Designer Label Fashion

13/01/09 Update: Giles Deacon correspondence cards for Smythson now showing as back in stock >>>>>>

The gorgeous Giles Deacon corrrespondence cards at Smythson went on sale yesterday - and they are already showing as out of stock. They were sold in boxes of 10 stunning note cards, decorated with pen and ink drawings of haut couture fashion gowns. These correspondence cards were produced in a limited edition run of only 300 so it’s not surprising they sold out so quickly.

There were five stunning Giles Deacon designs, with each box containing two of each design, plus hand tissue linked envelopes in two colours from black, grey, bright pink, yellow and lime green. Oh dear, I’m just making things worse aren’t I. View Giles Deacon correspondence cards at Smythson.

Anyway if you missed out on the Giles Deacon cards, why not console yourself with the elegant Maze Smythson designer handbag, which is now only half price in the Smythson sale?

This is the large size Maze bag, which is handmade in a contrasting black goat skin leather and suede. Lined in dark mauve satin, the Maze has three pockets and a zipped pouch. It comes in the fabulous Smythson blue gift packaging. The large Maze bag is 12 ½” x 8” x 8 ¾”. Buy the large Maze Smythson designer handbag in the Smythson sale for half price.

I loved the Nancy handbag (also half price in the Smythson sale), though I do prefer the Maze bag, which I think is more elegant and won’t date (remember that cost per wear designer shopping justification, ladies). I still think the Maze handbag looks like a chocolate, but a very elegant, expensive, grown-up chocolate (we’re talking Godiva, not a Quality Street noisette triangle).

The Smythson Maze clutch is also available in the Smythson sale and is also half price.

• Browse handbags and purses in the Smythson sale.
• Or visit the Smythson site for non-sale and sale luxury handbags, purses, stationery and leather goods.

Twenty8Twelve, the designer label set up by Sienna Miller and her sister Savannah Miller, is showing at London Fashion Week in February 2009.

Twenty8Twelve already sell through their own stores and Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. Online, you can get them at My Wardrobe.

The current Twenty8Twelve season is on sale at My Wardrobe including the Jezebel Croc Clutch and Lucinda Front Ruffle Blouse, both below.

Reduced from £208 to £83.20, that’s 60% off. In tan moc croc, it has an embossed logo and a vintage feel. inside there are two pockets and a small mirror. 29cm x 14cm, 100% leather.

The Lucinda blouse from Twenty8Twelve is 100% silk and has a ruffle front bib, plus circular button fastening down the front. With 50% off, this silk designer blouse is now only £90 - reduced from £180.

I’m channelling pink and purple designer fashion today, from online designer boutique Anedoti. (These colours match my cheeks after venturing forth in temperatures of -7C this morning).

Anedoti specialises in designer fashion from up and coming fashion designers including Alpha by Massimo Rebecchi, and Tom Salama; jewellery designers such as Delaila and Dominique Vezina; and handbag designer Notting Hill Design.

The Anedoti boutique has a designer fashion and designer jewellery sale on at the moment with up to 50% off and FREE shipping (it ends January 24, 2009).

Check out my choices below including some rather fab 1980s-influenced designer jewellery.

Or browse the Anedoti site for Sale and Non-Sale designer fashion, designer jewellery and designer handbags (with influences from many eras, anybody born after 1990 may be pleased to know).

This gorgeous purple Sarita dress from Tom Salama is the perfect summer dress or spring party dress. It has delicate puffled sleeves, neck detail and low pockets. Made from soft cotton jersey, this Tom Salama dress is reduced from £170 to £110 in the Anedoti sale. Purple Sarita dress from Tom Salama  - designer fashion in the Anedoti sale.

These stunning rose pink leather gloves are 100% lambs leather and are silk lined. Ideal for smartening up any winter wardrobe and available in several sizes. These Anedoti silk lined rose pink leather gloves are reduced from £42.50 to £32.50 in the Anedoti sale. Rose pink leather gloves, silk lined - in the Anedoti sale.

This Delaila Fuchsia Fanfare Ring is reduced from £100 to £90. Constructed out of perspex and silver plated, it is one size but has adjustable closing. This designer ring is part of a Delaila designer jewellery collection that has received celebrity endorsement and press coverage in fashion magazines including Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire. Delaila Fuchsia Fanfare Ring - designer jewellery in the Anedoti sale.

If you are lucky/prudent enough to still have some cash, but you know you should do something sensible with it, then you need a whole new range of excuses - sorry, genuine reasons - why you should instead spend it on a new designer Marc Jacobs handbag, or those gorgeous red-soled Christian Louboutin designer heels that you’ve seen.

