I’ll start with a thank you to everyone who got in touch last week to tell me my site was misbehaving. Midlifechic was having a bit of a midlife meltdown – clearly letting me know that it didn’t appreciate being untouched for almost three weeks over Christmas. It seems to be a problem that’s only affected PCs and Androids which as a 100% Apple household we were completely unaware of. I’ve had people working on the back-end this week so I can only write a short post today and by the time it goes live everything should be fixed, I’ll just have to reimport some of the lost posts. However I’d be really grateful if you could let me know if there are any more glitches before I sign the tech support team (and their bill) off. Ok, so as fingers are drumming behind me giving me no headspace for elegiac writing, I thought I’d take you through the end of sale investments that I personally recommend. Most of them are in final reduction stage with extra discounts applied and so there are some great bargains to be had.

End of sale investments that I personally recommend

Coats

The first thing I look for is always winter coats because there are usually lots of great bargains to be found. Not this year. Retailers across the board have produced fewer high ticket items such as coats because people aren’t buying them. There are two key reasons for this: the cost of living crisis and the focus on buying preloved. Both are completely understandable but we have to accept that retail is going to respond and there will be far less choice going forwards when we do want to buy something new. It’s as simple as that.

I remember writing in my 2020/21 winter sale posts that we would never again find the kind of coat bargains that we were seeing then. It now costs a lot of money to make a good quality coat and so by the time everything has been factored in with a margin added, you’re looking at about £400 for something well tailored with a good lining in wool or at least a high wool blend. So when brands are assessing their allocations it makes sense that they focus on the lower ticket items that they know will sell in higher volume.

As a result I found very little this year when I was looking for quality, especially as I’m not a fan of black, grey or navy coats unless they have interesting texture. When you’re out and about at this time of year, the thing that people see is your coat, not what you’re wearing underneath so I’m always looking for coats with colourful impact that will allow me to wear a simple block colour, usually navy below. These are the sale buys I’ve found that are worth looking at.

The one with texture

I have this and I’ve worn it quite a bit. It isn’t a wrap up warm coat but it looks particularly lovely if you’re going out in the evening or meeting someone for lunch. The thing to bear in mind is that it shouldn’t be listed as velvet, it’s moleskin – and yes it’s a bit stiff when you first wear it but it loosens up. It’s now half price so a good buy, especially for the days when we move towards spring.

Nikki Garnett Midlifechic

Moleskin coat

End of sale investments

Moleskin coat

The hardwearing winter white

If you’re looking for something versatile that isn’t black or navy, a light colour is always a great way to go. It brightens every outfit and of course it goes with everything. Faux fur is hardy because it doesn’t pick up dirt in the same way as a lighter coloured wool. This feels like 1950s Hollywood and it’s half price.

End of sale investments

Faux fur coat

The sporty trans-seasonal jacket

Moving on to jackets, I have this one in both colours as you know. Great cut, great quality, great texture, great fit, gorgeous lining… 30% off and it will see you into late spring.

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Zip up wool jacket in scarlet

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Zip up wool jacket in navy

End of sale investments – knitwear

Moving away from the coat desert, there are plenty of knitwear bargains around. Cashmere is more of an affordable luxury at this time of year so it’s always worth starting there, again quality varies from the supersoft to the texture that’s hard to distinguish from lambswool.

The fitted one

Starting with supersoft, high quality indulgence, I’m gritting my teeth when I see the jumper I bought is now half price. It’s a lovely piece because unlike most jumpers it still gives you a bit of shape on days when you’re fed up of the Nanook of the North look. It’s available in ivory too and I keep hovering over that one…

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Cashmere layered wrap top (ivory version here)

The one to lift dull neutrals

… and if I didn’t already have one that’s almost identical to this, I’d be snapping this half price cashmere/merino  cardigan up. It’s the lovely chestnut shade that works so beautifully worn with navy, grey or black.

End of sale investments

Heavy cashmere/merino cardigan

The one with the great neckline

If you’re looking for something to make you feel like spring, this flattering cashmere boat neck is in the sale in various colours. There’s the bright pink here or a warmer pink for softer colouring as well as an ice blue. This neckline looks far better on most people than a crew neck.

End of sale investments

Cashmere boatneck jumper

The perfect colour drench with denim

If you’re looking for the perfect shade to wear tonally with jeans then this is the cashmere jumper you want but be warned, the sale offer ends on this today, Friday 19th Jan.

End of sale investments

Tonal cashmere jumper

The unbelievable high quality bargains!

The uber-cool designer collab that I did a try-on of a while ago is now in the sale and has just been further reduced to a whopping 70% off if you’re quick. Here’s the beautiful purple cashmere jumper that I showed you. You can arrange the neck across the shoulders or as more of a cowl. It’s unbelievably good value now for the quality costing less than an ordinary wool jumper at M&S and it’s available in grey and black too.

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Asymmetric cashmere jumper

From the same collab this cable knit is 70% off too, also available in ivory. The whole of this range has just been drastically reduced, it’s a shame but I think we all knew it was too fashion forward for the customer – you can see all of the reductions here – be quick though because as soon as the fashion people hear about it, it’ll be gone.

