How to Shop Saks Fifth Avenue’s Outlet Store

In the eyes of a budget fashionista it doesn’t get much better than luxury outlet. Saks Fifth Avenue’s version, Off Fifth, houses all of the same designer amenities (men’s, women’s, kid’s, accessories, jewelry, shoes, bags…the list goes on) you know and swooned over at the regular store, cut to a fraction of the price. Pristine sales floors, attentive staff and a surprisingly consistent offering of sales and coupons should move this outlet to the top of your list.

On a regular day, finding Vince, 7 For All Mankind and Michael Kors collections at 30-50% off is great. But when you couple the slashed prices with holiday sales, Friends + Family days, and rewards cards, you’ve pretty much reached shopping nirvana.

KNOW THY BRANDS
If you have all day to spend perusing each and every square foot of an Off Fifth, by all means, scour away. But, if you’re like many a fashionista, you have your favorite designers and you know which ones fit your personality and body type best. The store is laid out according to department, and separates the brands into contemporary, bridge and luxury designer. Each rack and fixture feature a header with the designer name, so you can leave the leafing through individual pieces to the red-tagged clearance. (Because, they have those too, and they’re killer.)

KNOW THY SELF
As you can already imagine, this is a store that’s easy to get shop-happy in, but don’t let a bargain-high cloud your better judgement. The red-tagged clearance racks we mentioned are stuffed (literally) with product. Unfortunately, many of our fellow shoppers don’t share in our passion and tender handling of said product, and you may come across a missing button, a snagged hem or loose sequins. Know your own attention to detail, talents or willingness to hire a tailor to truly value whether buying a botched piece is worth it or not. And do not, we repeat, do not buy something just for the brand/label/aire that you think it will give you. The place is busting at the seams with options, so stay true to your style and your budget.

Get More
While Friends + Family days used to be limited to just that, thanks to our good friend the internet, F+F coupons can always be found on the web and printed out at home. ‘The Big Sale’ days hit on holiday weekends, where (nearly all) labels receive some sort of temporary price cut. Don’t forget that you can also use your Saks First Master Card to reward your outlet selections, where purchase points are turned into gift cards at the end of the year. The More! card is free and exclusive to Off Fifth, offering customers email coupons, advance notice on events, private sale invites and an additional 10% off all purchase totals.