Every girl dreams of having a wardrobe full of designer clothing. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the means to buy those amazing pieces. With these simple tips on how to get designer clothing deals, you can go from Tara Reid to Olivia Palermo in no time.

5 Ways to Get Designer Clothing Deals & Steals

Sample sales

I usually find out about them from posters taped to street poles in the city. Traditionally, sample sales involve brands selling their unwanted ‘sample’ merchandise—usually in tiny sizes—to the public for heavily discounted prices. Many designers also hold ‘warehouse’ sales. These events happen when a designer/store wants to get rid of its overstock or leftovers from previous seasons. I’ve been to three in the past month for Running Bare, L’America and Rodeo Show and bought a bunch of amazing stuff for up to 90 per cent off the regular retail price.

Online auction sites

eBay and Amazon come to mind but for goodness sake, make sure you’re buying authentic. I like to look for listings of people selling unwanted gifts or wrong sizes. Last Christmas I begged my boyfriend for a gorgeous $189 Mimco wallet, but ended up buying the exact one from eBay on Boxing Day for $60. Bargain!

Charity shops

Op shopping can be akin to finding a needle in a haystack, but it’s definitely worth a go. Remember to shop the whole store, not just a section. Men’s tuxedos can look great on women and vintage designer bags and scarves can often be spotted. I’d recommend making friends with the volunteers at your local store—they might even be willing to put something new in aside if you get in their good books!

Designer membership and rental websites

There are heaps of these around. You used to need a personal recommendation to join but nowadays it’s a pretty simple sign-up process. Do a quick google search to find which ones are popular in your area. In Australia, I’ve used brandsExclusive, mynetsale and rentmyrack. The trick here is to be quick when there’s a brand sale as the good stuff sells out fast! For special occasions like weddings or formals, it might be worth renting a designer dress that you’ll only wear once anyway (to avoid fashion repetition).

Fashion blogger sales

Fashion bloggers are sent tons of free clothing from designers hoping to be endorsed by them. A select few of them sell their clothes via their social media sites as a way to clear out their overflowing wardrobes and make a little extra cash. It helps if you know the person, too. One of my school friends has a huge Instagram following and often flogs her stuff on her personal Facebook page. Alternatively, you could always be bold and contact a blogger directly offering to buy their unwanted clothes at a discount.

This ‘Designer Clothing Deals’ post was written by Cassandra Briedis for The Lady-like Leopard.