Season of sales

Nadine Kam photos
Trying on a Prada jacket from Spring 2010.


Second day of the new year proved great for a trek to Waikele Premium Outlets to see what's up for 30 to 75 percent off sales. I'm always curious as to what's on the racks, but don't have time to go out there. Someone who lives there should just start a blog tracking the sales and finds that pop up.

It's fun to try on some of the designer styles without anyone hovering around. If you're planning any trips to cold country, now's the time to pick up coats, jackets, sweaters, and wool and cashmere accessories. Otherwise, it looked like post-Christmas shoppers already made their picks of the season, and were at home recovering from the holidays or contemplating their 2011 strategies. The shops weren't very busy, and a lot of the people I saw were visitors from Japan or Europe.

I ended up buying just a couple of classic dresses from the Banana Republic outlet, thinking ahead to a trip to Shanghai later this year. I think they're stylish there, with a more classic, European-influenced, grown-up view of fashion than we have here. Anything else I need, I'd just pick up there, where we're probably all one size.

A lot of people were trying on winter coats. They're all on sale this time of year.

Cute children's coats from DKNY, left, and Miss Sixty, are also on sale at Saks Off 5th.

Oh somebody please buy this Proenza Schouler fish-print dress with feather hem and the weight of neoprene. I would love to see someone out on the street in this! It's a size 6 at the Barney's outlet.

Footwear from Lanvin, left, and Derek Lam at the Barney's outlet.

Here's what some Japan visitors were wearing. Does this mean prints are in our future?

Now that turquoise is one its way out as color of the year—replaced by a sweet, feminine honeysuckle pink, according to fashion forecasters at Pantone—I find myself gravitating toward it and other blues. Weird. I usually start feeling a color a year before it's hailed as what's next.