My Black Friday Sale Purchases 2023

First of all, for those of you celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving! Personally, one thing I’m forever grateful for is this wonderful community. I don’t think I ever dreamed at 13, when I first started blogging, that I’d go on to form so many beautiful connections (and even more joy when those then translate into IRL friends!).

This week feels like it’s been a long one, and I thought it would be fun to end my Black Friday/Cyber Monday chatter by indulging a little in what ended up making it into my cart… 

Confession time. I went way off-piece with my Black Friday purchases this year. Maybe more than half my style purchases were unplanned, which is unusual for me as I try to stick to my list this time of year as it’s easy to be enticed by the allure of a discount. Clearly, I got sucked in.

That said, as someone who is a serial online shopper (rather than IRL), often I’ll use the experience to “try” the piece on in my home before committing to it. My own 5-ways-to-style rule means this is a good opportunity to see how you’d style it without all the tricky vanity lighting in stores. And maybe this is just me, but I feel like it acts as a pathway to clarity. I’m more level headed about what I keep, rather than leaning into the emotional experience that I often attach to shopping in store.

I also find that this habit seems to be a bit of a hangover of having kids, who turn the act of trying things on in the changing room into a game of Russian Roulette. IYKYK. The key is to be steadfast in returning anything that doesn’t feel 100% right. 

Excuses aside, I know you’re really just curious to see what I ordered, so let’s get into the good stuff. 

STYLE PURCHASES

Birrot khaki giwa trousers | Birrot is a recent brand discovery that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with. Their designs are minimalistic, but feel elevated. Highly covetable if you tend to favour clean, simple aesthetics. I’d had the Giwa pant on my wishlist and when I spied them on sale, took it as an opportunity to experience the brand for the first time. I especially loved the hem detail with the snaps, which allows you to alter the fit from a straight cut pant, to a tapered pant. Sadly, these didn’t work out, and are already on their way back to SSENSE. I didn’t take into consideration the height of the model, and that the trousers might be a little long on me. Essentially, I’d need another two inches or so to my legs as the hem fell under my feet. Tailoring isn’t really an option due to the unique design at the hem. A shame as overall I thought they were a beautiful pant, and loved the fabrication. At any rate, a brand I’ll be watching with much interest.

Paris Georgia black long sleeve top | I kind of just threw this top into my cart without thinking much of it. Paris Georgia is a New Zealand based brand, and I think, exemplary of the kind of beautiful designs we see coming out of our Antipodean counterpart (and of course, where I grew up!). I’d been wanting to buy one of the brand’s designs for a while, and had been seeking out something that was the right balance of price + design that I could see meshing with the rest of my closet. This was it. And boy, was this a good purchase. It’s made in New Zealand, with New Zealand merino wool. The fabrication feels premium (and like home), and the design details are really what tipped this over the edge for me. An asymmetrical neckline with twisted fabric at the shoulder. Incredibly chic. And also feels incredibly easy to wear.

Marle Baba Hat | Thinking ahead to summer, and the fact that it’s going to be a hot one, I wanted to get another hat to add into rotation. I already have a canvas hat from Marle from a couple year’s back, and it’s been one of my best purchases from the brand. Managed to snag this for 40% off so it felt like such a steal. It has an incredibly wide brim so perfect level of protection for the face and back of the neck.

Facade Pattern White Cotton Pants | One of the key things on my wishlist that I wanted to buy were these trousers. And I made a beeline the second I saw that the W Concept Black Friday Sale was live (it’s 15% off sitewide with BF2023 – stacks on sale prices too). I love the cropped version of these pants, which I own in wool, so much, so have high hopes here. Facade Pattern is probably my favourite Korean brand, for the design, quality, and the way their clothing fits. 

Facade Pattern Charcoal Timeless Wool Pants | Which is why I also decided to order these full length pants in a dark charcoal. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect grey wide leg trouser for a while now. I’ve gone through a few iterations so far on the hunt, and nothing has quite come close to what I’m looking for. Hoping that my search will end with these!

Jil Sander heeled leather sandals | Midnight doomscrolling on The Outnet getting me into trouble. Enticed by the offer of 25% off already reduced prices sitewide, I did that thing where I opened tabs for all my favourite designers and just browsed. Tell me you don’t do this too. Most of the Jil Sander pieces were incredibly tempting, namely the hourglass/heavy wool blazers. But even on sale with an extra 25% off, a little bit rich for me. These shoes though!! I’d spied them months ago, and mentally adding them to wishlist purgatory. One of those things I fancied but figured I’d probably never own. They reminded me a lot of Phoebe Philo’s Celine, with the asymmetric design. I’m usually an EU40 but sizing advice said they ran a full size large and of course, last size left was an EU39. This one feels 50/50 on whether they’re going to fit when they arrive. But just one of those things where I thought, if I don’t try these on, I’ll always wish I had every time I stumbled across them.

