I've always been a bit of a clothes horse and madly in love with all things fashion. When I began writing, my first ever magazine article covered Valentino's retirement. Lucky for me, I'm also frugal and would never, ever pay full price for designer clothing even in my dizziest daydreams. (See also: 5 Tips for Scoring Discount Designer Handbags)
So, what's a fashion-forward starving writer to do but ferret out all the places that designer duds can be had for a penny and a song? Below you'll find my top-secret list of places online where you can go to get your fashion fix without signing over your first born.
6pm.com features designer brands like BCBGeneration, Max Azria, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Calvin & Anne Klein, 7 for All Mankind, True Religion, and more. They list daily and weekly sales with designer items discounted up to 70% off. Shipping is flat rate at $6.95. This site comes with a warning: It's entirely too easy to spend money here. Be careful and be frugal.
Every now and then you can score a surprising find at Amazon. Your best bet here is accessories. Designer purses and glasses can be found up to 70% off. Most of them are the previous season's finds, so depending on where you live, this may not work for you. I live in Kentucky, where people are more likely to say "Who is Marc Jacobs?" than "Those are SO last season!" Amazon offers free shipping on most orders over $25.
This is another great place to find bags and glasses at — you guessed it — a fraction of the normal price. Fraction Price's brands include Cartier, Michael Kors, Roberto Cavalli, and more. They offer a daily deal that is usually marked down between 50% and 90% off.
Beyond the Rack is an invitation-only site. (Which is a polite way of saying they want you to give them your email/mailing address before they let you view the deals.) If you want to view the current BtR offerings you can use the code SPRING2011 to sign up. It's totally free. Beyond the Rack offers some truly fashionable finds. Discounts average 30% to 50% off, with occasional items up to 70% off.
Yes, you really can find fashion on eBay. Be careful though, knock-offs abound, and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the real thing and the faux.
So there you are, my hidden cache of shoppable sites featuring fashionable steals. Keep it secret; keep it safe. And the next time one of your friends jealously wonders how you managed to afford all those incredible designer shoes, just smile.
For more great shopping tips from Brooke, check out our Daily Deals section for the hottest freebies, coupons, deals, and giveaways.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and I will earn a commission for any purchase made through these links.
This is a good post. I would like to add the following websites as great resources also: These are invitation only like beyondtherack.com and you will find usually the best bargains/selection in this order:
1) Ideeli.com
2) Hautelook.com
3) Ruelala.com
4) Gilt.com
5) Prive.com
6) Ivorytrunk.com
Great suggestions! Ruelala sometimes has codes that will give you $10 credits to their site. Definitely another winner - thanks.
Yes, Gilt is my favorite! Invite link here for those interested: http://www.gilt.com/invite/oliviairis That way you don't have to wait a few days or more for Gilt admins to approve your request for membership.
6pm is my very favorite. I have gotten some amazing finds at 70% off there. I love getting to list the sales in the daily deals because I never miss anything. Which can be bad in a way too LOL. Boot sales are especially hard for me to say no to!
This article is way too dangerous, Brooke. I just looked at the time and realized I spent the last 20 minutes browsing shoes.
I'd also throw Overstock into the mix -- I've gotten great boots there at a pretty substantial discount.
You aren't kidding. Way too easy to do, especially with discount shoes. I forgot about Overstock - you are right, they do have some nice discounts there.
OK, knowing to where to get clothes is good, what about other designer items: fragrance, shoes, ...
These all seem to have "yearly models", where do the ones that don't sell during the season wind up?
6pm definitely has the shoes, in spades. Great idea on the fragrances and accessories. I'll do a separate article for those so that we can all get in on the deals.
Has anyone ever had issues ordering with the designer discount sites? I searched for reviews of some of the sites listed, and it seems like several people had bad experiences with returns, refunds, not getting their merchandise, etc. Is there a way to find out if the business is reliable? Which ones are the best? Any advice would be welcome!
I had really bad experience with Modnique.com. By the time I finally got my order, it was too late for me to return it (the quality was really bad even considering the price).
CV Fashion has up 70& off namebrands...not all runway stuff but we have purchased from site....its good.
Good article.
I just wanted to add www.houseofbeth.com to the list - they sell second hand designer clothes (and some high street it seems) which is why it is a lot cheaper but it isn't confusing like ebay as there aren't lots of different sellers and everything is photographed well. It is kind of like an upmarket charity shop online because 50% of each sale goes to charity.