End of sale investments

Cable knit jumper

The cosy winter look

And I have to add this cardigan because I’ve worn it so much, it’s a heavy knit, warm and cosy. It felt alpine last week in the icy weather and it feels cheering this week in the grey January rain. It isn’t as much of a bargain as the others I’ve featured but it’s lovely. The co-ordinating snood though is 70% off and an absolute steal

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Fair isle cardigan; snood

End of sale investments – travel-wear

This range is categorised as travel-wear because it’s comfortable, it keeps it’s shape and yet it still looks tailored. I always wear pieces from it when I’m travelling by plane and often for long car journeys too. They add new pieces in the same fabric every season so you can soon build up a mix and match collection which is great for layering, especially if you’re travelling from one climate to another. The current trouser styles have been a staple for a while and so I suspect they’re having a range change because a lot of it is heavily reduced. These are the sale pieces I’d recommend – and sizing is always on the generous side so if you’re in between, size down.

The turn-up straight leg

A lot of people struggle with lengths on these trousers because the standard can be long on anybody 5ft 8 or under. These straight legs actually start out with an inside leg that’s a couple of inches shorter than usual and they’re hemmed so that you can turn the bottom into a cuff for a more cropped look. Available in black only, they’re half price.

End of sale investments

Turn-up straight leg trousers

Tailored stretch kick flares

Another option at 50% off is this kick flare trouser in navy which comes in two lengths – short and regular. It gives you a bit of pizazz without being so wide that you trip over when you have things like escalators to manage. I have both lengths in the wide leg and find that short is perfect for me with trainers and the regular with a heeled boot.

End of sale investments

Kick flare travel trouser

Slim crops

And my absolute favourite for a smart looking but super comfortable option are also in the sale in navy, they’re so good that I think I’m going to invest in another pair.

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Slim crop travel trousers

End of sale investments – footwear

Ok, I’m being told I need to hurry up so let’s move onto footwear. I find I spend my year in sandals and trainers in the summer and boots in the winter. Like a coat, boots can make a strong statement at this time of year and they let you get away with a simple outfit. This year I upgraded my boot collection to make it a bit more interesting and my two favourite pairs are in the sale. Firstly the silver boots – I’ve worn and worn them, they make people smile and come over to chat. They make such a difference to every outfit, they’re super comfortable, even if you have wide calves and I love them to bits. Now half price, also a good sale buy in black suede or taupe.

End of sale investments

Silver leather boots

I haven’t worn these leopard boots as much yet, mostly because it’s been Christmas and so I’ve been in high shine mode. They’ll come into their own now, they’re such good quality with a lovely, realistic ponyskin print. Also half price – grrrr! If leopard’s too much for you, there are other colours in the sale and the navy suede is half price too. Navy’s such a hard colour to find and suede is a useful texture for adding depth to a winter outfit.

End of sale investments

Ponyskin leopard boots

If you have an event coming up such as a wedding or graduation, these shoes with their super low kitten heel are a good find. They’d be lovely worn with jeans for a night out too when it gets a bit warmer. A bargain at 60% off.

End of sale investments

Silver leather slingbacks

And another thing I bought that’s worked hard to lift outfits recently is this silver leather bag. You can wear it as a crossbody or a shoulder bag and the wide strap really makes it stand out. An extra 20% has just been offered on sale prices here which takes this to half price – use code EXTRA20 at checkout.

End of sale investments

Silver leather bag

By the way the silver mini that I’m wearing in this picture is in the sale as well as the boots and bag.

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Silver mini; Silver leather bagSilver leather boots

End of sale investments – fitness kit

Moving on to fitness kit which I’m wearing most of the time at the moment as I try to get my winter metabolism moving a bit. Unfortunately I think everyone else is doing the same so there aren’t many bargains to be found but there are still some good compression leggings left at sale prices. It’s such a shame that Sweaty Betty seem to have lost their way since the new owners took over, the designs are nowhere near as striking as they used to be but the quality’s still good. These are my choice, they have good compression, the all important phone pocket and they’re still available in this flattering, leg slimming dappled pattern. Less than half price and a few other designs and colours in clearance here.

End of sale investments

Compression leggings

It isn’t easy finding good post workout tops that look good enough for you to keep on wearing if you’re going out for a coffee after your session, especially in colours other than black or grey. My favourite one has 50% reductions on uplifting shades of pinks and reds at the moment – and I’m deliberately showing you the back view because it’s so well designed.

End of sale investments

Scuba hoodie – other colours available

Does anybody use a Remarkable 2 device?

This is just a quick question as I try to find a better way of working (i.e not spending as many hours at my desk) this year. At the moment I can only focus fully sitting there with my two large Mac screens or if I’m on a train with a paper notebook but then I have to transcribe everything by hand. I don’t seem to be able to flow as well working on a laptop for some reason. So I was wondering about buying a Remarkable 2 which would then transfer all of my handwritten thoughts to type, it feels as if I’d be able to do more on the move and perhaps add a bit more immediacy to the blog. They’re expensive though and I don’t want to spend that kind of money on something I won’t actually use – if you use one could you give me a little bit of feedback on how good you find it? Thank you so much.

Ok I have to stop now for this week but I hope this end of sale investments post has helped. If there are two I’d recommend you having a look through this weekend it’s the new John Lewis final clearance hub which has all kinds of last minute reductions but it closes this Sunday (19th Jan) – you can find it here. And then there’s Me+Em who added a few new pieces today as well as going to final reductions – you can find them here. I’ll be back next week with a catch-up post after our long weekend in Newcastle, in the meantime don’t forget to let me know if you have any tech issues with the site. See you on Friday.

Disclosure: ‘End of sale investments that I personally recommend’ is not a sponsored post

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