfortable, it won’t be. A word of warning, please don’t use borderfree but instead use Shop & Ship (see this blog for the WHY).
US$ 179 Ann Dress (60% reduction)
US$ 151 Zeina Shirt (60% reduction)THE FOLD
The company has a female founder, and I love their pieces, which tend to be at the high end. Thankfully, some of their nicer stuff has found its way into the sale. And yes, ok, there is a danger that you become an Ivanka Trump wannabe if you shop here too often. P.S. Please use their extra 10% off for new shoppers.
Available at the Fold London. GBP 120 in the saleThis second option, is unforgiving. I love this pleated skirt but if you don’t have a washboard stomach, then perhaps give it a miss, as the whole purpose of this beautiful skirt is to highlight the narrowest of narrow waists.
Available at the Fold London. GBP 79 in the saleThis blue dress is more flattering and by far is my favourite of this sale season.
Available at the Fold London. GBP 329 in the saleBurberry’s offering
I don’t ordinarily buy Burberry each year, but the bulk of its sales are from China. Its suffering as a brand and I would hate to see it leave its UK headquarters. If that means, I have to buy a few (affordable) things that I happen to like, I can live with that. I absolutely love this silk shirt and ok, so I won’t buy 5 shirts this summer, it will be just this.
Available at Burberry for GBP 370 from GBP 730 (50% discount)