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Check out discount supermarkets for deals on camping equipment but if high fashion is more your thing, read on, writes CAROLINE…

Check out discount supermarkets for deals on camping equipment but if high fashion is more your thing, read on, writes CAROLINE MADDEN

Get your camp on for a lot less

- Toying with the idea of camping this summer, but worried about going cold turkey from 24-hour newsflow or missing out on a major sporting event? Fear not. Starting today, Lidl is selling Silvercrest Digital Camping Satellite Systems for just €79.99. This technological marvel picks up all free-to-air digital channels via satellite and guarantees you’ll be the most popular kid on the campsite.

To complete your camping kit, snap up a mini-tent from Lidl for €13.99 or plush it up in an Argos six-man tent, which is now half-price at €187.49. Willing to make a bit more of an investment? Some of the second-hand caravans and campervans for sale on www.donedeal.ie are worth a look. A pocket-friendly, albeit pocket-sized Bonza four-berth caravan is currently being advertised at €1,100, which could be a bargain, just as long as you can get over the Father Ted connotations.

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Keep the backseat cries of “are we there yet?” to a minimum while en route to the campsite with Aldi’s twin-screen portable DVD player on special offer at under €120 starting from today.

Elegantly shod for a fraction of the price

- If the closest you’ve come to roughing it is the yurt hotel at Electric Picnic, then chances are you’re more interested in sartorial sales than cut-price camping paraphernalia. First stop for those with a footwear fetish has to be the Jimmy Choo concession in Brown Thomas, Grafton Street, where all shoes from the Spring/Summer 2009 range, and some of their pre-autumn line, are half-price.

Can’t live without the Claudia mirrored-leather sandals as featured in the brand’s recent advertising campaign? That’ll be just €497.50, down from €995. Or perhaps madame would prefer something in a pointy toe? The Colorado stiletto pumps are reduced to €227.50. And that’s not all. Mr Choo’s tube evening clutches – the epitome of chic, according to the fashion pack – have been slashed from €850 to €425. The sale runs for another week or two.

Have a rummage with the click of a mouse

- Fashionistas who view sales shopping as a competitive sport should check out the “going, going, gone” offers on online outlet store www.theoutnet.com, which is the brainchild of Natalie Massenet, founder of the designer label site Net-a-porter.com.

The “going, going, gone” sales last for a very short time, and the price drops continuously over the course of the sale until the stock sells out or the sale ends. Success is all about timing – shop too early and you could miss out on a super-low price; leave it too late and there may be no stock left.

The item up for grabs in this week’s sale is an exquisite light-pink Halston silk evening dress with an eye-watering original price tag of €1,589.54, but play your cards right and it could be yours for a fraction of the price. Click on www.theoutnet.com/flashsales.


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