Treasure The Sales

The sales are on and comprehensive guides to the season's best bargains are to be found everywhere. While most of our summer wardrobe may not as yet have seen the light of day, there are some great treasures to be found this season, which can easily become staples in your wardrobes and complement the autumn trends. The trick to hunting out the best treasures is having a cool eye for bargains that can take you to next season and beyond. This should not be too difficult a task, in what some are calling the best sale in years.

The challenge to shopping the high street is that they are so adept at reproducing trends that most of their offer seems out of fashion by the time the sale have started. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. The 20s and 50s look is still very much relevant next season, as are vintage, tweeds and Chinoiserie. If you have the patience to track down those pieces that can keep in your wardrobe, you will be smiling for months.

When shopping, be inspired by Tom Ford's last collection for Yves Saint Laurent, an ode to YSL's Opium collection in 1977. Think Imperial China, sumptuous satin and ethnic prints. Think too of Gaultier's debut at Hermes and Chanel tweeds, as a lightweight tweed jacket can complement a printed dress or be worn casual with jeans tucked in boots.

Bargain accessories can work for seasons to come also, as trends such as embellished accessories, gold and silver trinkets and vintage style bags in quirky colours are carried through to autumn. Chloe's bags were a hit this summer and if you can find one in the sale it will look fantastic with the bohemian chic trend next season. For classics head to Mulberry for beautiful totes in white and brown. To brighten any look for fall - or even those dark summer days when the weather turns sour - a Missoni scarf, in accentuated zigzag colours, will be a wardrobe favourite for months to come.

Happy hunting!