160: Private sale week is more important than Black Friday
Plus an extravagantly deep Dion Lee sale, holiday collections from Attersee and Reformation, and another sad store closure—LCD we'll miss you.
The theme of this newsletter was decided almost a year in advance, despite the fact that private sales went live on SSENSE, Net-A-Porter, Nordstrom, Saks, Farfetch, and more only yesterday. This specific stretch of time, about 10 days out from Black Friday, has become crucial in the Black Friday-Cyber Monday-holiday markdown schedule: It’s private sale week.
The big idea behind private sales is to reward repeat shoppers first, which is why they’re usually linked to an email account (as with SSENSE) or available through a hidden link (like Net). The discounts won’t have reached their 90% lows, but this is when you’ll find desirable, current-season pieces at sale prices they’ve yet to be seen at. This happens because so many of those sought-after brands have do-not-promote clauses in their contracts with retailers, which the private sale model circumvents by displaying lowered prices only to a select group and avoiding getting pulled into aggregators like Lyst and Google Shopping.
Based on last year’s learnings, I’m doing the bulk of my own sale shopping this week—I still have no-buyer’s remorse for missing out on a Loewe leather blouson jacket for under a grand at the time, which by the way is now selling on resale for upwards $4k.
The facts are as stands: There are 808 pages of Private Sale deals on SSENSE between Womenswear, Menswear, and Everything Else, and discounts reach up to 50% off across categories. On Net-A-Porter, there are 15,494 products in the hidden Rewards Private Sale page, all 30% off when added to cart. Nordstrom’s Private Designer Sale includes 1,569 products and is advertised as “up to 40% off,” but actually goes up to 85%. At Saks, 4,313 products are up to 40% off with SAKSSALE through this link only. And at Farfetch, there are 1,380 pages of the Exclusive Members’ Edit for 25% off. Just be sure that you’re signed in with your primary shopping email on each site to access the discounts.
Expect a deeper dive across the board very soon, but in the meantime, some quick-start links:
Let’s get it out of the way that, yes, The Row is on sale at SSENSE, including the Avas that I just featured in the babouche boot (babout, per a reader!) diatribe. If you were going to buy a Row coat, it was never going to be “cheap,” but the wool and cashmere Ceren is down to just around $2k in black and brown.
Also recently featured, this Baserange shirtdress I tried on at Maimoun—I had to circle back and buy it since it’s down to $100, plus the MNZ scunchie I styled in that shoot is under $50. More good sale Maryam pieces: the Abdou trousers for $350ish, blue Belmont boots for under $400, and just one left of one of the season’s nicest leather bomber jackets for $850.
Two coats I’ve got my eye on and may have already mentioned: a Filippa K for $726 (long, pairs with tailoring) and one from The Garment for $459 (more casual, weekend farmer’s market vibe). And, actually, a third one from Birrot that I mentioned during the 20% off code sale that’s now 33% off and duolingos between those two parlances. Those Auralee jeans I bought during the coupon sale are down to 33% off, too.
Over on NAP, good ol’ nappy nap-a-porter, these weird welly-like Brunello boots are like a limpet on my brain, I seriously can’t stop thinking about them, and they’re $1,140 now. My oft-worn Emme Parson fisherman sandals dip down to $360. There are two knit Rowen Rose dresses I am loving—a pink one and a white one with a high slit—kind of occasion-specific but I’m constantly circling in on this brand. And yes, they’re just white jeans, but these Tove ones made white jeans a thing for this fall based on their turtleneck-high buttoning blazer stying from the lookbook (and now, ecomm); I would have bought them immediately if they were available in my size.
Meanwhile, all 40% off at Saks: that flattering Khaite bodysuit I’ve pined and still pine for (and a great deal more Khaite), Diane Keaton’s wide-leg Margiela pants, and a wear-it-till-it-dies Acne sweater. The most discounted thing from Nordstrom is this not-half-bad Fendi sweater for $315, but even better are this Bode checkerboard scarf for $115, the matching sweater for $445, and Loewe babouches for $450. The deal with Farfetch is that there’s some Prada (eyewear) included.
What’s new
Top tier “gets it” brand Attersee just launched its holiday collection, which understands better than most how we want our festive acquisitions to interact with the rest of our wardrobes. Which is to say, it’s just right for your partner’s job’s holiday party or your family’s “no need to dress up” dinner or to come back to in the spring and wear with a pair of belted men’s shorts or ribbed tank (the sculpted cardigan and cashmere pants come to mind). I bought these cocktail pants because they’re perfect.
