The Best Early Black Friday Fashion Deals, According to Our Fashion Writer

As the Strategist’s style writer, my duty is to find the best fashion deals when Black Friday comes around. After covering Cyber Week for the last few years, I can tell what’s worth getting, what’s worth splurging on, and what’s better off ignoring. (I don’t think a deal that’s less than 20 percent off should be added to your cart, for example.) You should start your shopping at department stores first — Nordstrom’s Black Friday sale was good enough for us to dedicate an entire guide to. It’s also as good a time as any to get cashmere on sale — while J.Crew might not mark down its cashmere, stores like Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s do. That goes for boots, too: Dr. Martens are marked down at Amazon and Zappos. Some of the best deals I’ve seen this year come from Net-a-Porter’s sale section, with discounts on designer goods better than what you’d see elsewhere (sorry, Ssense!). Places like Everlane are doing sitewide deals that you don’t see every day — so now’s the time to stock up on cheap T-shirts and turtlenecks. I made sure to include only the best Black Friday fashion deals below. You can also check out our full guide to the best Black Friday sales (according to our deals editor), and sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss anything through Cyber Monday.

On the hunt for the best Black Friday fashion deals, I have found everything from Baggu bags at Ban.do to Repettos in Ssense’s sale. But one of the best items I’ve spotted is a pair of Free People shorts at Nordstrom, which are currently going for $14 (and you never see anything going for $14 from Free People). Another notable deal is this under-$20 pair of Old Navy sweatpants. They’re everything I want in a pair of sweatpants: comfortable and cheap, and they come with pockets. And while there’s a lot in Everlane’s sale that’s worth adding to your cart, I’ll be adding another Air Long-Sleeve Tee to mine. It’s one of my favorite long-sleeve T-shirts because it’s so layerable and lightweight (without being too thin).

Amazon’s Black Friday deals are on par with Prime Day prices. Consider it a do-over for anything you missed out on buying on the first (or second) go-around. Some of the best deals are on Levi’s jeans, which are cheaper at Amazon right now than on Levi’s own site. If I were you, I’d get another pair of Wedgies or Ribcages while they’re cheap. (And here’s our full roundup to Amazon’s Black Friday sale too.)

If you’re an AnthroPerks member (it’s free to sign up with an email address), you can shop Anthropologie’s Black Friday deal first: 30 percent off almost everything that’s full price and an extra 40 percent anything already on sale. Take a cue from Anthropologie employees and buy yourself a pair of Colette Pants or the Bennet Button-down (which are almost never marked down).

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Banana Republic sale that’s this great. Banana Republic’s Black Friday deal includes 40 percent off your full-price purchase (unlike at J.Crew, Banana Republic includes its cashmere in the sale) and up to 50 percent off sale styles. The All Day Pant and Corduroy Barrel Pant are recent — and already well-worn — additions to my own closet.

Ban.do’s a good place to window-shop — and then actually shop when there’s a sale. Get 35 percent off everything right now with code THEBEST at checkout. I was quite taken with this swan-shaped Baggu bag (it’s a better deal at Ban.do than Baggu, which usually offers only 20 percent for Black Friday), checked cashmere socks from Hansel from Basel, and ballet-pink Le Bon Shoppe pants.

Big Bud Press’s size-inclusive and butt-hugging bottoms have earned a loyal following among Strategist staffers. For Black Friday, the brand is offering 30 percent off sitewide. Your best bet might be the Work Pants, which are well fitting and as well made as the workwear from Dickies and Carhartt.

As my editor Hilary Reid pointed out, the real steals at Bloomingdale’s right now are on its in-house line of cashmere, C by Bloomingdale’s — with sweaters starting at 40 percent off and going up to 60 percent off. Start there before scrolling through the rest of the site (you can get 25 percent off select full-price items as part of the department store’s Black Friday sale).

For something shiny, you can get 20 percent off almost everything at Catbird. If you’ve been meaning to splurge on someone special (or yourself), it’s the best deal you’re going to get all year. Catbird’s “Tiniest Key” charm is on actress Kat Dennings’s list of things she can’t live without, while these delightfully tiny diamond studs that are also from Catbird and itty-bitty snake hoops from Collette Ishiyama are almost always in my ears.

You don’t see Dôen going for up to 65 percent off often, so you know what to do.

Everlane’s excellent Black Friday sale is in full swing with up to 50 percent sitewide. The best deals are on some longtime Strategist favorites, including the ribbed turtleneck that’s described as “tight enough that it doesn’t bunch up underneath things, but not, like, Uniqlo Heattech–tight” and the jeans strangers would stop our former Strategist editor on the street for.

