laluna: Once more into breach..

The season is upon us for high class sporting events that we Brits excel at (sort of)! Time for Ascot, Henley, the blooming football, Polo at the Hurlingham, elephant hunting and the one that we limber up for twice a year..SALES!! Now this is the kind of shopping that, in my experience sends boys running for the hills but I revel in it. If one is canny and doesn't succumb to Primark blindness ("everything's so cheap, I must buy lots of crap I don't need!") then there are bargains to be had.

Preparations must be made, are you going to do a marathon (Selfridges) or a sprint (lunchtime dash to All Saints)? From the comfort of your laptop (less sweaty but you can't try stuff on) or sharpen your elbows and don your flat shoes to bravely strike a path through the racks? Both approaches have their merits. Net-a-porter and ASOS are wonderful but by golly you have to be quick off the mark to get the good shizzle. Zara can turn out some absolute winners and don't fall for that, "everything we have is out" chat..they have stockrooms and guess what they keep in there..yup, STOCK! Obviously this is the high street I'm talking about but high end sales are even more cut-throat. In my opinion these are often best avoided and sample sales (often by invite only) are the right way to go here.

The key mantra to remember is FORGET trends. Sales are a perfect time for buying basics, even expensive basics that you'll wear forever or a decent blazer or jacket in a classic shade. As tempting as it is to pick up those gold sequin harem pants for £15 in Topshop, take a deep breath and buy the chocolate brown leather blazer from Zara that's £90. That'll see you through Autumn/ Winter and the British Spring for seasons to come as oppose to accessorizing your tan for about seven days at the tail-end of August when you're out of the country.

Here's a little taster of what your money can get you at the moment, good luck comrades!