About Discount Designer Dresses

There are many ways to find a quality designer dress at a deep discount that goes beyond the traditional store sale at the original dress retailer. With some brand and couture know how and shopping savvy, you can find designer dresses at a fraction of their original prices.

Vintage Is the New Black

From the Salvation Army to the red carpet, from grocery shopping to corporate meetings, vintage fashion has been one of the mainstays of fashion-savvy women for more than a decade. One notable example of this is the Valentino dress Julia Roberts wore to the 2000 Oscar ceremonies when she won Best Actress for her work in Erin Brockovitch.
Naturally, most fashion-forward consumers don't have the access to personal shoppers that movie stars do. However, it's still possible to score some amazing bargains, if you shop intelligently.

Vintage Vendors

Consignment shops: Consignment shops usually focus on high-quality, well maintained clothing and home fixtures from various sources. In many cases, the items have been purchased from individuals who have worn them for a season or two before donating them or selling them to consignment shops. Very often shoppers will find clothing from two seasons ago. Other times, shopping efforts may unearth a Vintage gem that is anywhere from ten to fifty years old.
eBay: Many vendors on eBay specialize in vintage and designer goods. When using these venues, there are several indicators that demonstrate their integrity and reliability. Customer Feedback gives customers reviews from previous customers, testifying to the speed of delivery of their purchases, the service they received from the eBay vendor and the accuracy of the listing as compared to the item they received. Detail in listings also matters. Vendors who care about their products provide a large amount of detail about the item listed. Brand name or tailor, fiber content, marked size as well as exact measurements, photographs from several angles, and an itemization of any flaws will be scrupulously documented. Usually, the more clearly described the item, the more reliable the vendor is.
Thrift Stores: The inventory for thrift stores comes exclusively from donated items and their quality requirements are significantly lower than those of consignment or vintage shops, which specialize in mint condition items as well as those that are "gently worn." Thrift stores, such as Salvation Army and Good Will Industries, set the bar lower on donations and accept many items that are severely out of date, as well as heavily worn articles. The key to finding a designer dress in a thrift store's inventory is patience, time, and a pair of keen eyes.

Discount Retailers

These stores have a regular and rotating inventory of designer clothing that comes into stock during the current shopping season or immediately following that season. The items are often overstock that simply could not be sold or returns that never made it back out onto the sales floor of the original retailer. From high-end couture to mainstream brands as well as the hottest labels, discount retailers are a great resource for the latest in designer dresses. These retailers have locations nationwide, and include TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Daffy's (east coast), Filene's Basement (east coast and Midwest) and Loehmann's (nationwide).

What to Look For

Label
Naturally, this is the most obvious thing to keep in mind. At some discount retailers, however, the label may be partially or completely cut out of the garment or inked over with a pen.
Fiber content
This is often itemized on the label on the inside neckline, or on a separate label along one of the inside seams in the dress.
Fixable Flaws
Holes in seams: these can usually be mended at home with a sewing machine or with the assistance of a tailor.
Broken zippers: these can be replaced.
Issues to avoid
Excessive wear: especially where arms, purse straps, brooches, or other items could weaken or pill the fabric
Holes in fabric: although technically these can be patched, it is a difficult job to match fabrics. Patches are never as strong as the original fabric and are variable in their effectiveness. Holes also decrease the value of the garment.
Stains: sometimes stains can be removed by a good dry cleaner, but there is no way to guarantee their removal prior to purchase.

Finding the Right Fit

Measurements
It's important to know your exact measurements. When you go into a retailer, you can quickly determine whether a dress will fit you with a couple quick comparisons between your measurements and the dress in your hand using a tape measure.
If you have access to a fitting room, be sure to try the dress on and see how it feels, as well as it looks. When buying discount dresses, it's important to ensure you have a good fit before purchase, as very often these discounted items are not returnable.
Faced with a beautiful dress that looks like a dream come true and just happens to be two or more sizes too small, it can be all too tempting to buy. Once again, if you buy something that is too small, it may end up being impossible to wear, no matter how much weight you lose. On the other hand, a dress that is two or three sizes too large can be tailored to fit. If you are not able to do this yourself, a good tailor can alter the dress to fit you.