A first look at the sales.

Well, I'm still up in coldest, darkest Lincolnshire, so until now I've been only able to observe the sales online, and I have to say I was deeply unimpressed. Perhaps inevitably, after discounting so heavily in the run up to Xmas, stores seem to have left themselves nowhere to go.

Bravissimo may be an exception - they've literally nothing for me, but if you're a different size you may do well. I know my friend Sarah has scored two bras, and if I were a size 16 or smaller I'd certainly have a look at reductions in clothing, as they appear to have some massive discounts, including this wrap dress for only £7.

It's a bit busy - pattern wise, but a perfect price to try out how well cut Bravissimo clothes are, and how flattering a wrap dress will be for anyone with bigger boobs than their tummy. Their plain black version is reduced to £34, too - which regular readers will know is one of my favourite wardrobe staples - and I happily paid £50 for it!

Today, however, I went into Lincoln with my Mother-Out-of-Law and had a look at some of the sales 'in person' so to speak. M&S was a bit of a non event, although I was amused to see many of the Patricia Field (designer for 'Sex and the City') frocks selling for under £30. Not in my size or I may have had a punt. Sadly, the cerise pussy bow blouse/jumper I mentioned a few posts back is a little cheap and nasty looking in the flesh - so that's a no-go (and it wasn't in the sale anyway).

Dorothy Perkins suffers in comparison to its excellent website. The site is so easy to use, and the (truth be told) rather low quality clothes are photographed so well, that it feels like a completely different retailer to the store. I saw a couple of nice corsages, but nothing else caught my eye.

The saviour of the day was Monsoon. Forget their online sale - it's poor. The little shop in Lincoln though, was jammed to the rafters with stock, almost all of which was 50% reduced. Monsoon do colour so well, and this season have had some particularly jewel-bright offerings. I spent a blissful half hour loading frocks over my arm, and then trying them on. Sadly, the three I bought are all so long past season that they are no longer on the website. Suffice to say that along with a brown and white wrap dress for work, I bought a kingfisher blue and black patterned empire line dress in silk and a Schiaparelli pink sleeveless number with a darling bow just below the bust. There are a plethora of weddings on the horizon, you see... Anyway, I'll have to get someone to lend me a camera soon, so that I can show them to you.

What I can tell you, is that there are three black party dresses in the sale with sleeves! Two are still on the website here (with sequins) and here (with silver empire line detail), but in a greater range of sizes instore (I tried on the second one in a size 20, while the website only shows availability up to a size 12). The third was also black, in a burnout/devore finish, but with similar sheer sleeves. I know a party frock with sleeves is something of a holy grail, so grab them while you can!