How to Get Your Mitts on Deadly Designer Deals

Firstly, I hope you get spoiled rotten by Santa this year. But, even if Santa gives you everything you ask for, I'm sure there is room for a little sale shopping. After all, what are all those gift vouchers for?

Now is a great time to get yourself the ultimate investment piece as some designer stock tends to have up to 40% off. So to help you with your research, I've chosen some great pieces to watch out for.

Coats always have a good reduction right before the new spring season starts. From what I've found, the savings are generally 30 - 50%, so you can prepare ahead and invest in a new one. And spring isn't that warm; you should get some wear out of it until at least March. I didn't buy a new winter coat this year, as I was hanging in there for the post-Christmas bargain.

Another great thing to look out for are designer shoe sales. You can generally find current season stock with quite a reduction. Last year, about a week into the sale, I saw in Brown Thomas that designers like Prada and Miu Miu had nearly €200 off pairs of boots and shoes. Ones to look out for in the sale this year will be ankle boots; a black pair will last for years, so watch out for styles from Isabel Marant, Gucci and Kurt Geiger that will more than likely have a good saving.

I've also got my eye on a new handbag and online is a great place to look for these. Try sites such as Net-a-Porter.com and TheOutnet.com who have amazing seasonal sales. The Outnet stocks older pieces that are always reduced but after Christmas you can watch out for even more reductions. You can also create a wish list to add in pieces you like so you can keep an eye on them without having to trawl the website. It's a very clever selling tool.

So designer bargains are to be had with a little research! So tell us, have you your eye on any designer pieces that you might invest in after Christmas?