It’s exciting to see how many brands seem to have divined distinct colorways for their first 2024 collections instead of an orthodox adherence to Pantone’s prescriptions— Proenza’s PS24 bursts in with a disarming red, best deployed in a turtleneck dress that gathers into a sash to be wrapped and warped any which way, before returning to winter’s steadfast black for pieces like cowboy-style mules and a twill corset layered in gestural, keyframe-like panels.
The first delivery from Toteme’s RS23 is both carrot and kerosene. I’m compelled toward the minimalist capsule’s fascinatingly buttoning blouse, its snowy white version of the tailored trousers I have in black, its biscuit-colored (kryptonite to me!!!) leather pants. But I’m feeling whiplash because I was still working my way through its fall collection and thought I had more time. Is there still a future for me and this suede midi skirt? This woven blazer? These almond-toed loafers? I’m being dramatic, of course.
By Malene Birger’s PS24 collection takes what might seem like the worst part of winter—the feeling of being laden down with fabric and ennui—and translates it into a comforting gravity. A snowdrift-like wool poncho drips off the shoulders in two layers of fringe and the self-tying belt on a merino turtleneck dress looks like extra sleeves wrapping the waist in a warm embrace (we’ve seen this at Baserange too—the brands [rightfully?] think we need a hug).
Can we submit Maximilliam Davis’ latest into evidence that the designer is thrusting Ferragamo back into long-estranged relevance? Market skeptics are saying the appointment, along with the new CEO, are yet-to-be-proven moves at the legacy label. Phooey, I’ll counter. Davis has created a whole new language of It bags, which is more than anyone at the helm of ahem, Gucci, or ahem, Burberry, can say for the last few years.
Bottega Veneta’s PS24 seems to be the brand dipping its toe into chaos mode, with an Intrecciato (but of course) leather coat in Candy Shoppe shades of mint, cream, and warm, root beer-ish brown, a knotty little clutch like a wad of strategically-chewed bubble gum, and sock boots that really look like socks—the welcome raucousness is grounded by the brand’s new Gemelli bag, a low-profile crescent woven into two neat compartments and available in three sizes.
Have you ever let an outfit determine your vacation destination? If not, Christopher Esber’s R24 collection seems to have planned its own itinerary to a mysterious resort where dark, thick air passes through the mesh of a surreal garden printed on a tank and capri set, dinner plans warrant a sophisticated, chocolate shirt dress but don’t preclude a belly button-deep v-neck, and a shrunken denim vest with toggle clasps is the dress code’s beach cover-up.
It’s exciting to see how many brands seem to have divined distinct colorways for their first 2024 collections instead of an orthodox adherence to Pantone’s prescriptions— Proenza’s PS24 bursts in with a disarming red, best deployed in a turtleneck dress that gathers into a sash to be wrapped and warped any which way, before returning to winter’s steadfast black for pieces like cowboy-style mules and a twill corset layered in gestural, keyframe-like panels.
In what seems like a proposition to Ugg for a collaboration (sensible, after the success of its Telfar partnership), Jacquemus’ Guirlande collection swings for the shearling fences with tiny, tubular miniskirts that warrant their own Diesel-style sit-down test, matching cropped-and-belted camisoles, crackly, metallic iterations of the Petit Bambimou purse similarly sprouting creamy fur, and a festively wine-red shearling coat in bathrobe-adjacent design at the intersection of je ne sais quoi and jouissance.
The prodigal son of, er, the prodigal mother (Kylie Jenner), Khy, dropped its first collection of faux-leather basics. A strapless midi dress is one of the few items not yet sold out and…honestly, there’s not much to write about yet, but the price points for its soon-to-come line of puffer jackets are friendly enough to keep on file—not a thing over $200 as of now.
Sophie Buhai’s R24 collection has the tenor of a breathtaking moment in the blue light before dawn. A silver collar cradles a luminous South Sea pearl in between clavicles, hand-carved chalcedony stone sits on a thick, structural ring like a tiny terrarium capturing a morning’s mist, and egg-shaped quartz forms droplets at the end of silver, trumpet-shaped earrings—seems like there’s movement on the egg front right now, as Bevza has also flown nest-ward with its jewelry recently.
The Reformation Holiday collection is very much what it says on the tin—the requisite disco ball gown, the cherry-red, cashmere v-neck sweater, the velvet—though this velvety slip dress goes a bit off the beaten path in its strategic partially mesh construction for those who can’t be dragged, even kicking and screaming, from the summer’s naked dresses but don’t want to freeze their literal butts off for fashion.