Obviously the more charitable among us are designer shopping to save the nation from recession. But the rest of you can now fall back on the old “cost per wear” reasoning which is enjoying a bit of a resurgence.

The idea is (not surprisingly) that you may well spend an eye-watering £500 on your designer fashion must-have. But if you wear it a lot, when you work out the cost per wear it becomes surprisingly cheap.

For those of you who failed GCSE Maths, that means dividing the cost by the number of times you wear it. (Presumably we should also factor in the cleaning costs though I suspect that would ruin the numbers. I say this as a rather bemused owner of a pair of Stella McCartney-era Chloe jeans that are dry clean only. Dry clean only jeans? What kind of lifestyle does a designer have, to think that we dry clean our jeans? Does Sir Paul dry clean his jeans? I suspect not.)

Cost per wear does mean you need the money to buy your designer clothing soon-to-be-bargain upfront. It helps if you don’t actually have that many clothes. And I suspect it works better with a lovely designer winter coat, or a Marc Jacobs handbag, than a Vera Wang wedding dress (unless you’re Elizabeth Taylor). This could rule out a whole range of lovely designer fashion things.

So personally I would also add two more excuses:

Cost per compliment - this would work especially well on the Vera Wang wedding dress as you have a captive audience whose sole reason for being there is to tell you that you look fabulous in THAT dress. And you can always seed your wedding guest list with some on-trend fashionistas to up the compliment count. And make sure you have a BIG wedding.

Cost per adoring look - I have a pair of Jimmy Choos designer shoes that I bought in a designer shoe sale. Moss green Mary Janes with a spindly heel, they had 30% off. I have to admit I have only worn them once and they hurt like hell. But I have had three years of getting out the lovely Jimmy Choo shoe box from the wardrobe, taking the Jimmy Choo shoes out of the soft Jimmy Choo shoe bag and gazing at them adoringly. That’s about 50p a look.

So if you want to do some “cost per wear” new season / cruise collection designer shopping, check out:

• Matches Fashion
• My Theresa
• My Wardrobe

- and keep those calculators at the ready, girls.

Saving money after Christmas? Combine thrift with my favourite New Year Resolution (to be even nicer to myself than I already am).

Stay in, turn up the central heating and lounge around your boudoir seductively in fabulous silk pyjamas, silk nightdresses and silk dressing gowns & robes from the White Company sale with up to 50% off. That means silk pyjamas from only £44.04 a pair and silk nightdresses from only £34.25!

• Spend over £50 and get FREE DELIVERY (order by 08/02/09).
• And if you prefer to shop for non-sale items you will get 10% off.

Check out some of my White Company sale nightwear favourites below, or:

• Browse the White Company sale yourself for more nightdresses, PJs, dressing gowns, sleep sets and more in silk, cashmere, flannel and other fabrics.
• Visit the White Company and get 10% off non-sale purchases.

These stunning and unusual Lana pyjamas from the White Company are pure silk. Comfy to sleep in and glamorous and sensuous to wear, these silk pyjamas are silver with a satin sheen. And the White Company Lana silk pyjamas have 50% off - they are reduced from £88.08 a pair to only £44.04 a pair. Silver silk payjamas in Lana from The White Company sale with 50 percent off.

Relax in this glamorous full length Ava dressing gown / robe  in Ivory. It is a wrapover style, with a soft collar, piping, two pockets and a tie belt. This Ava full length ivory robe has 40% off - it is now only £58.72 reduced from £97.87. Ivory full length Ava robe from The White Company sale with 40 percent off.

This short Lana silk nightdress is so gorgeous I would probably go out in it then jump straight into bed. In silver silk with a satin sheen, it has pleats front and back and elegant fluted sleeves. The length is 98cm. Even better, the Lana silk nightdress has 50% off - it is reduced from £68.51 to only £34.25. Silver Lana silk nightdress from The White Company sale with 50 percent off.

For some real luxury at a great sale price try this White Company long cashmere robe / dressing gown in silver marl. Soft and comfortable, it has patch pockets, a tie belt and shawl collar. The length is 134cm. And this cashmere dressing gown is reduced from £288.72 to £202.10 - a discount of 30%. Silver marl luxe long cashmere robe / dressing gown from The White Company sale with 30% off.

Visit the White Company sale now.

All you need now is a romantic Georgette Hayer novel to read, and some delicious violet cremes to munch on as your beloved nips around you, dusting, polishing and loading the dishwasher (well, we can but dream).

Or read our article on The White Company.