If you missed it, Gap is good again! Its already-cheap essentials are even cheaper at the moment: You can get anything on the site for anywhere from 40 to 60 percent off. I think the pair of jeans that were part of a hunt for the perfect dark-wash jeans and our best-in-class trench coat are a good place to start your shopping. I have heard good things about Gap’s CashSoft line too.

I spend a small fortune at J.Crew on Black Friday every year. This year won’t be an exception, with up to 50 percent off almost everything full-priced (prices are already marked) and an additional 50 percent off sale items with code FRIDAY. (Note that J.Crew’s cashmere is excluded from the sale.) And as far as what’s worth getting, I’d suggest some Tissue Turtlenecks, Ottessa Moshfegh’s pajama set (get it monogrammed for a gift), and a sweater that’s out of a “coastal scene from 1998.”

Impressively, one of the Black Friday sales our deals editor is most excited about is Lisa Say Gah’s. It’s the biggest sale the “Lolita on Lexapro” store does all year, with 30 percent off everything. I’m thinking about getting these campy cow-print pants or this beribboned dress for a holiday party.

Macy’s is a gold mine of deals right now — including Charter Club cashmere for over 60 percent off, Khaite-esque Steve Madden boots for less than $100, and a Calvin Klein bra (one of our favorite bras) for almost half-off.

Madewell’s essentials have been recommended to us so much that we have a whole guide to shopping at Madewell. And its Black Friday Event — 40 percent off almost everything with code MADEBETTER — is always much-anticipated in our Strategist circle. There’s a long list of things worth getting, including the wide-leg form of the jeans a stylist has recommended to over 150 clients and the work tote that we first heard about in 2018. (I’m sorry to report that the Alexa Chung collaboration isn’t included in the sale.)

I would argue Net-a-Porter’s Black Friday sale is the best out of the designer lot of Black Friday sales. The discounts — up to 50 percent off — are deep from the beginning (the longer you wait, the better some become, but stock always moves fast). My word of advice: The sooner you shop, the better.

There’s a reason why one of our most-read stories before Black Friday is our full roundup of Nordstrom’s sale, with the department store offering up to 60 percent off its clearance section. The department store is price-matching much of the markdowns to what brands (like Madewell) are offering on their own sites, if you’re one for a one-and-done checkout. Some standouts in the sale right now: $14 Free People flannel shorts and Natori Feathers, a.k.a. the unicorn of undergarments, for 40 percent off.

Old Navy’s early Black Friday deals start at $5, with sweatpants from $12 and sweatshirts as low as $19. It’s your chance to stock up on the basics, from my favorite cheery cherry-red sweatpants to the only long-sleeve T-shirt fellow writer Emma Wartzman packed for a week in mid-coast Maine.

It’s not often that Rothy’s has a sale, much less the entire sitewide one. Everything’s up to 30 percent off, so you can see how comfortable a pair of Rothy’s really are. I’d recommend getting the Square Mary Janes freelancer Erika Veurink walked 15,000 steps around Florence in and the Casual Clogs that can be for the outdoors or indoors (we happen to think they’re one of the best slippers out there, for the record).

There are only a few times a year when Shopbop offers a percentage off storewide. (Like Sephora, it’ll oftentimes offer discounts depending on different membership tiers.) You can use code HOLIDAY for 25 percent off almost everything during Cyber Week. I shopped around and found the corduroy pants that Earl Earl’s Laurel Pantin has on her wish list, a Reformation workout dress that can replace your old Outdoor Voices one, and a striped fleece zip-up from the Great Outdoors for outdoorsy types.

You’ll find designer goods at Woodbury Commons prices at Ssense’s Winter Sale — including Loewe sunglasses and an Acne Studio checked scarf (no, not that one). A big highlight of the sale is all the Repetto ballerinas that are marked down — sizes are selling out, so act fast. (Make sure to check out our full roundup of Ssense’s Black Friday sale too.)

If you have a UO Rewards membership (it’s free to sign up), you can get 40 percent off essentially everything, including the sale section, at Urban Outfitters for Black Friday. (Its stocks of Baggu and Birkenstock are excluded from the promotion, notably.) Get all your indie-sleaze paraphernalia while the getting’s good.

You can get up to 60 percent off brands like Crocs and Dr. Martens during Zappos’s Black Friday sale. Surprisingly, there are many markdowns on Tory Burch, and I found a few pairs of Mephistos (often seen in our Secret Strategist newsletter) on sale as well.

The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.