Summer camp usually gets all the aesthetic glory, but SSENSE XX’s continuing exclusive drops feel like show-and-tell at the most elevated, fashion-forward winter camp of all time. Sturdy necklaces, in sterling silver charms from S.R. Studio and beaded bungee cords by Wales Bonner, are on offer alongside Niko June’s ceramic cake slice candle holders and a Thom Browne archive book—there are even Jil Sander sleeping bags to snuggle into while you read by the campfire.
I’m starting to think people actually buy beauty holiday boxes/advent calendars, as opposed to them being the kind of mismatched thing gifted by a well-meaning aunt. I guess they’re getting good? Some research firm PR pitch (via Misumi Skincare) told me today that Net-A-Porter’s is the best value, “saving shoppers a whopping $1,273.” Cult Beauty’s saves $1,064. And Dr. Barbara Sturm’s saves $1,046. This one from Violet Grey didn’t make the list—it costs $345 and has a $700 value, saving you about half—but I like the product assortment.
There’s also: Thom Browne just toasted 20 years, a good enough occasion to welcome an edit of womenswear to Moda Operandi; Colbo’s AW23 lineup is here and my pick of the litter is this double-sided cashmere scarf—fuck me up; Deiji Studios graces us with its fall collection, from which I’ve been absolutely living in the knit vest and seam knit pant set (in public! I’ve been so cute!); Saks Potts sees our obsession with Italian heritage underwear brands and makes the smart move of collaborating with Oscalito on an intimates range; Mansur Gavriel introduced colorful scarves in colors only Mansur Gavriel could be behind; I’m excited to see the Commission x Paul Smith capsule I previewed in the New York brand’s atelier hit retail—I love how much Commission is there, it feels like a true homage spoken in their own language; Ganni x Barbour’s latest drop sees the latter’s waxed cotton patchworked, quilted, and cheetah-printed in corduroy-trimmed designs that build off of the duo’s first collab; Gabriela Hearst’s exclusive capsule for Net-A-Porter has big The Row energy—tailored velvet pants, T-bar pointy-toed flats, and all; furthering its maniacal plan to provide you with everything you never knew you wanted, Gohar World’s Table IV collection offers bean-shaped bib chains, teensy silver cloche trays, candles shaped like sausage links, and more darling ephemera; All Blues’ SS24 capsule for Peter Do first seen on the runway is all brutalist silver in the shape of double-finger rings and necklaces that look like machine parts; Swarovski’s dance card is full this season, collaborating with Skims on crystalline shapewear and bedazzled bed linens at Magniberg; Paco Rabanne x H&M brings the former’s disco sensibilities to the latter’s price point, topping out at under $500 and including a take on Rabanne’s famous disc dress; you’ve already seen the new Wales Bonner x Adidas collab, but its pony hair trainers and knit football kits are still available and still the unimpeachable leaders in 2023’s sport style; and the latest MM6 x Salomons are visions in cerulean blue—and are those THIGH-HIGH SALOMONS?
What’s on sale
One of the best individual sales of the year is on—Dion Lee’s archive sale goes up to 80% off and is pages upon pages long. I thought I’d be too late when I started browsing, because that’s just how these things go. Instead, I was effectively shopping multiple still-relevant collections for lower than resale prices with no catch—there’s even a section for under $100 finds. I bought these Interloop pants, but was also (and still kind of am) considering the wool pocket trousers, v-wire trousers, and moto panel pants.
Like a caricature of the hardened Business Lady who comes home for the holidays only to find love in the most unexpected of places, Balenciaga’s AW23 sale is replete with pinstripe blazers and stand-neck coats molded into romantic hourglass figures, defying the rule that winter wear must be shapeless and chunky to be viable. A pleated, knotted, drapey dress is both funereal and holiday-festive, and all three pieces plus a handful more are 40% off.
Wardrobe.NYC’s archive sale takes hundreds of dollars off the consummate classic khaki trench coat, a giant selection of blazers and tuxedo jackets, the errant pair of jeans (this light-wash skinny pair is $88 down from $350), and a host of other sleeper hits considered down to the tiniest detail.
Sometimes, Sea, New York’s sale section reminds you that it’s not your mother’s Anthropologie clone, no matter how many peasant blouses and prairie skirts may grace its pages. One such moment comes with the Pari skirt, $237 down from $395, with fringe that starts at the upper thigh and cascades almost to the ankle—this fringe is not “trim,” it’s the whole deal. Sea does a great job at going hard when it counts, including in discounts.
