Cole Haan

Cole Haan has a sample sale going on now through Wednesday (9-6:30 on Tuesday, 9-6 Wednesday) at Soiffer Haskin, 317 W. 33rd St., near Eighth Ave. I went yesterday, and have much to report.

• Crowds: busy, but not overwhelming;
• Coat check: yes, but very well run (at least when I was there) – and I didn’t have to check my large purse, just my jacket;
• Dressing room: well, it’s shoes, so no… but they had a pretty good number of chairs for you to sit in to try on your potential purchases;
• Prices: not too bad, considering the starting price of most Cole Haan goods. Depending on the item, the price was anywhere between 50-75% off – but the trick is, you’ve got to figure out the final price by yourself. Unless you’re really good at head math, bring a calculator; and
• Selection: tons and tons of stuff. Lots of the things on the “sale” section of the Cole Haan website. Mens and womens shoes, belts, wallets, purses – but nothing from the bridal collection (brides beware).

Overall, I’d give this sale an 8 and a total thumbs up. I’ve never been to a sale with Soiffer Haskin, and it was a very pleasant experience. Unlike most sales, there were plenty of people there to help you find your size, which really cut down on the usual sample sale chaos. The only way it could be better is if the prices were 80% off. Still, I walked away with an awesome gift for my mother’s birthday. This fantastic wallet, but in a tannish-goldish color:

Saddle Travel Zip Wallet

Jeffrey Monteiro

Thanks to the wonderful work of the beloved Dr. MLK Jr., today I was able to sleep in, have a relaxing lunch with a friend, and amble on down to a one-day sample sale – Jeffrey Monteiro. Unfortunately, it was only one day, so my post won’t do much good (other than to make you jealous of my terrific purchase! Which makes me feel good…). I was tipped off to this sample sale thanks to Daily Candy – a daily goings-on email update service my mom signed me up for ages ago. Daily Candy readers were also eligible for an extra 20% off the sample sale price, which sure didn’t hurt.

The sale was in the Jeffrey Monteiro atelier in Chinatown, a small studio that was practically empty for the duration I was there – just me, three other shoppers, two women working the checkout, and Mr. Monteiro himself on his laptop in the other room (I peeked in over a rack of dresses). The “dressing room” (heavy quotation marks on that one) was non-existent – a tiny little screen right by the entrance for only one person at a time. There was a very small selection of clothing from his 2009 and 2010 collections, and the 2009 clothes were a lot cheaper ($65 for the skirt I bought from 2009). Probably ten items or so available in each size. Sorry, I forgot to take pics while I was there, or I would post a one of the racks.

I didn’t know Jeffrey Monteiro’s clothing before the sale, and I will admit it was generally very cool, but not quite my style (I prefer things a bit more fitted, and Monteiro is more on the baggier side). But I really, really like the skirt I ended up with. I can wear it to work if I dress down the top and wear flats. With heels, perfect for a more formal event.

A professional pic of the skirt from an online shopping site called Totokaelo.

A self-portrait of the skirt I bought; off-white with an awesome gray pattern.

The skirt was originally $435, so there really wasn’t any way I could possibly pass it up.

The run down is:

• Crowds: nope;
• Coat check: none;
• Dressing room: glad I don’t have problems with showing off my underwear to strangers;
• Prices: great for the 2009 selection (dresses under $100, skirts $65) and not terrible for 2010 (dresses were under $200… too expensive for me, but not bad, given the starting prices);
• Selection: limited. Don’t fall in love with a dress not in your size, because it’s probably the only one there. However, the small selection was kind of a part of the charm of the thing.

I would definitely recommend going to this sale again the next time it comes around. I’d give it an 8!

Now the more serious stuff. I’m adding up how much I spent this weekend on meals out, drinks, cabs and (or course) shopping, and matching that amount as a donation to Partners in Health. My company matches all staff donations, so PIH will be getting a large check from moi. If I can afford to spend it on frivolous things like skirts and rides home from the East Village, I can easily afford to give the same for the people of Haiti. I hope you have, too.

Now one for the ladies of the League of Justice (you know who you are) in honor of the late, great MLK:

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Savvy & Co.

Savvy & Co. is a company that hosts sales for a lot of top designers (most recently, the Catherine Malandrino sale I raved about), and is also a good one to sign up for email announcements (top right of the screen).

New York Magazine Sales and Bargains Calendar

The best resource out there that I’ve found is the New York Magazine Sales and Bargains Calendar. They’ll tell you about sample sales as well as shopping events going on around the city. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter (yellow box on the upper right side) so you get the info directly into your inbox!

Best Practices, Part I.

At my day job, we talk a lot about “best practices”. A best practice is a technique, method, or activity that will most effectively deliver a desired outcome. As pertains to my day job, a best practice would lead to improved human rights. Readers of this blog, however, will be interested to learn my time-worn best practices at effectively delivering awesome clothing into my closet for cheap.

