How to Find Designer Steals Online

Do you really have to be rich to wear high-quality designer pieces? The short answer is, sometimes. Undeniably, you’re not going to prioritize getting your hands on the latest fashion items when you’re still saving up for next month’s rent - yet, it’s nice to know that the Internet is home to a few corners of incredibly marked down treasures.

It’s how the average fashionista manages to continue with their hobby without spending all their savings and it’s how you’re going to up your wardrobe and feel fantastic without breaking the bank as well. Here is a much-needed guide to the hidden designer outlets and how you, I and anyone in between who has already paid their rent this month can treat themselves.

First: The shopping mindset

Before we get cracking, it’s important to do a quick recap on not only how and where you should shop - but also how you should think when shopping. If you find something that is a bit pricier than you originally had in mind, yet oh-so-perfect, you’d want to make sure you’re going to wear it a lot.

We’re talking seasonal coats that will work during spring as well as autumn, a classic dress you might wear to the next work event as well as your mother-in-law’s birthday, a leather bag you’ll take with you everywhere, you get the picture. It needs to mean something to you, be worn with love and preferably passed on to your children and grandchildren.

The Internet: Find Outlets

The easiest and least energy-consuming way of shopping is, of course, to go online. As everyone seems to prefer this method, it’s starting to get a bit confusing out there and shopping sites have reached a number that few of us are able to search through in one sitting. So let’s break it down for you; Net-a-Porter and The Outnet are most fashionistas go-to sites for designer pieces that have been marked down.

Yet, there are more hidden gems out there than these. Saks Off 5th Avenue and 6PM feature marked down designer clothes and, if you pop by once in a while, you’ll be able to take home a proper bargain. If you are looking for something specific, it might be a good idea to go straight to an outlet that features the brand you want; check out these Air Jordan 1, for example, and you’ll know what we mean.

Look for flash sales

Even when you’ve found your ultimate shopping site, you may not have found the prices you had in mind. That’s why some sites specialize in flash sales; the kind you often have to sign up for and that will continue to send you annoying emails.

Nonetheless, it is the price we have to pay (at least a part of it) for high-quality clothes at a low price. Keep an eye on sites like ideeli, Gilt and HauteLook for great discounted deals as well as occasional flash sales.

When you’ve become used to paying the same for a skirt from Marc Jacobs as you would pay for one from Topshop, it’s easy to see why discounted designer clothes can be so addictive.

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Event Recap: Luxury Garage Sale Grand Opening Atlanta

Luxury Garage Sale

Atlanta Pop Up

(l-r) Vickie Kirbo kirbyourstyle.com, LGS CEO Trish Lukasik, E. Vincent Martinez, Ashley Stamoulis suthingirl.com

E. Vincent Martinez & Jovita Moore

Luxury Garage Sale Atlanta

closes May 15, 2018

On Wednesday, April 25th, over 100 fashion forward Atlantans descended upon Luxury Garage Sale's pop-up boutique in bustling Inman Park for the official grand opening celebration.  An intimate affair,  guests shopped coveted luxury brands for 90% off of retail prices such as: Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Celine, Prada, LV, and much more, while enjoying savory corn hush puppies and tuna tartare bites from The Brasserie and Neighborhood Café at PARISH, bubbly, Wild Heaven craft beer, and the signature cocktail of the night, made with Cathead Vodka, Luxury Living. Additionally, hitting record pop-up sales, 10% of the night’s proceeds benefitted Doggies on the Catwalk, the acclaimed 501c 3 founded by E. Vincent Martinez. 

Open until Tuesday, May 15, Luxury Garage Sale’s Atlanta pop-up, is located at The Shops at Highland Steel (240 N. Highland Avenue, Atlanta, Ga). For more information on Luxury Garage Sale, visit luxurygaragesale.com. 

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Luxury Garage Sale Grand Opening Soiree - Atlanta Pop Up

Popping up for one month this April 15 through May 15, 2018, coveted Chicago-based upscale consignment brand, Luxury Garage Sale, is inviting fashion-loving Atlantans the opportunity to shop a curated collection of high-end designer consignment including top-selling brands like Hermès, Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton along with boutique overstock at up to 90% off retail prices.  The pop-up shop will be located in the heart of bustling Inman Park - providing shoppers a true boutique ‘luxe for less’ experience featuring stand-out designer clothing, handbags, shoes, and accessories for women, one-on-one styling, full service consignment services, and more.  Their team of style experts also makes personal house-calls to help consignors vet their pieces and appraise them for those looking to consign new or lightly used luxury items.  

