December
The new season pre-collections start arriving in the stores and will keep doing so in dribs and drabs until February, as the New Year sales are winding down. Up to 70 per cent of a buyer's seasonal budget will have been spent on these collections, so stores are banking on you to go and buy them. You are no doubt only too willing to help out in any way you can. Don't spend all your readies though: those New Year sales are coming. It used to be that store sales dates were set in stone, leading to spectacles of slightly sad people queuing around the block or even camping out overnight (it must be one hell of a deduction to make that worth while). While most sales traditionally start on Boxing Day, many retailers now keep their options open and respond to the mood of the moment. So keep your eyes - and your wallet - open.
Most stores will start with reductions of between 20 and 30 per cent (who are those stores who knock off a measly 10 per cent trying to kid?), building to around 50 per cent, without only the least in-demand stock warranting a 70 per cent deduction. Perhaps the more disturbing aspect of these figures is that no matter how big the discount, a store almost never sells at a loss. The very worst-case scenario is that it breaks evens and recovers the wholesale price that it paid to the brand. Think of that next time you pay full price for something.
One final way of making a few savings that may not be ecologically sound involves planning ahead. Flights to the world's fashion capitals (Milan, Paris but especially New York) can be had for a reasonable price (although they rise drastically in the run-up to the Christmas holidays). A shopping trip to New York might get you the same designer clothes available in the UK at a third cheaper again (though remember that, over a certain expenditure, duty is payable on these items and you will need to factor in other costs before deciding whether the potential bargains are really worth their overall cost).
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