13/01/09 Update: Giles Deacon correspondence cards for Smythson now showing as back in stock >>>>>>

The couture Giles Deacon correspondence note cards from luxury stationery firm Smythson may not be available in the Smythson shop until 6 January 2009. But you can pre-order these gorgeous Giles Deacon for Smythson note cards now, online!

These correspondence cards from Giles Deacon for Smythson feature line drawings of designer gowns, die-stamped onto Smythson’s matt correspondence cards. The cards are available in boxes of 10. There are two designs in each box (Giles Deacon has created five couture designs in total).

But hurry - as these correspondence cards are strictly limited edition. Only 300 Giles Deacon correspondence card boxes will be available.

Each Giles Deacon note cards box costs £37, for 10 correspondence cards. Each correspondence card measures 10cm by 16cm.

Pre-order Giles Deacon correspondence cards for Smythson now.

And don’t forget to send me a thank you note…

Unless you are very rich, very frivolous or you are selflessly trying to help your country by shopping it out of recession (move away from the laptop, Mrs Alastair Darling) you’ll probably be wanting a bit more value from your designer sales puchases this time around. So classics it is.

I’ve blogged about this before as I am sometimes a bit wary of designer fashion classics (they can be a bit dull, and part of the fun of a sales splurge is fashionista friends realising you are wearing new stuff, not so easy with a classic white designer shirt and a v-neck designer cashmere sweater however lovely they are) but I have been searching the online designer handbag sales and found some classic-but-not-boring designer handbags that should add some designer label glamour to an outfit for years to come - with discounts of up to 50%.

And of course, you don’t have to diet your way into a new handbag after Christmas.

Check out my designer handbag and purse sale choices below from Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Loyd Maish, Balenciaga and Mulberry with up to 50 percent off, or browse around the online designer handbag sales yourself:

• Matches Fashion designer handbags sale.
• MyTheresa designer handbags sale.
• My Wardrobe designer purses sale (in their accessories sale section).

This stunning dark red patent leather designer handbag from Yves Saint Laurent is reduced from £705 to £494, that’s a discount of 30 percent. This handbag has a chain and leather handle, and a magnetic barrel clasp. This Yves Saint Laurent handbag is great for updating your outfits and going from day to night. Yves Saint Laurent dark red patent leather handbagis 30% off in the Matches Fashion designer handbag sale.

A beautiful charcoal grey leather handbag from Marc Jacobs with oval carrying handles and an adjustable shoulder strap. This designer handbag has three silver stones across the front. This Marc Jacobs handbag has 50% off - it is reduced from £744 to £372. Marc Jacobs charcoal grained leather handbag with silver stones decoration 50% off in the Matches Fashion designer handbag sale.

This Loyd Maish cobalt blue leather satchel-type shoulderbag with a multistrand shoulder strap is 100 leather. with gathered pockets and faux buckles and magnetic closing, it is reduced by 40% from £634 to £378. Loyd Maish cobalt blue leather shoulderbag 40% off in the Matches Fashion designer handbag sale.

A truly gorgeous Balenciaga box handbag in grey with pleat detailing and a suede flap pocket, this is my favourite designer sale handbag. The strap has silver metal and black plastic links. It is reduced from a rather eye-watering £1,248 to £698, a discount of 44%. Balenciaga grey box handbag with pleats 44% off in the Matches Fashion designer handbag sale.

This bright glossy Mulberry Maggie leather purse in apple green has a clasp fastening and two internal compartments. There is also another section at the back with space for credit cards. The Mulberry Maggie purse is reduced by 40% from £244 to £146.40. Mulberry Maggie glossy leather purse in apple green 40% off in the My Wardrobe designer sale.

MyTheresa has started its designer fashion winter sale - and there are designer fashion discounts of up to 50% available off Winter 2008 designer fashions.

MyTheresa is a designer fashion, designer bags, designer shoes and designer accessories website. It is based in Germany but:

• They ship worldwide
• Returns via their nominated courier are FREE
• The MyTheresa website is in English

Prices are in Euros (hmm, possibly not their biggest selling-point in a UK market at the moment). Still, the discounts are so good that the designer fashion deals and offers may even make up for the current exchange rate.

This silky grey dress by Roberto Cavalli is a lot more understated than I was expecting. It is sexy and slinky, but with elegant long sleeves with flared cuffs. And there’s just a small bling touch in the gold snake across the neckline - so you won’t need a necklace or pendant to go with it. This gorgeous Roberto Cavalli dress is reduced from €719 to €429. Roberto Cavalli silky grey dress reduced in the MyTheresa designer sale.

