Black Friday & why it's not for us

Hypocrite alert! We're here to shed a little light on our approach to Black Friday. 

We firmly believe that Black Friday is not a 'celebration' that we want to take part in. A day (or now month) of massive discounts, not only undermines the real value of the items we, and other stores, have available for sale, but it also puts small retailers like Ruskin at a massive disadvantage. We know people are looking for big savings in the last week of November, but as a small family business, we just cannot afford to sell our garments at rock bottom prices. 

So, while we might not be your cheapest option this week, but we hope you will still choose to visit a small and independent store which is trying to support sustainable practices in the UK fashion industry.

As we have written about before, we stock our store responsibly buying the amount of product which we think we can sell with very little ever made available at a discounted rate. Over the last 8 years, this has helped us build a loyal customer base who know the value of our garments and who are passionate about paying a realistic price for items which have passed through the hands of tens of skilled people on its their journey from design to fabric to ready-to-wear garments. This is why we have never participated in Black Friday, and we do not intend to in the future. 

However, the eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that we do have an offer running this week. The even more observant will have clocked that many other small and ethical businesses which have previously eschewed Black Friday have offers running this week - the reason for this is that the small business community is hurting. Between shifting lockdown regulations and uncertainty about the safety of the high street, this winter season has been tricky for us all, so we're allowing ourselves to indulge in a little hypocrisy this November. Our weekly festive offers have been running throughout the English lockdown, and while they are not focused around Black Friday or Cyber Monday ... they sure do look similar, so we hope you wont judge us too harshly for it!

This year we are happy to be offering you all some amazing offers throughout November and into December - not only because our Whitstable and Margate stores have had to close, but also because we think the end of 2020 should be a little more joyful than the start!

We remain committed to forging a future where the real cost of clothing is appreciated, and where carefully considered capsule wardrobes reign over the fast and disposable fashion mentality we see on our Instagram feeds. But for now enjoy our discounts, we still have 3 more weeks of festive offers to go and we hope we can help you find the perfect gifts this holiday season. 

Looking forwards to seeing you in store next week, 

Shelly, Garrie, Charlotte, Izzy & Karen x