This week fashion editor Bernadette Morra and stylist Derick Chetty discussed the current summer sales. Have you found a fabulous fashion bargain? Send us your comments by clicking here. Then scroll down to the comment area. Or email nakedlunch@thestar.ca And join us again next Thursday at noon for another Naked Lunch live chat.
Funny how logic flies out the window when you encounter the words - designer, sale, markdown, clearance, outlet, 75 per cent off. The following are mistakes I've made again and again during markdown season. I should have cards printed to remind myself of the following: Don't bother if it doesn't fit perfectly. Why haven't I learned this lesson? Seems pretty logical. But I can't count the times, I've told myself - I will get it altered, I will lose weight, it will magicly fit when I get it home. Hello too-big-and-too-long Costume National coat! I would never buy it at full retail so why buy it on sale. It's amazing how weird designer stuff suddenly becomes an instantly desirable-totally-wearable-must-have-immediately item. Hello Gaultier skirtpant! Gigli elastized bondage boots! I know, I know, just the descriptions alone should have been warning enough. Another card I should print: You already have several of those. The other thing I tend to forget is how many of the exact same thing I already have at home. Hello six pairs of white jeans! Derick
This morning I received an email from Five On Spadina (96 Spadina Ave. near Adelaide) about their current sale and it sounds pretty amazing. They are a small off-price store carrying brands such as Ben Sherman, Penguin, Diesel, Laundry, Citizens of Humanity, BCBG and more. The sale takes an additional 50 per cent off of the already discounted prices. That means these brands are up to 90 per cent off retail. The email says that Five On Spadina has also received a large shipment of Oscar de la Renta, Moschino, Plein Sud, and Ferretti, couture gowns by French fashion houses, silk and cashmere scarves and sweaters, priced at up to 90 per cent off retail. I will definitely be detouring there on my way home today. For those of you who can't, they have a shopping site at www.shoppingaddict.ca/ebay. Bernadette
What can I buy on sale now that will still work in the fall?
A new sense of volume and proportion are major directions for fall. Look for interesting shapes, including bubble skirts, cocoon dresses, and jackets with off-beat, interesting cuts. Skinny pants are another major force, especially worn with tunics. Look for both in year-round fabrics and colours. Black is also a major trend - one wall of New Arrivals at TNT in Hazelton Lanes is almost entirely black, except for some white shirts. Bernadette
I have twice tried to shop Holt Renfrew's Bloor St. store since it went on sale in June, but got so frustrated because the second floor, where the big designer brands are, is such a mess. The store is still under what seems to be a never-ending renovation and every designer seems to have moved from his or her usual spot. It feels like a jumbled mess, even if in reality, it isn't. I can't help feeling that there are some great unearthed bargains somewhere there. But I can't endure the construction-site atmosphere long enough to find them. Now I truly understand the value of good merchandising. Bernadette
I'm excited about a Toronto-based online store I've found recently -- www.stylefly.ca. Check out the great sale prices on dresses by the U.S designer Rachel Pally, whose jersey dresses have been seen on the likes of Jessica Simpson and Sarah Jessica Parker, and knit designer Lily McNeal, whose stuff Angelina Jolie wore in a layout in People magazine's Most Beautiful People issue. Watch for a feature about it in the Saturday shopping section. Daphne
On my way home from work yesterday, I stopped into the new Zola on Avenue Rd. just north of the Four Seasons Hotel. The biggest surprise here is that all the summer shoes aren't on sale. Zola has exclusives on the Emma Hope, Rodolphe Menudier, Cesare Paciotti and Pierre Hardy. The sales girl told me that since no one else in the city carries these labels, they haven't been marked down. But the Sergio Rossi, Patrick Cox and other collections have been reduced by 30 to 50 per cent. I didn't have time to try anything on, but I might go back for the goddess flats by Sergio Rossi. They are the most amazing cerulean blue patent leather. They are half price, from around $600 to $297.50. Bernadette
I dropped by Five on Spadina on my way home. I picked up a fuchsia silk Alberta Ferretti cocktail dress for $99. They were mostly sold out, however, there are some nice silk pants and Rena Lange jackets and suits.
Posted by: | July 13, 2006 at 09:47 PM