Hi chickadees!
I ran to the Alexis Bittar sample sale during my break. It
took me 2 trains. It’s at 344 W. 14th
St. so the easiest thing to do is take the A, C, or E to 14th
St. The hours are 9am-6:30pm today and tomorrow. It’s unassuming from the
outside, a rented storefront plastered with Alexis Bittar signage and blaring
pop music. But inside… a wondrous cavern of glittering gems.
You will have to
check your coat but checking larger bags is optional and they let you keep your
purses.
Merchandise:
There was so much variety that it’s impossible to describe it all. Gold,
silver, pewter, rose gold (though gold was dominant). Lucite, gems, stones,
rhinestones, beads. Chunky bangles, delicate filigree, huge embedded geodes,
parrot-shaped bangles, flower brooches and just stunning art pieces that defy
paltry descriptions. I tried to take a lot of pictures but there was no way I
could cover it all because….
Layout: …the
merchandise is not really organized. You’ll find the cheapest pieces closest to
the coat check. This is where the bags reside. Along one wall is a huge array
of bangles and at the end of the shelves is the selection of pewter and rose
gold jewelry. But everything else is random. There are bins to dig through and
seemingly every other available surface is covered with something sparkly and
alluring.
Pricing: Pricing
was all over the place. At the low end were the cheaper items, wood bangles for
$5-$10, plastic bangles for $15, and little zip bags for $15. The next price
point was around $70-$100. If you find this affordable, you should be pretty
pleased with this sale. There were plenty of earrings and rings in this range.
The highest price range was around $200-$300. These were mainly the items with
tiny red dots drawn onto the price tags. Red dots mean the merchandise is 50%
the written price. I’m not so sure about the Lucite flower brooches, but you
can certainly tell why some of those bracelets cost what they do. I mean, I
would go by the sale just to ogle them, they’re that gorgeous.
Shoppers: Shoppers
broke into two main categories: the older Ab/Fab set collecting mountains of
bangles on their trays, and 20-somethings picking through for a few special
pieces. And both groups were well represented. If you really want to take
advantage of this sale you need to clear out some time and be prepared to dig
with the crowds through bins. There wasn’t any pushing or rudeness thank
goodness, but there was a lot of waiting.
I think this sale would be good for those people who want to
do some expensive Christmas shopping. It’s a nice chance to get one or two
special pieces for those people on your list that you want to splurge on at a
discounted price. Personally, I didn’t find anything I’d be willing to splurge
on without considering it. That and I have nowhere to wear museum-quality
bangles.
Gorgeous piece. Really wanted it but it was $150.
Another gorgeous piece I was really tempted to get. It would have been $147.50 before tax.
Cheapest pair of earrings I could find.
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