5 Black Friday Sales Shopping Tips
It’s that time of year again when the Black Friday Sales are looming and your fingers are beginning to twitch while you surf your fave online stores in the hope that you will find that perfect bargain this time around. Back in the day I used to waste so much money on sales shopping by simply snapping up everything I saw which I considered a bargain and then more than likely never wearing or using it. It was all about the thrill of the chase and hunting down that bargain rather than having a clear plan of what my closet actually needed. These days I’ve got a few nifty sales shopping tips up my sleeve which I thought you might like.
First up take time this week to declutter your current wardrobe to make space for any new stuff you might pick up. Pull everything out and make 3 different piles. In pile 1 discard anything you haven’t worn in the past 2 years or doesn’t fit anymore. For pile 2 place anything that might be fixed with a little alteration, whilst pile 3 will be your ‘safe’ pile of items which still suit you and are in good shape. From there make a hit list of any gaps this process has thrown up, which will then be the basis of your shopping list for the sales. If you need some extra advice on this process check out our 5 Step wardrobe reboot post here. For help with your Style ID or your current body shape, head to our Start Here page here.
Secondly, create a budget and a list to stick to so that you avoid that old classic ‘the impulse buy’. If you stick to your hit list life gets much easier. I always think of sales as glorified jumble sales, and double check myself when I’ve got an item in my hot sweaty little palm (or online cart), as to whether I actually need it and it will fit with anything else in my closet, or I’m just buying it because it’s on sale.
Next up, make sure you sign up for Reward or loyalty programmes with your favourite stores, online shopping sites and designers. They often send out ‘early bird’ sale previews with discount codes a couple of days ahead of time for members.
Pre-load your cart with items on your hit list the night before the sales start for easy and swift checkout the following day. Often your cart will remain intact with its selections for around 24 hours before its contents are deleted – perfect timing for nabbing them as soon as you arise on Black Friday sales day.
Finally get social. Join Facebook pages and follow Twitter feeds for your favourite brands and stores. You can often find deals and promotions which are drip fed via social pages and can give you a head start on that particular sales win that you have in mind.
Let’s talk Black Friday Sales
We will be bringing you the best of the sales first thing Friday 24th so check back for some more top sales tip-offs right here. But some of those sneaky stores have already started promoting early-bird access to the sales – here are some of my faves… click the links to shop.
Amara – amazing interior bits – up to 50% off
MIH Jeans Private Sale – 30% off with code VIP30
Karen Millen – 25% off sitewide from today
House of Fraser – Black Friday event running all week with new offers each day.
ASOS – up to 60% off shoes & accessories with more coming later in the week, 30% off everything from 22nd with code EPIC30
Hunter – select Black Friday offers from today
ALL SAINTS // Up To 40% OFF Everything! DATE: 11/22 – 11/28
J.Crew – 40% off everything
Blue & Cream – 15% off sitewide with code EARLYBIRD
The White Company – 20% off almost everything with code AS313
Graham & Green – 20% off with code BIG20
Monica Vinader – up to 30% off
Kate Spade – 20% off everything with code GIVEJOY
LK Bennett – 25% off
J.Brand Jeans – 30% off with code THANKFUL
If you are in and around London this week the fab Joseph sample sale runs from Tuesday 21st – Saturday 25th at The Music Room, 26 South Molton Lane… bring cash and the blitz spirit to get you through the scramble.
Also if you are in the USA the glorious Net-a-Porter sale just started today – lucky you!
Then there’s always the dedicated online sales sites like The Outnet, Yoox and Bluefly if you fancy nabbing a bargain all year round.