022: I'm leaking my Black Friday shopping list
Plus a breakdown of the top million or so deals that are already live.
Life is short, hotness is hallucinated, and money is a construct, so I'm building a Black Friday shopping cart of Aztec proportions and pulling the trigger now, while the deals are scorching.
After years of working in ecommerce editorial for a suite of major digital publications, here’s what I know about Black Friday: It’s actually the worst day for shopping throughout all of Cyber Week (Month? Season?). By then, all the best “early” deals are sold out, and Cyber Monday’s deeper discounts haven’t hit yet. The time to strike is now.
I'm filling my cup, and here's what's in it:
This MNZ cheek-gesturing sheer skirt I’ve had on standby for months, the Wales Bonner crochet dress of my wildest dreams, a slightly oversized three-button Blossom suit (jacket + pants) that looks like Lemaire, my long-desired By Far Billy bag in a satisfying cappuccino suede, a second Gil Rodriguez long-sleeve crop in brown, either the black or yellow Drae strapless knit and this other unconventional knit from Gimaguas, the perfect pinstripe pants from Acne Studios, Lauren Manoogian’s best knit polo yet, this Pleats Please dress that I look forward to wearing for the rest of my life (always size up), this Paula Canovas del Vas necklace that washed up on a beach somewhere, a Y/Project dress that gestures at Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil, and these Justine Clenquet earrings that further complicate the big boobs for gold, small boobs for silver jewelry binary.
If I didn’t already have these MNZ Kiki boots or the Our Place Perfect Pot, now would be when I’d buy them, as would I this Christopher Esber cutout dress in yellow (mine’s blue and white), my Hasami teapot, and these Margiela tabis (although, how many pairs is too many?).
And if I had substantially more money than I do, I’d go for the Bode coat that’s over $1,200 off and this Lemaire bag that I might just go ahead and get anyway.
FYI, this is the only Black Friday roundup I’ll be releasing (don’t expect one on the 26th). I’ll swing back around on the 29th for one last Cyber Monday aggregate.
Here are the sales actually worth shopping this year.
The best deals anywhere. Open a tab for each of these.
SSENSE: Last week’s Private Sale just went public. For more hidden deals, log into your account with your email to shop 54,000+ Private Sale items up to 50% off. (See my picks from the sale in last week’s send here.)
Nordstrom: Every category is marked down on the site by as much as 80% off—around 24,000 items are on sale, and the best deals are in SPACE.
Farfetch: Hyper-discounted designers up to 80% off, some of the wildest prices on familiar brands, like Jil Sander, Stella McCartney, and Ganni—plus newer ones like Stefan Cooke and Conner Ives.
Our Place: Having its biggest sale ever, with up to $125 off individually and in bundles including the Always Pan and Perfect Pot.
Net-a-Porter: Up to 70% off nearly 14,000 items from Christopher Esber, Margiela, Dion Lee, etc. You could get lost in these pages easily, as I did.
Verishop: Buy one get one free on Clearance items (cheaper one is free). Some of the best buys are on home stuff from Hawkins New York, Hay, ferm LIVING, W&P.
I.AM.GIA: 25% off everything, including already-on-sale pieces, some of which come down to around 80% off with the discount. Couple that with already super low prices on decent quality clothing and it’s impossible not to shop.
Target: Deals on all the real life stuff outside of fashion, from vacuums to weighted blankets to AirPods to kitchen appliances.
Amazon: Wherever you stand along the Amazon divide, the fact of the matter is that the prices and turnaround times are often unmatched. The sale technically kicks off tomorrow, but you can already find big deals on Small Businesses, Amazon Handmade, and Luxury Stores.
Other very noteworthy fashion deals.
Luisaviaroma: Take 40% off a slew of full-priced items with BF40 and an extra 20% off sale items, automatically applied at checkout. Best deals on Emilia Wickstead, Proenza, MNZ.
Matchesfashion: Up to (and sometimes over) 50% off around 13,000 items between the men’s and women’s sales. Includes current-season J.W. Anderson, Marni, APC.
Yoox: Evergreen place for some of the best designer sales—over 51,000 pieces on sale including lots of Blumarine and Jacquemus.
Bergdorf Goodman: Take an extra 30% off sale items for savings over 75% off, plus take 40% off new season items in a separate sale section.
Saks Fifth Avenue: One of the biggest selections of designer deals this BF up to 50% off, plus tiered discounts from $50 off $250 up to $200 off $1,000 purchases.
LN-CC: Extra 10% off sale, which includes new season Jacquemus bags, Marine Serre moon prints, and Salomon sneakers for under $100.
Shopbop: Starting today, take an extra 15-30% off sitewide including sale items with HOLIDAY.
Carola Zeta: A mostly unheard-of site, but discounts in the thousands off of designers like Bode, Chopova Lowena, Margiela, Coperni, and Saks Potts.
Good American: 25% off sitewide with BF25, plenty of denim, swim, layerable bodysuits.
Reformation: 25% off everything just opened today, lots of femme dresses, of course, but also sweaters, denim, matching sets, and well-priced cashmere.