Have you always wanted a pair of Christian Louboutin designer shoes with those signature red soles? These Christian Louboutin grey suede pumps with ruching detail are reduced from €619 to €369. They are leather with a rubber 110mm heel. Christian Louboutin grey suede pumps with red soles reduced in the MyTheresa designer sale

This is a classic leather bag from designer Marc Jacobs - a brown leather saddlebag with chocolate brown accents and gold hardware. It has a single top handle, and an interior in pink cotton patterned twill. Designer handbag reduced from €495 to €249. Marc Jacobs brown leather saddlebag handbag reduced in the MyTheresa designer sale.

MyTheresa sells an exciting mix of established international designer fashion labels including including Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Miu Miu, Lanvin, Christian Louboutin and Roberto Cavalli. Plus younger designer fashion labels such as Anna Sui, Marc by Marc Jacobs and See by Chloé.

• Visit the MyTheresa designer fashion sale area for reduced designer bags, clothes, shoes and accessories; or
• Browse the whole MyTheresa designer fashion site.

And no, I don’t know who Theresa is.

Matches Fashion is offering further designer fashion sale reductions in its sale area. Each designer sale item is marked with the percentage reduction so you know exactly how big a bargain you are getting.

My current favourite Matches Fashion sale bag is this beige leather Balenciaga 1960s style handbag, reduced from £1,248 to £698.

• Browse the Matches fashion sale,or the
• Balenciaga Matches fashion sale area, or the
• Matches Fashion sale bags area.

*** Updated Jan 11 2009 - read my new post about non-sale designer jumpsuits here ***

Following on from my post about the My Wardrobe sale, and the See by Chloe Kimona Dress and the one shoulder Theory silk dress, I thought it was worth looking at another trend that is powering forward for 2009 - AND can be found, discounted, in the fashion sales.

Yes, it’s jumpsuits. (Bear with me on this one. Please. Alexandra Shulman was talking about them in the Daily Mail so it must be true.)

Naturally, we’re not talking paint-spattered workman outfit, or orange boilersuit. These are more 1970s supermodel jumpsuits, in silky fabrics with lucious draping.

The ones I have found in the sale are from the designer fashion websites Matches Fashion, and My Wardrobe. Click on the images or text links below, to find out more or buy online.

It’s a jumpsuit /play suit AND it’s purple - what more could you want? By Hussein Chalayan, this jumpsuit has some superb detailing - such as a purple gosgrain ribbon if you want to pull it in at the waist, and detailing on the collar. 100% rayon. From Matches Fashion, It is currently reduced from £282 to £138. Find out more or buy this Hussein Chalayan purple jumpsuit.

This sophisticated black wide-legged jumpsuit from Yeojin Bae is 100% silk. It has a self tie belt at the waist, and slim shoulder straps. It is on sale at Matches Fashion, reduced from £429 to £228. Find out more or buy this Yeojin Bae 100% silk black wide-legged jumpsuit.

This 100% silk Paul & Joe strapless jumpsuit has a definite ’70s feel going on. it has a waist tie, wide legged trousers, and is elasticated at the bust. Style with heels and chunky, glam jewellery. This Paul & Joe yellow jumpsuit is reduced from £303 to £152 at My Wardrobe. Find out more or buy this Paul & Joe yellow silk wide legged jumpsuit.

This stunning Stella McCartney navy silk all-in-one is perfect for some on-trend evening glamour. Straight-legged, so ideal if you’re not keen on the many wide-legged jumpsuits around. This silk jumpsuit also has a pearl button placket and a drawstring waist. It is reduced at Matches Fashion from £484 to only £290. Find out more or buy this Stella McCartney navy silk straight legged all in one jumpsuit.

Or if you want a bigger selection, view:

• My Wardrobe jumpsuits, play suits and all-in-ones (sale and non-sale), and
• Matches Fashion jumpsuits, playsuits and all-in-ones (sale and non-sale).

When it comes to jumpsuits, pregnant women may want to steer clear - less because of the bump issue and more because dealing with getting in and out of a jumpsuit each time you have to go to the loo (which, when you are pregnant, is about 20 times an evening) probably only makes a stressful time even more stressful.

But I think the right jumpsuit could look good on most people and I’m not convinced you need to be a stick insect to make it work.

Partly as I don’t buy this idea that anyone with a less than sylph-like figure should spend all their waking fashion hours disguising any extra poundage to make themselves look thinner, and that any remotely non-flattering outfit (ie one that doesn’t involve black, or vetical stripes, preferably together) should be left to the 18-year-old skinnies.

And partly as these jumpsuits and all-in-ones work best with high heels (be they spindly stilettos or chunky wedges). Combine the shoes with the silky drapery a lot of the jumpsuits possess and we can all look suitably glamorous, langorous and sexy.