Join us as we celebrate the official grand opening of the Luxury Garage Sale Atlanta pop-up shop in Inman Park this Wednesday, April 25th from 7 to 9 p.m. Sip champagne, bites from The Brasserie and Neighborhood Café at PARISH, a selection of Wild Heaven craft beer and more.   

Benefiting Doggies on the Catwalk, for this evening only, 10% of proceeds will go towards the acclaimed 501c 3 founded by E. Vincent Martinez. Special guests and Doggies on the Catwalk models Vickie Kirbo of Kirb Your Style  & Ashley Stamoulis of SUTHINGIRL will also be in attendance and ready to host you!    

RSVP to rsvp@carenwestpr.com and we will make sure you’re on the list!

Luxury Garage Sale’s Atlanta pop-up, is located at The Shops at Highland Steel (240 N. Highland Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.) right by Pure Barre and across the street from Char.  

Get ready to shop ’til you drop! 

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Dress Best On A Budget

Dressing well and finding good clothes in your size doesn’t have to be a hard game anymore. We’ve all walked into a shop and realize absolutely nothing on the rails is our style, or that a size 8 jeans that fitted us in one shop isn’t going to be the same size in this one. It makes going shopping incredibly annoying, and you end up forking out a huge sum in order to get something you’ll love and will love you in return. So we turn to bargain bin shopping, but that often means we have to sacrifice that class element we’re always in search of. However, we can combine the two when we really know how to shop. So here’s a few tips for finding something that’ll hug you in all the right places, and still not cost you an arm or a leg.

Stock Up on ‘Basic’ Items

Just because you’re shopping a supermarket’s own brand doesn’t mean you can’t look incredibly good in what you wear. This means you can go all out on the basic items you can grab, as they work as the base for any glamorous outfit, especially when you’re headed to the office for a day at work.

When you’re buying undershirts or simple cami tops or a good pair of leggings, they can last forever, and never go out of style. Even if they do run thin or break, replacing them is cheap, and they come in versatile colors. Of course, depending on your personal style, for work you’ll either want some good straight laced skirts or trousers, and basic style lines have plenty of different styles of those to offer.

If you’re crafty with a sewing needle or machine, you can even patch some of these items together to create yourself a designer dress, or use the material for your own outfits. It’s quite an old style habit, but it’s an incredibly useful skill to have if you’re trying to live on a wardrobe budget. You can imitate a lot of the bigger brands at an affordable level, and look absolutely fabulous in the end result.

Rely on Your Accessories

When you have plenty of jewelry, scarves, or gloves to swap in and out with an outfit, you can use the same clothes for a lot of pairings that look entirely different from any other. This is already the secret of all good wardrobe makers, but being versatile in what you put on top of your main outfit can turn you from executive to fashionista.

You can even use accessories for other purposes, such as using a scarf as a belt or having a good hair wrap when you want to keep your curls and waves intact in the windy weather. Try looking for bundle deals in the shops, such as two for one on necklaces or chokers, and half price sales on handbags, and take full advantage of them. If you buy now, you won’t regret your lack of choice later on.

Look for blog posts like that at www.stylishlyme.com, as they have some good tutorials on pairing accessories with dresses and skirts, and looking good whilst not feeling cold or unbelievably sweaty. Your designer clothes can still suffer from impractically after all.

Use the Web for Some Bargains

Sure, the net has some scams when it comes to following facebook page deals, and the shipping costs can get a little hefty, but the world wide web is your best friend when it comes to knowing how to shop and finding some classy bargains.

Use some shopping comparison sites such as www.doingup.com to find the best deals on common items you could pick up in high street retail shops, as often we can find cheaper prices or alternatives online. Even if you find something you love and can’t realistically afford to get it delivered straight to your door, you now know which shop to frequent! Either that, or keep an eye on the piece until it gets a deal put on it, which happens a lot more online than in store.

So you can see that having a good wardrobe that makes you feel good about yourself doesn’t have to break the bank, nor does it mean you suffer from a lack of shoes or constant ladders in your tights. Try some charity shops and own brands for hidden gems, and you’ll soon score yourself a fantastic new item to show off when out and about.

