Mark Your Calendars: A Year of Sales (and More Deals) in Philly
From couture to plants to fine art, keep your schedule full and your wallet a little bit fuller.
Boyds’ Philadelphia store has annual two tent sales. / Photograph courtesy of Boyds
It’s really expensive out there these days, but great bargains can still be found in this city — if you know what you’re doing. Here’s your guide to 12 months of worth-the-wait deals.
Fall
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show
East Falls-based interior design firm Vestige Home swears by this nearly century-old showcase’s emerging artists section, where you can nab great paintings, prints, and sculptures at affordable prices. The show takes place every September and June. Rittenhouse.
Kirna Zabête Seasonal Sale
Regulars at this cool-girl boutique will tell you that the place starts discounting in late fall with 30 percent cuts and moves to 70 percent depending on how fast inventory — from designers like Markarian and Valentino — gets snapped up between November and January. Bryn Mawr.
Moore Vintage Archive Birthday Sale
The luxury vintage store stocked with designer throwbacks from the likes of Chanel and Issey Miyake celebrates another year around the sun every November with various markdowns. Keep an eye on their Insta and newsletter for rare goods that fit your look — and your (new) wallet. Queen Village.
Winter
Galbraith & Paul Sample Sale
While its pieces are typically available only to the trade or at upscale home store Room & Board, this artisan brand’s annual event (set for December 7th) allows the hoi polloi inside its showroom to browse hand-block-printed pillows, fabric, and wallpaper, reduced 30 to 50 percent. Take note: The pieces are samples or prototypes, or bear slight defects. Manayunk.
Joan Shepp Basement Sale
During the iconic boutique’s biannual basement sale in January, the team clears out current inventory to make room for the next season’s must-haves. The most recent event saw a look-at-me black-and-white Moschino dress and more avant-garde items discounted up to 75 percent. Peep the deets on social media. Center City.
Spring
Kirna Zabête Seasonal Sale
The boutique’s sale event returns for the spring and runs from May to August. Refer to Fall for more.
Boyds Tent Sale
If stepping inside Boyds on a normal day gives you price anxiety, try these biannual events, held in a tent in the parking lot, instead. Browse luxury men’s and women’s styles that have been reduced up to 80 percent. The sale on fall/winter items runs two weekends in March — check Instagram or the Boyds newsletter for information. (There is also a separate sale at the Wayne store, though dates and times may differ.) Center City.
Summer
Boyds Tent Sale
The tent sale returns to Center City for seven weekends between July and September with another round of steep discounts, this time on spring/summer looks for men and women. Refer to Spring for more.
Millésimé Furniture Sale
Need to deck out your home, inside and out? The modern furniture showroom offers price cuts on some of the European designer pieces it carries. Take note: Sales depend on inventory. Old City and Cape May Court House.
Joan Shepp Basement Sale
The biannual sale returns in July. Refer to Winter for more.
Terrain Nursery Sale
Head here for deals on outdoor plants, pots, and gardening tools before the season changes. (Interior designer Michelle Gage says she’s scored majorly on plants she was able to get in the ground before fall.) Find specifics on their social media (this past summer’s event was in August), where you’ll also get the dirt on holiday promos. Devon, Doylestown, and Glen Mills.
All-Year
Reclectic
The concept from URBN earned a nod as a Sale Mecca in this year’s Best of Philly, and rightly so. Here, you’ll find steals on clothing from Anthropologie, Nuuly, Free People, and Urban Outfitters; thrifted and vintage pieces URBN’s design team uses for inspo; and decor and furnishings. Everything is final sale. Northeast Philly.
Main Line Thrift Shops
For luxury goods at bargain prices, try Bryn Mawr Hospital Thrift Shop and the Junior League of Philadelphia’s store. You’ll want to get to the pumps by Manolo Blahnik before we do, but also don’t miss the home decor and art. Bryn Mawr and Ardmore.
PhilaQueens Buy Sell & Trade
The hugely popular PhilaQueens Facebook page, a group of nearly 50,000 women who share tips, advice, and support, has a spinoff on which clothing swaps for kids and adults frequently take place. You must be an approved member before you can get in on the goods.
Bonus: 10 Can’t Miss Philly Deals
Deals on High Street bread? Yes, please! / Photograph courtesy of High Street Hospitality Group
A Loaf of Rye: $4.50
Day-old bread isn’t exactly a — er — fresh tip, but at the award-winning High Street Bakery, we’re talking rye, baguettes, and country boules so delicious you’d never know they weren’t made that morning. And for half the usual price. Washington Square West.
Water Ice: $2
Get a hefty serving for cheap at several of the city’s best water ice spots: King’s in Brewerytown, Famous Italian Ices in Kensington, and Morrone’s, Siddiq’s, and Fred’s, all in West Philly.
Mansur Gavriel Bag: $200
“I try to keep this under wraps,” says Grad Hospital lawyer Hillary Weinstein, “but the T.J. Maxx in Wayne is so fancy. Great for work clothes.” Find drastically discounted, yes, Mansur Gavriel (elsewhere as much as $1,200), Theory, Yves Saint Laurent, Burberry, Vince, and more, plus amazing deals on beauty brands like Shiseido and Kate Somerville. Wayne.
A Swedish Massage: $40
Email the Philadelphia School of Massage & Body Work (studentclinic@phillyschoolofmassage.com) to make an appointment for a one-hour massage with a supervised student — a (relaxing!) steal. They accept cards, but you’ll need cash for the tip. Old City.
Tacos: $1
Follow Loco Pez on Instagram for the heads-up on their weekly-but-random Dollar Taco Days. P.S. There’s also a great $6 happy-hour margarita. Fishtown, Grad Hospital, and West Philly.
A Shave and a Haircut: $20
A basic (but good) men’s wash and cut for $20 is a rarity. At Morphia’s Special Touch, you get that plus a shave plus the company of Morphia herself — “a riot,” says the Philly Mag editor who swears by this place. Drexel Hill.
Nest Thermostat: $80
This smart thermostat retails on Amazon for between $90 and $130, but PECO customers pay less on the PECO website’s Marketplace. Also, check the site for rebates and discounts before you buy any new appliance — you can save up to $350.
Therapy for New Moms: $15
The counselor-led Moms Supporting Moms groups at Center City Pediatrics are open to CCP patients and non-patients alike — an inexpensive mental-health hack for new parents. Grad Hospital and Bala Cynwyd.
Pizza for the Fam: $6.50
For $5.50, Aldi’s take-and-bake cheese pizza (plus a package of the store-brand pepperoni, $1, if you’re so inclined) is an amazingly good dupe for (or step up from) delivery pizza, at about a third of the price. Various locations.
A Virtuous Mani: $18
At least a couple of bucks less than your average mani, Raw Lab Spa’s “classic” version has the bonus of being free of parabens, formaldehyde, toluene, DPB, and artificial coloring. Eco-friendly, too. Washington Square West.
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Published in the October 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