Mango Oversized Bomber Jacket | NGL, my entire Mango order was entirely unplanned. But I know how much people rave about the brand, and I’m always on the lookout for great affordable style staples that I can share both on my socials and also to personal styling clients. And you know, I’m a little curious to see how this bomber in particular will turn out. On the website, I was certain this was a black bomber, but my order confirmation very plainly says “grey”. I was drawn to the oversized style – felt very modern – and the tweedy teddy texture. Visual interest is key, and this looks like a chic way to tone down a more formal skirt, too. 

Mango Slit Long Skirt | Again it was the texture that got me. Also, curious about the fit and the cut. Because I’m a pear shape, I find these straight-cut styles often don’t work for me. Doesn’t stop me from giving them a go, though. I’m always drawn to the drama of a long, sweeping silhouette. That slit detail at the front adding a more approachable feel. I can imagine this looking amazing with a pointed toe flat, cream knit top and little boucle “lady” jacket. It’s giving quiet luxury. Will keep you posted…!

Mango Gold Leather Ballerinas | Have been craving a metallic element in my outfits, and after seeing so many girls look so chic in their Bordeaux version of this shoe, I thought I’d give the gold a go. Metallics are tricky as you really need to try them on IRL to get a sense of how they look on. I have an olive complexion which tends to complicate things a little. Added to cart as I loved the simplicity of the design plus they were reasonably budget friendly, too!

H&M Rib Knit Top (US link) | A double up of an item I had ordered the week before. Knowing how good the ecru was, I also had to order it in black… This is essentially a dupe for the viral Khaite top from a few years ago. Which, is a style I’m still not over. Hands down, one of the best items I’ve ever ordered from H&M. I’ve found this run large so I sized down one. Fabric feels robust and has a lot of integrity to it. 

HOME PURCHASES

Salt&Pepper Chopping Board Set | Thinking about reducing the amount of plastic in our home, and an easy switch is our chopping board. We have this folio set from Joseph Joseph which I’ve really loved for ease of use, and was tempted to get the Bamboo version. However in the end, we decided to go with this set from Salt&Pepper as it’s a solid wood and I thought would also add in a rustic aesthetic touch to our kitchen, too.

Country Road Lucite Frame | I haven’t really shared this – unless it’s been in conversation with a small number of people – but my papou passed away suddenly at the start of this month. One of the things I came across when I was in Wellington, were these absolutely sweet polaroids – one of me with my yiayia, and one of me with my papou. They came home with me, and when I was randomly browsing I spotted this Lucite Frame and thought it would be the perfect way to display them.

Curatif Cocktails | Not sure if this quite fits in here, but I’m starting to prep the home to host Christmas this year, and these are such an easy (and delicious) drink option to have in the home. I’ve started to make a habit of buying a Bartender’s Dozen every time we have people visiting – they’re especially fun to play “drinks” roulette with! Curatif had a BFCM offer where if you spent a certain amount, you received a four-pack of their specially crafted Pina Coladas and I thought it would have been rude not to. 

Gifts from In The RoundHouse | For obvious reasons I’m not going to say exactly what I bought, but ITRH has easily become one of my top places to buy gifts for loved ones. We almost exclusively use their crockery in our home, and have been so thrilled with the quality, plus the playfulness and fun an illustrated plate brings to the dining experience. If you’re after gift ideas (as they currently have 20% off), these scalloped platters are cute, salad servers make a great KK present, or for a big “main” gift, this crockery set is perfection.

KIDS

Cotton On Kaleidoscope | Wasn’t on the bingo card to purchase but I was in-store with the kids and my son was immediately taken by these. I thought the price was really reasonable, and that they’d be a great stocking stuffer for the kids!

Cotton On Sunglasses & Goggles | Again, another stocking stuffer purchase for the kids. Sunnies for my daughter, and swimming goggles for my son (who will be learning to swim, soon!)

Bonds Pyjamas | Hands down the best pyjamas for little ones. While the prints are a little bit loud, my kids love them and they fit better than any other brand we’ve tried. Stocked up on a few sets for my daughter, who’s outgrown most of her existing range of sleepwear (along with a fun crocodile set for my son!).

H&M Cotton Canvas Sandals | I chucked these into my H&M order as my daughter has outgrown her sandals and I needed something suitable for daycare (closed toe) which is easy to care for. We’ve gotten her these before, and they’re cute, don’t break the bank, plus you can throw them in the wash.

So that was everything that I added to cart this week. Suffice to say, I’m definitely set for the foreseeable!