You know what my problem is? I married an enabler. I was perfectly contempt just knowing about Farfetch and Net-a-Porter. “Have you heard about Outnet?”, my husband says. No, I hadn’t, darling. A month and three orders later, I’m quite familiar with the website now. No affiliation, all that I’ve got from them was courtesy of the gaping hole I carved in my bank account.
Outnet.com is part of the Net-a-Porter group and focuses on mostly out-of-season, discounted items. Considering it only takes six months for something to be out of season, Outlet’s offering is still very much on trend – plus, there are staples that take 20 years to get out of style. They are currently having a clearance sale, and you can get some designer/contemporary brand pieces at what is basically fast fashion prices.
Personally, I’m a Zimmerman lover with a Zara budget, so I’m quite strategic when it comes to spending money on high end brands, and this is my suggestion of what to get on this clearance sale that’ll really be worth the price.
Expensive Materials (Leather, Cashmere, Merino Wool)
Designer or not, expensive materials are, well, expensive. A cashmere sweater made with high quality, long fibres cannot be found for less than 300€. A leather jacket is never cheap. So a clearance sale on a designer outlet is the time and the place to get stuff like this.
There was an Each X Other leather biker jacket for around 100€ and I snagged as fast as I could (left picture). It was marked down from around 600€ and a leather jacket, at this price, is a steal regardless of where you buy it. I got mine in size 36 and I think it was the last one, but there are still other jackets and leather pieces available on clearance.
On the right there is a 100% cashmere loungewear sweater from Safiyaa that was a little over 160€, and was 85% off. I got it in size S. Felt like a steal as well, but honestly, now that I have it, I’m not sure if this particular piece is made with a good enough cashmere grade to justify the price. It’s not that soft, which is typical of lower quality cashmere. Still, there are quite a few high quality knits from different brands hanging around in the clearance.
Both pieces are true to size, by the way.
Wardrobe Staples
The knitted red dress on the left is from Ba&Sh and it was marked down to around 50€. The coat on the right is a 100% wool Diane Von Furstenberg overcoat and it was around 150€. These are fast fashion prices, but on more exclusive, better made and with better materials, garments. I didn’t have a winter red dress nor a camel overcoat yet, so these complete my wardrobe perfectly.
The Ba&Sh dress is a size 1, and I don’t really know what that means but the closest size to it would be a European 34. The coat is a size XS, which again should translate to a 34 (my usual size) and it fits me really well but there is no room for bulky knits under it, so it you want to wear DVF coats over multiple layers, size up.
That one designer you always wanted to try
Hey, it’s a designer outlet, right? Half the fun I had in this shopping spree was finding an absolutely superfluous, very fashion forward item, from a usually out-of-my-reach designer that I could now afford. I chose a piece from the Spring/Summer 2021 Maison Margiela collection, and indeed, construction, fit and creativity match the brand’s fame. I got a size M, and it’s not really baggy on me (not really tight either) so I would say it runs a bit small.
Something so unnecessary isn’t a luxury I allow myself that often, but it was 85% off and this was the time to get it. If you’ve ever wanted to own a piece from a specific designer, give it a look, maybe you’ll find something. Beyond Outnet.com, and the aforementioned Net-a-Porter and Farfetch, take a look at Luisa Via Roma as well. I’ve had experience with all of these four websites and can recommend them all – hit the sale sections and see what gems you can find.
