Vivienne Tam Sample Sale Report April 2014

Hello my darlings,

Because I love you so very, very much I braved the rain to cover the start of the Vivienne Tam sample sale today. First things first. The sale is running from today, April 30 through May 2. On Wednesday the sale opens at 9:00 am and closes at 8:00 pm. On Thursday, the sale will open at 10:00 am and close at 7:00 pm. On Friday the sale will open at 10:00 am and close at 6:00 pm. The sale is being held at 260 West 39th St between 7th and 8th Avenue. I would suggest taking the N or R.

There is a coat check (and given the weather, an umbrella check) but you will be allowed to keep your purse with you. They're only checking oversized bags like backpacks or shopping bags.

$20 sale rack

$20 sale rack

$20 sale rack

I don't know if you can tell but these are beaded dresses. They had size 0 and 1 tags but I think those are supposed to be from the old sizing system. If you wear a small, you might want to give them a look though they are super heavy because of the weight of all the beads.

I would advise you to start with the two racks near the register by the windows. Here you'll find $20 items identified with yellow tags. The sizes and styles vary widely. There were mainly lighter, summery items. I saw a lot of tank tops and a few dresses.

$20 top

$20 dress

The rest of the sale is organized by size and type of apparel so you should have no problem navigating it. The sale is dominated by blouses and dresses. There was a rack of skirts and a rack of pants. All of the tags I checked for the tops were in the $70 to $90 range. The same went for the skirts. Dresses were a bit more expensive. I didn't check all of the tags but I mainly saw items in the $180-$220 range.

Skirts

$80 fringe skirt

$80 size 4 skirt (formerly $350)

There is also a rack off to the side with T-shirts. This isn't a Anna Sui sale so those T-shirts could cost around $60. There are also a few $10 scarves by the register. There's no one way to describe the merchandise at this sale. There is plenty of color but there's also black and white. There are a lot of prints but there are also solid pieces. There are styles to flatter all kinds of silhouettes and fabrics range from silk and sequins to cotton and mesh polyester. If you're planning on attending, be prepared to look through the whole rack because you never know what you might find.

T-shirts

There are also some cheaper T-shirts in the $20 section.

There are no dressing rooms at this sale but there are two mirrors at opposite sides of the room. The sale wasn't too busy when I stopped by around 10 or 11. With the weather, I don't think you'll have too much of an issue getting time in front of the mirror.

$220 size 8 dress

$180 size 8 dress

I was in love with this one but it was just too loose on me and cut too low in the front. I hope one of you takes this home as it really is a beautiful dress.

You can't tell in the photo but this full skirt is made out of a slightly shimmery fabric. I think it was $70 or $80.

I was so tempted to get this $80 dress even though it didn't look good on me at all. It's a little 1940's via the 1980's but it's a little bulky and the color isn't going to flatter a lot of complexions.

Both cash and credit are accepted. All sales are final. I was told that they probably won't be restocking but they may have a discount on the final day if you spend above a certain amount.

Happy shopping!
Cat