My first “Best Practices” post will tackle one of the most difficult choices a sample sale shopper will face:

Which Day of the Sale to Attend

Sample sales typically run for three to five days. Seasoned shoppers know that advertised prices begin to drop soon after the first day of the sale. Some of the longer sales even have two prices reductions. The reductions are usually announced via email by the host of the sample sale. (You can sign up for these email announcements by visiting my “websites and listserves” category.) You will definitely get the best deals if you shop on the last day of a sale. However, there is naturally a tradeoff. Sample sales have a limited number of goods. With a few exceptions of new shipments of merchandaise arriving after the sale has started, generally, when an item is sold out, that’s it. So if you wait until the last day of the sale, you run a definite risk of missing the blouse of your dreams. There’s nothing more disappointing than a room full of picked-over clothing on the last day of a sale when you were hoping for a fantastic outfit to wear on your birthday. But if you’re heading into a sale without a preconceived notion of what you want to get out of it, you might just find a gem in there, amongst the makeup stained white shirts that no one will ever buy…

My rule of thumb when deciding which day of a sale to attend: do I really want an item from the designer on sale, or am I just after a potential deal? If I don’t have my heart set on making a purchase and I’m just looking for the best deal, I shop on the last day of the sale. If I really need a dress for an occasion, and I think the designer might have something in store for me – the earlier I shop, the higher the rate of success.

Tory Burch Prices Reduced

Clothingline has reduced TB prices to:

s/less tops now $50
l/s tops now $65
sweaters now $75
skirts now $50
pants now $50
dresses now $75
jackets now $75

Shoes and bags have been reduced another 25%. They’re open 11am-6pm tomorrow. I don’t recommend going, though, unless you really want a pair of her flats.

(TB = Tory Burch, not tuberculosis. I don’t want to mislead anyone here.)

Sample Sale Purchase of the Week

My favorite purchase from this week is this Catherine Malandrino skirt.

Catherine Malandrino Zip-Ruffle Top & Ribbon Pencil Skirt

$54, originally $275 (on sale now from Saks Fifth Avenue for $95). I wore it to work today, and it was a big hit. The slip helped to keep my legs warm from the sub-freezing cold air, and it didn’t wrinkle after a day in front of the computer.

I’ve Moved

I’ve decided to move from blogspot to wordpress. This is much nicer!

To Vera or not to Vera?

I’ve been getting emails about a Vera Wang sample sale all week, but haven’t managed to make it there yet given my hectic schedule with Catherine and Tory. Here are the deets:

VERA WANG SALE
FINAL MARK DOWN
UP TO 75% OFF

SUNDAY, DEC 13th: 11am–5pm
MONDAY, DEC 14th thru THURSDAY, DEC 17th
10am–6pm

VERA WANG SHOWROOM
225 WEST 39 ST (5 fl)

For More Info Call 212 920 1211

I went to a Vera sale last year at Clothingline (it was her “Lavender” line) and wasn’t terribly impressed by the quality of the clothing. (Note: Vera designs things other than wedding and bridesmaids dresses!) This one is being run and promoted by by Shelly and Renee out of the Vera Wang showroom, and doesn’t appear to be Lavender, so it stands a chance of being better. But to be honest, I must admit I’m a bit burned out on sales for the week. Now there’s a rarely-uttered phrase… “tired of shopping.” I’ll just have to live with the regret of perhaps missing out on a fantastic deal on a fantastic dress.

Malandrino vs. Burch

Catherine Malandrino:

• The line for the coat check was way too long. It took me 15 minutes to get my coat back. Shouldn’t professional coat-checkers have a better method for checking or returning more than one coat every 2 minutes? Seriously.
• Prices were lower: short dress were $109, long dresses $222, blouses $22, skirts $42 and coats $184. But not low enough. I would have bought another dress if it had been $80.
• Despite this being the last day of the sale, there was still a good selection of clothing. There’s nothing worse than returning to a sample sale to discover that all the good stuff is gone. Even on a return trip I found four new dresses to try on. I managed to restrain myself though. I don’t need another dress to wear to a wedding I might get invited to someday… But seriously, I love Catherine’s stuff.
• There were more people in the dressing room, so the line for the tiny mirrors was also longer. If I’m going to make a hundred dollar purchase, I’d like to gaze at myself in the mirror for more than 30 seconds before being knocked out of the way by the pushy woman next to me (I was lying when I told you that dress looked good on you!). Shouldn’t a sample sale company be able to spare a couple bucks to invest in a few sturdy mirrors?

Tory Burch:

• The folks that run the Tory Burch sample sale (Clothingline – they host a lot of great and not so great sales) have the coat check down pat. Even at the busiest of times, I’ve never had more than a few minutes wait to check or retrieve my coat.
• Compared to previous Tory Burch sales, the merchandise was pretty terrible. Sparse and not cute. Usually the Tory Burch sales are pretty reliable, but this one had only three or four different types of dresses, a dozen or so types of blouses, and I think only one type of skirt.

• If you’re into TB shoes (I think I might be the only woman in Manhattan who’s not) your luck was a little better, but not much. A few types of flats and a surprising number of heeled sandles.
• Prices for clothing wasn’t too bad: dresses $99, skirts $75, blouses 85. Flats ranged from $90-125. With Tory Burch, the prices are just about guaranteed to be reduced by Friday – probably to around $60 for a dress, if I remember correctly from previous sales (though sample sales are a fickle beast, and it’s dangerous to make assumptions based on previous seasons).
• The dressing rooms at Clothingline are really nice. Spacious and full of mirrors (one for every two or three people, even at the busiest of moments) which is all one can really hope for when it comes to a dressing room at a sample sale.

The verdict: Malandrino takes it, 5-3. Despite long wait times and shared mirrors, sample sales really are about the clothes, at the end of the day, right? The variety and quality of Catherine’s goods deserved the return trip to the sale, but a demotion in points from yesterday for all the waiting I had to do, and for not lowering the prices quite low enough for my taste. Tory’s clothes just plain… sucked this time. The only reason the sale earned more than one point is the vastly superior customer experience. I won’t return when the prices drop, but I will be back next season!