Designer clothes at rock bottom prices in NYC and London
December 8, 2010 4:57 PM Subscribe
Discount designer clothes in London and Manhattan
Looking for places to get extreme bargains (70 - 90% off) on designer women's clothes, purses, and shoes in two places:
New York City (preferably Manhattan) and London
I've heard of Filene's Basement, but looking for others.
Looking for places to get extreme bargains (70 - 90% off) on designer women's clothes, purses, and shoes in two places:
New York City (preferably Manhattan) and London
I've heard of Filene's Basement, but looking for others.
What's your definition of designer? More along the lines of Coach or Alaia?
Century 21 is an option, I don't love it but you might.
Any TJ Maxx worth it's salt will have some low end designer (like coach) type stuff.
Nordstrom Rack is good.
Are you open to used clothing? Because that is how you will get the absolute best deals on designer, both vintage and 1-2 seasons old.
And online, eBay is the way to go, fakes aren't a huge problem for less-trendy (Marc Jacobs rather than
posted by R a c h e l at 5:11 PM on December 8, 2010
Century 21 is an option, I don't love it but you might.
Any TJ Maxx worth it's salt will have some low end designer (like coach) type stuff.
Nordstrom Rack is good.
Are you open to used clothing? Because that is how you will get the absolute best deals on designer, both vintage and 1-2 seasons old.
And online, eBay is the way to go, fakes aren't a huge problem for less-trendy (Marc Jacobs rather than
posted by R a c h e l at 5:11 PM on December 8, 2010
I'll be my own grammar nazi.
*its salt.
Also, on preview, k8t beat me on a few.
posted by R a c h e l at 5:13 PM on December 8, 2010
*its salt.
Also, on preview, k8t beat me on a few.
posted by R a c h e l at 5:13 PM on December 8, 2010
It really depends what you mean by "designer", but Century 21 is a good bet.
If you want more reliable availability of actual big name designers, there's always outlet shopping. I've never been, but some people like it. Woodbury Common is the place I hear mentioned most often. I personally think it would be a shame to be in New York on vacation and skip town to hang out at a mall in Jersey, but if you are a true fashion geek it might be worthwhile.
For vintage, try Amarcord. Their look is very specific, but if you want the real old school designer stuff, before they were just extremely expensive mass-produced brands to impress your friends with, that's your best shot.
posted by Sara C. at 5:18 PM on December 8, 2010
If you want more reliable availability of actual big name designers, there's always outlet shopping. I've never been, but some people like it. Woodbury Common is the place I hear mentioned most often. I personally think it would be a shame to be in New York on vacation and skip town to hang out at a mall in Jersey, but if you are a true fashion geek it might be worthwhile.
For vintage, try Amarcord. Their look is very specific, but if you want the real old school designer stuff, before they were just extremely expensive mass-produced brands to impress your friends with, that's your best shot.
posted by Sara C. at 5:18 PM on December 8, 2010
Most of the stuff in outlet stores is made specifically for outlet stores, so I never bother.
Ghost often have the most gobsmacking discount sales that are advertised in the London newspapers. I have a skirt that has lasted me over 20 years that I got for £10. I also have a velvet dress that I wear almost daily in the winter, but I got that at a thrift store.
I am wearing some Armani jeans that I also got at a thrift store. The ones in very wealthy areas have a lot more designer things, but at a high price. These jeans cost me £29 which is more than I would usually pay for brand new jeans, but they are really really good jeans so it was worth it.
Also, I just got some factory-second Timberland boots from eBay, at around half the usual retail price, and I am squeeing with happiness. It is very risky to buy sight unseen, though.
posted by tel3path at 6:10 PM on December 8, 2010
Ghost often have the most gobsmacking discount sales that are advertised in the London newspapers. I have a skirt that has lasted me over 20 years that I got for £10. I also have a velvet dress that I wear almost daily in the winter, but I got that at a thrift store.
I am wearing some Armani jeans that I also got at a thrift store. The ones in very wealthy areas have a lot more designer things, but at a high price. These jeans cost me £29 which is more than I would usually pay for brand new jeans, but they are really really good jeans so it was worth it.
Also, I just got some factory-second Timberland boots from eBay, at around half the usual retail price, and I am squeeing with happiness. It is very risky to buy sight unseen, though.
posted by tel3path at 6:10 PM on December 8, 2010
Manhattan: 2 words: sample. sales.
You get on enough email lists for them and you won't ever need to enter an actual retail store for clothing again in your life.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:33 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
You get on enough email lists for them and you won't ever need to enter an actual retail store for clothing again in your life.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:33 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
allkindsoftime has the right answer. Hit the big shops and utilise the sales racks. Mrs. Funmonkey is always surprised in Manhattan with the big kids, i.e. Macys, Saks, Nordstroms, because even though we travel once a year for shopping in NYC, inevitably the best purchases come from the sales in each department.
If you hit the Marshalls Century 21 crowd, you might get a deal, but you have to waid through a lot of shit. Not to mention a lot of the stuff is irregular. We wasted a day doing the discount thing, and it was no bargain.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 10:52 AM on December 9, 2010
If you hit the Marshalls Century 21 crowd, you might get a deal, but you have to waid through a lot of shit. Not to mention a lot of the stuff is irregular. We wasted a day doing the discount thing, and it was no bargain.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 10:52 AM on December 9, 2010
FWIW - I wasn't saying the sales in the big shops. I was saying "sample sales." They are sales that the actual brand / vendors have in warehouses / various random office spaces rented out for a 1-2 day sale where they have all of their samples from their studios from the last season that they couldn't sell to the big retailers. These samples were typically used to show buyers from the big shops examples of the lines of clothing that the big shops bought in bulk to sell. At the end of the season, they need to get out of all of these samples, so they set up a pop-up shop to clear out all the sample stock. Typically there's a table set up at the front and someone has a cash box, and they only take cash (at some of the bigger ones - Hugo Boss, for example, who are super organized with multiple cashiers and the facilities to take credit cards). Typically you find out about these through email lists like Manhattan Users Guide, Thrillist (for dudes), Daily Candy, and lots of other smaller ones if you can snoop them out through people connected with the retail / fashion industry in NYC. The best ones are always kept word-of-mouth though.
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:06 AM on December 10, 2010
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:06 AM on December 10, 2010
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Marshall's
Ross
Then, like Filene's Basement, there is Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off 5th...
posted by k8t at 5:07 PM on December 8, 2010