Great labels with great discounts

By: Anne Robinson

Follow me on twitter: amr8798

Believe it or not, there are legal ways to buy authentic designer items for less than their original retail value. The key is knowing which designers allow their collections to be sold at discounted prices.

It would be impossible to go through the policies for every designer. So, instead I'll highlight a few.

Outlet malls are a great place to do some bargain designer label shopping. Designers such as Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Coach, and Calvin Klein have stores in many outlet mall shopping centers. This selling technique allows designers to interact with a new level of consumers. The products are usually from a previous season's collection and are sold at discounted prices. In general, consumers save an average of 20% off the original retail price. Although savings can be less, or much greater.

An alternative to buying a designer item is to borrow one. Websites such as Wear Today Gone Tomorrow, have members who borrow clothes. The average savings is about 90%. So, you don't get to keep the borrowed items, but you have them to wear a few times.

Some designers have special collections that are priced lower than their regular lines. Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange, designed for younger buyers, are less expensive than the exclusive Giorgio Armani collection. A pair of jeans averages around $130 and a shirt around $80.

Marc Jacobs started his Marc by Marc Jacobs collection which is less expensive and more accessible to the average consumer. To keep the discounts even better, there is a new line called Don't Miss the Marc (it's under the Marc by Marc Jacobs label). Everything in the collection is priced under $200.

Some high-end department stores, such as Saks Fifth Ave and Neiman Marcus, sell designer collections. It's possible to catch some good sales toward the end of the season. The stores will be clearing out left-over stock to make room for the new season's items.

Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Dior, and Caroline Herrara are some of the many designers who have collections at Neiman Marcus. Saks boasts an impressive list as well with Gucci, Prada, Jimmy Choo, and Oscar de la Renta.

Stores that sell things at only discounted prices, like TJ Maxx and Marshalls, can be a gold mine. It may take patience, shuffling through multiple racks of clothes, purses, and shoes, until you find something with a designer label. Everything is discounted to begin with, but because they are constantly bringing in new items, additional sales are common.

See? I told you it was possible to buy items from certain designers that are priced below the original price. It just takes some investigation...which is, afterall, why I am here for you.

Department store faux-fur fraud

By: Anne Robinsonamr8798@gmail.com

Can you always trust a label? I'm sure we would all love to think we can but the truth is, sometimes labels lie.

Department stores in the U.S. have sold jackets advertised as 'faux-fur', when actually the jackets were made from domesticated raccoon dog fur. Macy's, Nordstrom, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger were all on the list. In one investigation, the Humane Society found that 24 out of 25 jackets that were advertised as 'faux-fur' contained some degree of real animal hair.

In case you are a little "out of the loop" when it comes to fur, here are some important details. Faux-fur is a fake fur fabric and is the popular alternative for designers who don't want real animal fur in their collections. Faux-fur is a textile fabric that is processed and dyed to resemble real animal fur. There are some advantages to using faux-fur. For starters, it is much cheaper than real animal fur. It is also easy to dye faux-fur; therefore, there is a wider variation of colors available. It is also more durable than animal fur, some products are even hand-washable.

Most real fur comes from China, where an estimated 2 million animals are killed (f.y.i skinned alive) each year by fur traders.
An unbelievable amount of fur is needed to make one coat. For one coat using raccoon dog fur, 12 to 15 dogs are needed. To make a coat using cat fur, up to 24 cats are needed.

So, were these department stores knowingly advertising faux-fur jackets that were actually made with real fur? It turns out there was a loophole in the law. Importing, exporting, and selling dog and cat fur in the United States is illegal; however, the law states that if the fur on a product was valued at less than $150.00 no label was required. Crazy, right? My guess is that if someone is against buying clothes with real animal fur, they aren't going to care whether the amount of fur is valued at $5 or $500.

In 2007, the Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act was introduced into Congress, the bill would require labels be put on everything, regardless of the value of the animal fur, and would therefore, end the import, export, and sale of dog and cat fur in the United States. The bill has yet to pass.