Norma Kamali: The designer’s famed Sleeping Bag Coats (many puffer trench styles) are up to 50% off via a sale that’s hidden from homepage.
Savage x Fenty: XTRA VIP members can shop 65% off sitewide—sign up for membership free just remember to cancel before your card gets charged or “skip” each month to avoid the fee.
The Series: Not a sale, but a cool initiative, The Series is running a Supply Your Own Puffer promo where you can send in an old comforter or sleeping bag and designer Ella Wiznia will turn it into a coat.
COS: Take an extra 25% off sale items including lots of winter pieces.
Vince: Tiered discounts starting at 20% for $250 orders, up to 30% off for $750+.
Anthropologie: Get 30% off almost the entire site, including sale-on-sale.
Mango: Up to 50% off thousands of clothes, bags, shoes, ends Sunday.
Frame: New styles up to 50% off, $100s off great denim cuts.
Levi’s: Take 40% off premium denim for Levi’s “Indigo Friday” sale.
The Arrivals: Up to 60% off sale items.
TheRealReal: Week of Unreal Deals includes up to 80% off designer fashion.
Anine Bing: Up to 70% off sale styles, LA minimalist quality essentials.
LACAUSA: Buy more, save more on ultra-soft basics up to 35% off.
James Perse: Up to 70% off Holiday Sale, lots of thin, drapey cotton basics.
Miaou: Up to 30% off corsets, mesh, and other best-sellers.
Journelle: Beautiful, sophisticated lingerie offering tiered discounts—15% off $175 up to 25% off $450.
Cosabella: Lingerie and lounge, 20% off sitewide on orders under $149, 25% over that up to $399, and 30% off anything over that.
Nike: Up to 50% off, plus use code BLACKFRIDAY for extra 20% off select styles.
Reebok: Take 35% off sitewide and an extra 50% off sale.
Girlfriend Collective: Up to 30% off well-cut workout sets and more, including new collection.
Outdoor Voices: Shop 50% off select styles.
Solid & Striped: Get 25% off plus a gift with purchase while supplies last.
Bag, shoe, and jewelry deals that get their own section.
Dear Frances: Italian-made leather shoes in fabulous silhouettes, 25% off sitewide (pay attention to the boots).
Neous: Really gorgeous, supple leather bags and shoes, 30% off sitewide with no exceptions.
Labucq: 15% off site wide with additional discounts on Kitty Loafers, Mo Slides, and Mika Loafers.
Nomasei: Close-to-my-heart hot and comfy shoe brand offering 20% off sitewide with NOMASEIBD (it’s their birthday).
Margaux: 20% off sitewide for comfortable “city” shoes.
TKEES: Minimal flip-flops that look like The Row, up to 75% off.
Mansur Gavriel: Up to 40% off sale styles in fantastic shapes and even better colors.
Rebag: Secondhand luxury bags, 20% off sitewide including Prada, Chanel, Bottega, Balenciaga moto bags, et al.
Ratio et Motus: My bag crush, extending a tidy 40% off sitewide with BFREM2021.
Agmes: 25% off sitewide (including the Simone Bodmer-Turner collab) with code THANKFUL.
Wolf Circus: Take 20% off everything except the Holiday ‘21 collection with DEMIFINE20.
Mejuri: Leprechaunistic tendencies aside, it's Mejuri’s largest sale of the year with 20% off any purchase of $150 or up.
Missoma: The brand's first Black Friday sale ever offers 25% off sitewide.
Beauty deals for restocking and discovery.
Lesse: Not a sale but a good excuse, 20% of all proceeds through the weekend will go to non-profits championing environmental causes. For every December purchase, they'll donate a meal to No Kid Hungry.
Violet Grey: 20% off sitewide barring some of the higher-end brands (certainly not all of them!), plus a gift with purchase while supplies last.
Credo: Get a $240-valued sampler set with any $150 purchase—check the featured section for already-discounted products to hit the threshold.
Crown Affair: Take 20% off anything gloopy (none of the combs or towels, basically).
Ceremonia: Take 15% off orders under $60, 20% off orders over $60.
Playa: Yet more hair care, take 20% off everything with EFFORTLESS.
Rael: Period essentials and skincare (love their pimple patches) are up to 50% off.
Kjaer Weis: 20% off everything—refillable clean makeup, skincare—except already-savings-priced bundles.
Freck Beauty: 30% off sitewide, including bundles—praised for their skincare and other products as much as for their hyper specific freckle-faking pen.
Ami Cole: “Makeup for Melanin Rich Skin,” 20% off everything with HOLIDAY20.
Olay: 25% off everything sitewide and up to 60% off on clearance items, plus spend $150 and get a free limited-edition Juicy for OLAY velour tracksuit.
And a couple home/lifestyle deals to round out the lot.
Daily Harvest: Buy one, get one free healthy-to-have-around frozen smoothie/bowl boxes with CYBERWEEK21.
1stDibs: High-end collectible vintage furniture for up to 60% off.