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Budget Fashion: You can save 80% on designer clothes

How to look great on a budget

High fashion on a budget
How to save even more money
Moneymagpie tips and the current hot deals. Get them now!

Ever commented on a beautiful outfit to be told it came from a supermarket, discount store or charity shop? Did it make you wonder if you know the best places to shop? Most people’s ideas about clothes are passed down from their mother, relatives or friends, but sometimes in order to save money on clothes, you need to challenge those ideas. Ideally clothes should fit well, suit the occasion and weather, wear well and make you feel good. There’s a whole range of places where you can pick up bargains.

High fashion on a budget

Members-only websites

There are a group of websites that offer customers who sign up with them the chance to get to the online sales first by sending them advance warning. Once you've signed up you'll be sent an email alerting you to the start of the sale so you can get straight there and start grabbing those bargains before everyone else.

Only join a members-only site that offers registration for free. Here at Moneymagpie we like Brand Alley, where you can get between 30% and 70% off loads of designer labels and receive £5 when you refer a friend who goes on to buy something.

Another great website is Secret Sales where you can save between 30% and 80% on lots of designer gear by the likes of Christian Dior and Dolce & Gabbana.

Here are some others you might like to sign up to:

Factory outlets

These offer lots of big label names (if that’s your thing) at cheaper prices. If you have a car, or can get yourself on a local bus, you can find a list of factory shops here.

The Designer Warehouse Sales are held over three days, 12 times a year, in Islington, Central London. You could get your hands on catwalk one-offs, showroom samples and make savings of 60% or more on your favourite labels. Join the mailing list to find out in advance when the sales are going to take place.

Start bidding

Lots of new trends reflect the fashions of the past so for retro, vintage clothes and accessories go to eBay and start bidding. Scan the vintage clothes section or go to the women's clothing section and search by period whether you want a 1920s style flapper dress, rockabilly leopard print shoes, or a 1980s bat-wing dress.

Check out Fashion Exchange. It is a new online marketplace for all things fashion and it's an auction site much like eBay where you place bids on all sorts of amazing high street, designer and vintage treasures.
Read Nicky Peckham's eBay blog for loads of great advice on buying and selling on eBay.

Amazon deals

You wont find any clothes at Amazon but it is good for cheap shoes and accessories, including designer items. Search by size, colour, brand and price to find the perfect item for you. Also take a look at Price Cut Review, a handy website that lists all of the current Amazon products that are selling at half price or less. It's all sorted into categories for you, so it's well worth a browse to see if you can get some shoes or accessories for a lot less.

Other online gems

If you know what you want to buy, or are looking for something a little special, try websites like Brown Bag Clothing, Swerve, Designer Discount, Designer Sale UK and Designer Sales Direct. Shopping from home should save you the cost of travelling to the shops, and websites often offer seasonal postage discounts. But beware of paying extra to send the goods back if they don’t fit.

How to save even more money

Cheap chain stores

Clothes are getting cheaper all the time because of foreign competition, which means chain stores like TopShop, Dorothy Perkins, La Redoute, Littlewoods and Freemans can source many of the same goods as the shops in the next price tier. Because of their buying power, they can sell them on to you for less.

Rock-bottom chain stores

Shops like Primark have also had a huge surge in popularity because savvy buyers are stocking the shelves with relevant, fashionable - and above all - wearable pieces. The trick here is to visit early in the morning whilst the shelves are still being stocked. This way you are sure to get the pick of the best things.

Try and avoid shopping here during peak hours; it'll be much more manic and when there are fewer people you'll have no reason to feel rushed. These shops are great for 'fashion' items that you’ll only wear for one or two seasons, but be ready to do some repair jobs because the clothes are not made as well. Staples such as stockings, hats, pyjamas, T-shirts and underwear also regularly come in at half the price of the high street chains.

Charity shops

Good old charity shops are great for getting a pre-loved bargain, as long as you have the time and patience to look regularly. The best goodies are often to be found in posher areas where women (or their PAs) swing by in 4x4s to offload armloads of gear each weekend. Watch out for sneaky stores that raise their prices just because Kate Moss shops there each week. Most of the stuff is on the shelves by Monday afternoon so it's a good time to go.

Moneymagpie tips

Current hot deals

Fashion hungry men should go to Swerve for the summer sale. You could save up to 75% on top designer brands like Armani, Diesel and Hugo Boss.
Go to eBay for fantastic bargains on designer clothes and jewellery.
House of Fraser are offering £10 off your first purchase on their new website if you spend over £50. This can be spent on both full price merchandise and sale stuff - so pick up some sale bargains and get even more for your money. If you spend over £50 you also get free delivery. Just enter the promotional code FIRSTORDER08 at the checkout. The offer is valid until the 31st of August. See if it's for you here.

Don't forget to check our regularly updated list of fantastic shopping offers and sales.

Get a little help from your friends

Swap your clothes with friends. Have a swapping party where you swap the outfits you don’t want any more. Some people have gems hiding away in their wardrobe that might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Want to get those Jimmy Choos for half the price? Try out the latest trend and share them with your best friend. Lots of us have friends with a similar taste in fashion so if you have one who also wears the same dress or shoe size you can club together and buy something you both love (but can't afford on your own) and share it! Do make sure it's a really close friend that you trust and agree beforehand exactly how you're going to share them to save any arguments.

Always join mailing lists

As long as it's free, always join the mailing list of any sites that you use regularly because it will usually mean that you get told first about any upcoming sales so you won't miss out on any bargains. There could even be special offers just for customers who have signed up.

Get creative

If you have a sewing machine then making clothes can be cheap and you can always boast that they’re one-offs. Personalised clothing, such as monogrammed baby shawls or handkerchiefs, make great presents, too.

A pair of old jeans can be really easily turned into a cute denim skirt. All you need to do is unstitch the inner leg seam and cut the jean legs to your desired length, then sew them back up again. Click here for a step-by-step guide.

A simple pack of dye can give you a whole new wardrobe. Read Jasmine's 12 July blog to find out how she got herself a whole new wardrobe with some salt and some washing-machine dye!