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Handbags born of theater, and necessity

by Encore Atlanta

Scenery bags are limited-edition, one-of-a-kind clutch purses made from recycle theatrical drops.

THERE’S A STORY behind these bags — of upcycling, fashion, theater and giving back.

Jen Kahn and a carload of discarded drops.

It’s also the story of Jen Kahn and how her company Scenery came to be.

In 2015, Kahn and a friend road-tripped from New York to Maine. They browsed in a store selling handbags made from old sails.

She and her friend had an aha! moment.

Kahn, a professional stage manager, started Scenery and now collects discarded or retired backdrops from all over the country. A Florida factory cuts and stitches them into simple, rectangular clutches. A portion of the proceeds helps take New York kids to see theater.

“The only thing more sad than closing a show is watching it get thrown out,” Kahn says. “I can’t stop shows from closing, but I can help their story live on and, in doing so, continue to give the gift of theater to many more.” 

Scenery bags tagline: Take the Story With You.

Scenery bags ($30) are limited-edition, one-of-a-kind pieces. Inside each is a label identifying its show of origin.

The inaugural batch came from The Desert Song, a 1926 operetta about Moroccans fighting French colonial rule.

Drops from productions of Hairspray and Oklahoma! are next. The bags can be pre-ordered from the website. Doing so gives you a number and a place in line. When your number is reached, you can choose from either of two drops or defer to the next round.

Scenery bags went live online July 5 and sold out in 48 hours, making enough money to send 10 kids to shows through the Theatre Development Fund’s Stage Doors program. To date, it has recyled some 900 pounds of drops.

Kahn and her company are committed to introducing a new generation of storytellers to theater. And, she says, “taking what would have been trash and making it into immeasurable treasure.”

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Daniel Wellington Now Open at Ponce City Market

DANIEL WELLINGTON, THE POPULAR SWEDISH WATCH BRAND, TO OPEN FIRST ATLANTA LOCATION AT PONCE CITY MARKET.

On May 12th, Swedish watch brand, Daniel Wellington, opened their first Atlanta location at nationally acclaimed mixed-use community hub Ponce City Market. The globally popular brand is excited to expand with the opening of their tenth brick and mortar store in the United States.

Daniel Wellington was founded in 2011 after founder Filip Tysander was inspired by an intriguing encounter with a British gentleman named Daniel Wellington to create his own line of watches His designs, which emphasize a sophisticated style, became the foundation for his widely popular brand. Since 2011, the Swedish-founded-and-based brand has become popular across the globe. The brand is excited to bring the Daniel Wellington experience to Atlanta with the opening of their 720-square-foot showroom located in the outside retail portion – across from Alex and Ani – at Ponce City Market.

“Daniel Wellington has grown rapidly and successfully over the past few years, and our continued move into the U.S. is a natural part of our ambitious expansion strategy”, says Ola Melin, Public Relations Manager of Daniel Wellington. “We have seen a positive response to our brand from customers and partners in the South, and by opening up a store at Ponce City Market, we look forward to significantly increase our presence in the area”.

The Ponce City Market location will feature the brand’s range of timeless men and women’s accessories, which include sleek and minimalist watches and metal cuffs. Shoppers will be able to browse the brand’s five watch collections – the Classic Collection, the Classic Black Collection, the Dapper Collection, the Classy Collection, and the recently launched Classic Petite – a 32mm stainless steel watch that offers a minimalist and contemporary attitude and truly reflects the Daniel Wellington approach to design. Daniel Wellington’s watches, which start at $135, can be customized by choosing the watch band, color, and size. The Ponce City Market location will also feature complimentary leather embossing for previously owned and newly purchase Daniel Wellington watches.

Daniel Wellington at Ponce City Market will be open Monday – Saturday from 10:00am until 9:00pm and on Sunday’s from 12:00pm until 6:00pm.

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STYLE AMBASSADOR: GLOBAL RUNWAY

Global Runway called and I jet-setted to the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal in Atlanta to report as a Style Ambassador. I am one of several Style Ambassadors involved in a fabulous and stylish fashion presentation experience occurring later this month. We spent a full day with a film crew and 10Squared PR shooting a commercial within the terminal's luxury wing. [Can't wait to share the video!] The images in the slideshow above are from the shoot - more to come and make sure to follow me on IG @fashionado

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