Most sales start today, so if your mind and finances are not too stressed by pre-Christmas spending, it's time to hit the pavement and return to the shops. Before setting out, recall the familiar advice dispensed at this time of year: make a list, wear clothes that allow for easy changing, work those elbows and, for every clothing purchase, ask the obvious but frequently forgotten question - "Will I ever wear this?".

Despite several particularly cold days, this winter has been so mild that heavy coats have often been unnecessary. Even the most perceptive retailer could not have predicted such weather, so not as many coats have been sold as in previous seasons. "Winter coats are the bargain of our sale: a Louise Kennedy cashmere coat is down from £669 to £450," says Aishling Kilduff of the Design Centre.

This is good news for the eager sales shopper. A good winter coat is among the most expensive items of clothing a woman can buy, so look now for real value. The best to be found include a Lainey Keogh fur-fringed coat, reduced from £489 to £299, at Diffusion in Clontarf; a Miriam Mone wool herringbone coat, reduced from £398 to £250, at Cobu in Ballina, Co Mayo; and a Fenn Wright Mason coat, reduced from £510 to £357, at Elaine Curtis in Carlow.

A designer coat is the type of investment where it is almost impossible to spend too much. Although some sums may seem madness, think practically. A great coat is a wardrobe staple whose long life outweighs the initial high cost. Avoid anything too garish, edgy or off the wall: even with such great reductions, coats should be bought to last.

In particular, keep an eye out for sheepskin coats in this year's sales. Not the double-breasted Del Boy version, but a fluid, free-falling style that has a look of being freshly sheared. Irish designer Roisin Gartland is best known for luxurious sheepskins that hang like fabric; Khan, in Blackrock, Co Dublin, has reduced a number of her coats from £1,150 to £700.

Another good style is the coat with military inspiration. With no effort required and a complete look in itself, the military coat does for a woman what a uniform does for a man. Brown Thomas has included Yves Saint Laurent's long black coat in its sale and reduced Jean Paul Gaultier's black coat with wide felt lapels from £1,260 to £756.