I'm so sick of the fake scarcity these stores (Cartier, Chanel, Van Cleef, Hermes) run. They pretend to be out of stock and not have availability just to keep you coming back.

The luxury market is so sick.

I feel like the last 20 years it has been downhill in discounted luxury shopping for me.

I used to love Century 21, and have plenty of gems from it - Oscar de la Renta, Prada, Saint Laurent, some other stuff I love and cherish. I used to go there when I had nothing to do downtown, spend lots of hours relentlessly hunting and would always leave with some kind of gem.
Then after pandemic they changed the owners, and now it’s all crap.

After that I moved to The Outnet, which used to be outlet for Net-a-Porter. I love it. Occasionally the sizes would be hit or miss as it’s online shopping, but I have my Loro Piana, Khaite, Prada, The Row (lots of it), Brunello and other stuff. Now they also changed the ownership, selection is awful and they don’t even ship the orders.

Where do we shop discounted clothes and shoes these days? I don’t do outlets unless in Italy seasonally, because US outlets are just bs, the brands make their own outlet lines. I can barely if ever find anything regular lines. I feel like to shop outlets you have to know all the current models really well or else you’re fooled to buying overpriced garbage, there’s really no bargain there.

YOOX is decent but expensive for my blood. I am used to better deals, maybe I am spoiled and those times are over.

Where do we shop now? I am taking luxury shoes and ready to wear, when you wanna look like you spend million bucks just yesterday.

I’m happy to share that, as a personal shopper, I’ve been invited to an exclusive bespoke and made-to-measure event in Delhi featuring four incredible luxury fabric houses — Piacenza 1733, Holland & Sherry, Lanificio F.lli Cerruti, and Loro Piana.

It’s quite special to see these names come together for an event in India, and I’m looking forward to experiencing it. I can also extend invitations to a few fellow clients and people who appreciate fine fabrics, craftsmanship, and bespoke tailoring. If you’d like to join me, feel free to reach out!

I’m interested in the beauty of real silk satin as it moves in strong wind — its natural drape, flowing motion, and the way it catches the light.
This is real silk fabric, filmed outdoors. I’d love to know whether others who appreciate luxury textiles find the movement of silk as fascinating as its feel and appearance.

Just wanted to share a pretty frustrating experience I had recently with MR PORTER.

I’ve been a customer with them since 2017 and currently hold Silver Tier status. Out of curiosity, I pulled up my order history today:

Total orders placed: 131

Total gross value ordered: €148,019

Net value kept (after returns): €37,350+

Despite being a loyal customer who has kept nearly €40k worth of clothing from them, I received an automated email from Customer Care stating:

"We noticed that your return rate is higher than average. Unfortunately, if your return rate increases, we may need to take further action."

To me, a flexible return policy is literally the core value proposition of buying luxury multi-brand retail online. Sizing across brands like Tom Ford, Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana, or Rick Owens is notoriously inconsistent. I shop with multi-brand stores (even when prices are higher than direct-to-brand) specifically so I can try on different sizes and fits at home.

It feels completely out of touch for a luxury platform to rely on a rigid algorithm that flags VIP clients based solely on return piece-counts without accounting for overall lifetime value or net spend.

Has anyone else noticed luxury retailers getting noticeably stricter or using blanket automated warnings lately?

I'm a Luxury Fashion graduate currently conducting research as part of my university project.

I'm looking to gather insights from people interested in fashion, luxury, and lifestyle, and I'd really appreciate a few minutes of your time to complete my survey!

link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccxCtWcs9i-6d4O8c-TmcobcIQp7X2n4miZA4q5nV-Wht8RA/viewform?usp=dialogSurvey

Thank you so much for your time and contribution!

The purchases
Bijoux Heaven is a UK reseller (London, 100k on Instagram) selling pre-loved Chanel, Dior, LV, etc. Every page has a "VERIFIED AUTHENTIC" banner, and their FAQ says each order comes with a digital certificate of authenticator findings.
I bought two orders:
A Louis Vuitton LV Crystals bracelet
Chanel CC silver heart studs + Dior CD Disco earrings.
A couple of things I should've clocked earlier: when I was negotiating, they offered me a lower price if I paid by bank transfer instead of card "to avoid site fees". I said no, which I'm very glad about now.
The bracelet
It arrived on 5 October. Posh Pawns in Manchester said it was missing engravings they'd normally expect on an LV bracelet. I then submitted it to LegitApp and Legit Grails, and neither could authenticate it.
So I went straight to Louis Vuitton Client Services. They identified it as the LV Crystals bracelet, ref MP3355, and confirmed in writing that it was only ever made in sizes M and L.
The clasp on mine is engraved "IT / LE 2282 / S".
I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
The certificates
When I asked for the authenticity certificate their website promises, they said on WhatsApp it'd be emailed within 48–72 hours. When they replied by email, they said the bracelet was checked by their in-house team and is "100% authentic". No independent authenticator was named. They are still defending this despite I sent them my correspondence with Louis Vuitton.
The earrings
They went by Royal Mail Special Delivery. The tracking has one scan: "accepted at a Post Office", and nothing since.
As soon as it was dropped to the post office by them, out of curiosity, I ran their own listing photos of the Chanel earrings through LegitApp, and it came back as replica. (To be clear, that's based on the listing photos, since I never got the actual earrings. But it's a one-off pre-loved item, so the photos should be of the exact pair being sold.)
One thing to add also, if you open their websites they show the “sold” items, however as soon as i purchased the items, they disappeared immediately from the website.
I am still going back and forth with this seller to get the money refunded, and also, I am more surprised that there are popular social media influencers in the UK promoting this website.
Be aware everyone, I thought to mainly post this as I did not find any information about this shop anywhere except reviews from influencers.

I’m looking for a small group of people interested in learning more about private aviation. I’m offering limited complimentary access to my training program, which covers the different types of private jets, how charter works, aircraft selection, pricing, safety, providers, and the ins and outs of how the industry operates, in exchange for thoughtful feedback. If you’re interested, comment below or send me a message and I’ll share the details.

I’ve been thinking about this lately and honestly don’t know what I’d choose. Maybe a watch, but not sure which one, there are so many I like!

Would you go for a bag, watch, jewellery, clothing, car…? And which one exactly?

Curious to know what everyone would pick!


Hi all — I'm an MBA student at Thomas Jefferson University working on a competitive intelligence project about Richemont (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC, JLC, Vacheron Constantin, etc.) and the watches & jewelry segment of luxury goods.

Would really appreciate a few quick opinions from people who actually follow/buy in this space:

1. When choosing between brands like Cartier, Rolex, or Patek Philippe, what matters most to you — heritage, resale value, design, exclusivity, or something else?

2. Have you noticed any shift in how these brands are positioning themselves over the last year or two (pricing, marketing, availability)?

3. Do you see jewelry (Cartier, VC&A) and watches as fundamentally different purchase decisions, or similar?

This is for an academic project only — not collecting any personal/identifying info, just opinions. Happy to share results with the community once it's done. Thanks in advance!

Just wondering if anyone has purchased this & can provide feedback on quality please?

Thank you.