Aritzia Clientele Sale Guide: Summer 2022

Hey everyone!!!

I've never done a guide to Aritzia's Clientele sale before since I normally focus on small Canadian businesses or sustainable options. But, I'm a petite gal and I find that Aritzia is one of the few places that carry tailoring pieces (like blazers, trousers and coats) that actually fit me with no alterations required! So, if you're like me and you find that Aritzia fits you particularly well - I wanted to create a small guide for the current Spring-Summer bi-annual sale for you to navigate the discounts intentionally.

As always - the emphasis for me is on well-fitting, timeless pieces that I can wear for years and years to come. I'm not interested in purchasing very trendy items. Aritzia is still a fast-fashion retailer - although some of their pieces are amazing quality, other items are not and they have really sped up their production process to reflect changing trends faster, which I'm not a fan of. The best option for sustainability (and your wallet) is to purchase items secondhand (which I love to do - local consignment stores and Poshmark are great options for that!) but if you are planning to shop the sale, here are my recommendations:

Know the dates

Clientele sale opens early for those who have a customer profile at Aritzia, but as of June 6, 2022 - there are plenty of 50% off items trickled throughout stores and online that anyone can shop. There will be blanket discounts on everything for everyone as of Sunday June 19, 2022. Bear in mind, the blanket discounts are usually minimal - between 10 -20% off.

Try things on in-store & take pictures

Because the return policy on sale items is less than ideal - I prefer to try items on beforehand in-store and then when the sale starts I order the few items I like online (to ensure I can get the colour and size that I want). Sale items purchased in-store are final sale, and sale items purchased online can only be returned for store credit. A few weeks before the sale, I go in-store to try things on and I take pictures of the item tags with the size & product code of the items I like. I also take photos of me trying on the items so that I can reflect on them and truly determine if I want to spend my money on them when the sale starts.

Cross-check your wish list

I keep a running wish list of items I'd like to add to my wardrobe. Some are "longer term" items - which means they are items on my wish list that I don't need right away and have done fine without (for example - I would like a nicer work-wear winter coat in black), but would be nice if I have the budget for it in the future. These items are on my list for usually over a year (if not longer) and I try to look for them secondhand during that time. Other items are more "short term" items - these are pieces that are replacing items that have worn out in previous seasons or that are true basics that I would wear on a weekly basis in an upcoming season. For me, these are usually the t-shirt, tank, long sleeve categories. These items get added to my list as needed and I prefer to pick them up before the next season rolls around (and a sale time is a great way to pick them up).

Narrow down your list

I add "everything I want" from the sale to my cart (before the sale even starts) and take a look at the total with tax. I want to make sure that whatever I buy during the sale is something that I would buy full-price (even theoretically) and not just a sale impulse purchase. Usually looking at that full-price cart helps me narrow down further. When the sale starts, I don't even shop around - I just checkout with what's in my cart, that I previously determined. Some things end up being out of stock by that point, but it's okay. If I was willing to pay full price for them, I can always pick them up later in the season when they restock.

This system helps me purchase more intentionally since there are quite a few steps. I only purchase items I took the time to try-on in-store previously, I only purchase what I would feel comfortable buying full-price and I focus on timeless classics. This narrows down a lot of items and makes sure that I avoid adding items to cart just because they're 50% off.

Do you shop the Aritzia sale?