Not all the best purveyors of luxury hold January sales — but some do, and the Country Life team has picked out some of the most beautiful items on offer.
Tom Ford single-breasted wool and mohair-blend jacket
Legendary journalist and globetrotter Alan Whicker used to swear by the classic English blazer — you can wear one to meet the king, he regularly explained, but you can also wear it on the beach. This regular-cut jacket is beautifully-cut from a blend of 90% wool and 10% mohair.
Down from £2971 to £1250 at Selfridges
Stewart Parvin red baby alpaca double breasted winter coat
Not just alpaca. Baby alpaca. And made by the Queen’s dressmaker, Stewart Parvin.
Down from £3425 to £1712 at Stewart Parvin
Villeroy & Boch Amazonia Buffet Plate
We are all currently spending a lot of time indoors (largely because it’s quite illegal not to). What finer way to pass the time than to gaze upon this nature-inspired dish and dream of days when we might wander freely among the birds and trees once more.
Down from £93 to £71.92 at Harrods
Lalage Beaumont Sky Silk Coat
What will happen to the umpteen weddings that were cancelled in 2020? No doubt some will go ahead as smaller affairs, and possibly some might not happen at all. But even still, it feels like a bumper wedding season is waiting to happen — and this swish coat looks the ideal thing for when the knot-tying recommences in earnest.
Down from £1150 to £799 at Lalage Beaumont
Fairfax & Favor Desert Boot
Shoes always get more comfortable the more time you spend in them, so a pair such as these really come into their own: these suede desert boots would be just as well-received in offices (if we ever get back to them) as they would in deserts (if we’re ever allowed to travel overseas again).
Scientific Anglers Sonar Sink 30 Warm
Now, we’re not fishing experts. But we have been, and never once have we feared for our lives. Yet this is clearly an issue, as these will apparently allow you to cast ‘without fearing for your life’. Which seems like it can only be a good thing.
Down from £89.99 to £63 at Farlows
Oliver Brown biscuit suede slippers
As if ‘I can’t come outside and help you fetch logs/put the bins out/round up the children, I’m wearing my slippers’ (delete as appropriate) wasn’t already a good enough excuse, just imagine the added gravitas that ‘I can’t come outside and help you fetch logs/put the bins out/round up the children, I’m wearing my suede slippers’ will lend to the situation. VM
Down from £240 to £180 at Oliver Brown
Jubilee Black Page Portrait Photo Album
Ok, so most of our photographs are fairly safely stored on the good old internet these days. Yet the image of sitting with your children, or grandchildren, gathered round and showing them your childhood/university/wedding/holiday photographs (actually not holiday — literally no one else in the world wants to see those) on a smartphone isn’t the most touching of images. Now is the time to pick your favourites, finally get them printed out and place them lovingly between the pages of this super smart album for posterity.
Down from £70 to £40 at Noble Macmillan
Chocolate labrador tea towel
‘Having grown up in a flatcoated retriever household, I will never be the number one labrador fan,’ writes Victoria Marston. ‘Having said that, I am aware that a lot of people are very big labrador fans indeed and, having enjoyed the company of every labrador that I have met, I can see how it might happen.’ So although Victoria won’t be purchasing this tea towel, she says that you might like to. If you’re a labrador fan. Because you can never have enough tea towels. Or, possibly, labradors.
Down from £12 to £8 at Inspired by Darcy
Susannah Lovis Victorian Enamel, Diamond and Ruby Golden Pheasant Brooch
Hand-painted plumage, a ruby for an eye, plus head, wings and feet carved from gold — this is a truly delightful brooch.
Down from £3500 to £2800 at Susannah Lovis
House of Bruar Inset Sleeve Cashmere Coat
‘My wife recently spent three solid days looking for a coat that was long enough to cover her, ahem, derriere when she sat down, but not so long that it’d bother her walking along,’ writes Toby Keel. If she’d just seen this first, and also been a different gender, things would have been so much simpler.
Down from £695 to £595 at House of Bruar
All the items on this page have been picked out by the Country Life team without fear or favour, but we may receive a small commission on some purchases.
Best wellington boots: The finest wellies you can buy
There's nothing quite so vital to life in the countryside as a decent pair of wellies. Country Life's luxury editor
