Oh, hadn’t you noticed? Yes, see that giant red banner at the top of the MR PORTER homepage? That means we’re currently on sale. Which is this thing we do at the end of the season where we reduce the prices on various bits and bobs. Got it? Right, now the difficult part: what exactly should you scoop up? With more than 500 brands currently available on MR PORTER, sale shopping can be a bit of a treasure hunt these days. But luckily (well, for you at least) all of our editors have spent the past six months of their lives writing about all these goodies and have got their canny eyes trained on the choicest specimens to be snapped up at this most frenetic time of year. Scroll down for their thoughts on tactics and key pieces to look out for.

Even the most casual of sneakerheads should be aware that running shoes is a department in which the whole “too much of a good thing” concept does not really apply. Particularly if you’re one of those people who can only stomach taking to the streets in kicks of the blindingly white variety. In that regard, you could take Mr Pharrell Williams’ SolarHu PRD Glide sneakers for adidas Consortium as something of a low-cal New Year palate cleanser at 60 per cent off – perhaps a spare white-on-white pair for when your current white-on-white pair goes that little bit 50 shades of grey?

If you’re simply looking for something to style out the weather in (because you know it’s going to get terrible), you could do worse than plump for Nike’s ACG React Terra Gobe sneakers from its all-weather ACG line. At 60 per cent off, they’re both more attractively priced and that little bit more stylish than anything you’ll find at your local hiking emporium. Maybe practicality is not for you, though. Perhaps you want your sale scoop to have a touch more of the “wow” factor. Or you’re starting up some sort of small-scale fashion museum? In which case, what else should you pick up but a pair of Balenciaga’s superlatively… superlative Track 2 sneakers? Yes, they are a bold choice, but also, in our opinion, destined to become one of those pieces on tomorrow’s GOAT lists. The crucial question is: will the 2020s produce anything quite so complex and mad as this? Is it even possible?

I was raised by a mother who knew her way around a sale and taught me her witchy-good ways. One enduring lesson is that while it is a good time to snap up previously bank-breaking show-stoppers, it’s also, boringly, the perfect opportunity to stock up on some more humdrum essentials. Socks, hats, sunglasses, bandanas even – a big sale means that the luxurious versions of some of the most quotidian items are now within reach.

Take, for example, wool-blend socks from Falke. On a regular day, it might seem silly to spend modest date-night money on something that goes on your feet. But Falke is serious sock luxury and now that they’re 60 per cent off, they will make a delightful upgrade to my rather bedraggled collection.

Often, sales don’t include the most basic basics (white tees, black sweaters, the things that don’t change with the season), which is why it’s so exciting for a sale hound like me to find this black beanie by AFFIX on our sale pages. It’s not the jazziest accessory in the world, but it’s perfect for the bleak days of winter to come (until the groundhog sees his shadow… or doesn’t? Whichever).

How to put this: I generally can’t have nice things. Or, at least, I can’t have nice things that are breakable or easily lost because I will break them or lose them easily. I don’t treat myself to nice sunglasses because I don’t want them to end up in the room of lost things with the rest of the hundreds of lovely sunglasses I’ve lost over the years. But at 60 per cent off, these frames are safe enough for me to take a risk on. Now if I could only find my credit card…

Now is the time to give thanks that the “It-bag”, that stalwart of women’s fashion, remains something of a foreign concept in the world of menswear. That’s not to say that men’s bag trends don’t exist – they do, but they just move at a rather more glacial pace. Which, of course, makes them brilliant things to pick up in the sale.

Take the cross-body belt bag, for instance, which took at least a couple of years to reach its current state of popularity, and looks to be in no danger of falling out of fashion any time soon. There are a few still remaining in the sale, all of them good for 2020 and beyond. This one from Indispensable is a personal favourite, and going for a song.

Elsewhere, there’s a sturdy nylon tote bag in a timeless shade of navy blue from Onia that’s just perfect for trips to the beach this summer – and it’s currently going for 40 per cent less than you’ll pay for something very similar if you wait until then.

And if you’re looking for something workaday for hikes and trips to the gym, this nylon backpack from Polo Ralph Lauren is currently a steal at 60 per cent off.

Planning for summer in winter is a bit like having breakfast for dinner: a bit hard to get your head around at first, but, really, is there any time of the day when an egg isn’t the right answer? Given that much of the gear now on offer is a call back to the previous spring/summer season, the mid-winter sale is a boon for those who can think ahead. (And who right now isn’t imagining themselves somewhere that isn’t frigid and greyscale in hew, preferably with a ready supply of margaritas?) The problem is we know what you wore last summer, so opt for pieces that won’t look out of place in 2020. The camp-collar trend is going nowhere this year – and by that, we mean going everywhere your passport will allow – and the same goes for foliage prints, so stock up while you can. See also 1970s-inspired sunglasses, which look set to hang about longer than the original decade. And despite the name, the flip-flop remains an unwavering poolside companion.

What thoughts and feelings do we attach to the sound of the word “sale”? If it were “sail”, they might be calming ones. Feelings of escape, peace and catharsis. “Sale”, though, in the world of shopping, can inspire ideas of panic – deranged people clambering over the frail and infirm to bag something they don’t want or need, just to satisfy a cold, manufactured capitalist desire to own things for status. But it needn’t be this way. Or, at least, it needn’t be entirely this way. Look at these jackets, for example. They will keep you warm. And they are, potentially, nice jackets, too. So, they might not transcend their innate being and make you feel happy and complete far beyond simply being a new thing you now own. However, they may at least tick the boxes of being something you both want and need – especially in January. Which, while not necessarily cathartic, is at least a start.