I had to circle back to Beaufille when they announced their latest archive sale, as I’d missed out on buying this skirt from the last one (remember what I said about winter sarongs? Stay extra tuned!!!). Thank god, it was even cheaper this time, as are the other four pages of deals. I expect they won’t be back for another round, though, as stock seems to have hit barrel.
I met with Jess of J.Hannah when I was in LA this last trip (lovely girl!), but don’t let that color my endorsement of the brand’s current 20% off sitewide sale with COLLECTOR—we’re only in touch because I famously can’t shut up about her jewelry and nail polish. The Met and A24 who’ve both collaborated with the brand tend to agree.
Former Raey womenswear designer Katy Close and model/filmmaker Lili Sumner recently launched Vespertine out of London, a really gorgeous silk brand making evening blouses and fancy underwear from the off-cuts. It’s an incredibly Instagram-bait brand, as you can imagine, with Alexa Chung and Lila Moss already in the mix. They’re still new, though, and to grow their newsletter list (relatable), they’re offering 30% off to anyone who signs up.
In the latest bleak news for the fashion industry, the beloved, expertly curated LCD is shuttering, but for now almost everything on its site is 30% off with THANKYOU. There are some sizes of Wales Bonner woven loafers for under $250, Lauren Manoogian knit pants for $315, a $350 Pleats Please hoodie (an underrated shape in the PP canon), and a store’s worth of pieces that will presumably continue to wane in price until LCD follows Tiina and Ven into the light. RIP.
Notre’s stock is all 30% off with THIRTY, and it’s a magnificent sight: a twisty, complex Isa Boulder vest for under $300, a brushed mohair Acne beanie for $133, a sci-fi jacket from Kiko Kostadinov, a plaid midi skirt from Collina Strada with huge, load-bearing pockets…Most importantly, it seems every iconic shoe of the past few years is on sale, from Sandy Liang’s Mary Jane Pointes to AVAVAV’s finger boots.
It’s your last chance to shop Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s RE23 collection for up to 50% off, from a tan version of the beloved Apollo vest to white leather ballet pumps and the off-kilter, pinstripe MNZ take on a high/low skirt. There are still some Lemaire trousers and KNWLS leggings to be had from previous seasons, if you scroll far back enough in the sale section.
Madewell’s sitewide holiday sale takes 30% off with LETSGO and features a cable knit sweater on which the pattern actually extends to the back—a rarity these days—for just over $100, champagne-colored wide leg pants for $83, and a host of holiday party champions, like an off-the-shoulder top for $45 and the requisite sequined NYE midi skirt for under 100 bucks.
Dear Frances’ private sale takes 25% off sitewide with EARLY25 until November 17, when the “regular” sale begins. One of the most eye-catching new pieces included in the sale is the Blake boot, with its pebbly-leather and a calf-length shaft with the exact right shape to apply to anything from tucked-in jeans to tights with satin hot pants.
It’s already Black Friday at Ulta, where up to 40% comes off the cost of ol’ faithfuls like vegan Tarte highlighter and up to 30% off dermatologist-recommended skincare. The brands are more classic mall makeup counter finds (Clinique, Bobbi Brown) than its young blood competition at Sephora we covered the other week, but sometimes that’s better—let the TikTokers burn their eyelids off with a serum boasting “new technology” while calmly applying your Estée Lauder blush.
JW Anderson’s private sale has enough of the brand’s most idiosyncratic pieces to set its sale section leagues apart from other end-of-season clear-outs: tank tops hinge at the waist with literal, metal hinges, a perfect winter dress in merino wool is belted with a padlock around the hips like a fumbled attempt at chastity, and a jersey jumper bulges at the neck and hem in “bumpers” mirroring the brand’s signature bags.
There’s also: Take 50% off a selection of classic felted hats at Bagtazo with MOVINONUP, and preorder some new, retro styles with HOLIDAYPRESALE for 20% off; take 25% off the entire stock of chunky-but-delicate gold vermeil pieces at Aureum in its early Black Friday deal; SINGLE22 gets you 22% off Apparis’ whole site, including its nifty holiday gift edit; Amo Denim’s archive sale shaves up to 70% off jeans ranging from straight to wide-legged to relaxed and beyond; Good American’s Black Friday VIP early access begins now, with 20% off sitewide using SAVE20; AllBirds is taking up to 50% off its famously comfy running shoes; and Louisa Ballou’s archive sale cuts the prices of its brightly printed vacation wear by up to 80%.
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With contributions from News Editor Em Seely-Katz
You are doing God's work with this one...great list!
Naphtha BAR of soap.. tho a bag might b easier