Discount Chicken - and I'm not talking cheap birds

Well, despite most sales not officially starting until after Christmas, most shops have significant discounts already – I was in Brighton at the weekend and many shops were offering A/W stock at around 50% off in a desperate attempt to lure in the pre-Christmas shopper. I must say it worked with me – despite my new avowed thriftiness, I came home laden with bags, including 2 block colour jersey dresses (my current obsession) from Dorothy Perkins, of all places (non-sale, but a snip at 25 quid each, and will see me through to summer); 2 block colour jersey dresses (see what I mean?) and plain tees from Whistles, all half price – so far, so sensible, you’re thinking, but then I blew the budget by finding a half price A/W Ossie Clark that I have been in love with since it came out (reduced to… um, 200 pounds…but it’s a classic! Honest! And will see me through till I manage to get the time, money and resources to track down an original) and, most bonkers of all, a 1950s style prom dress in red satin with a black spiders web lace overlay that I picked up from a closing down vintage shop (Frocks Away, in Kemp Town, if you’re in the area – great for 50s style lingerie, swimsuits and kitsch gifts – check it out before it goes!) And I’m going to wear that when? Which just goes to show even us thrifty types go a bit mad sometimes.

Still, not content with blowing my Christmas bonus on clothes (I’m justifying it by thinking next year will be far more frugal, and the shops won’t be so overstocked so there will be less bargains around), I am currently engaged in a game of Discount Chicken with Jaeger. I’m not sure if this is a phrase I’ve coined myself, though I am happy enough to take credit for it: it is that painful dilemma whereby you see something you love, but it’s full price – do you hold out for the sale, thereby risking that they sell out and you lose the One Item You Know Will Change Your Life Forever, or do you shell out full whack only to go back a week later and find they are flogging it for half price? I am currently smitten with the Tilly Bag, which is the one thing they are stubbornly refusing to put in the sale (even though they are offering 50% off pretty much everything else – check out http://www.jaeger.co.uk/). Do I dare wait and risk it? Given how much money I have just spent, I think I may have to…

If, unlike me, you are holding out for the bigger discounts to kick in after Christmas, keep an eye on the local press and store websites to find out when your favourite sales start (and remember, some start online discounts early). And don’t forget to check out my guide to getting the best of the sales: http://traceysthriftytips.blogspot.com/2008/12/your-sales-success-starts-now-and-tip.html)

Happy shopping!