Hi chickadees!
I'm just back from the Christian Siriano/Erin Fetherson Sample Sale happening for one day only at 252 Elizabeth St from 11am-7pm. So far there's not a lot of traffic, so it you'd like to go, I'd suggest running out now because there's not a huge selection.
Sadly, quite soon after my arrival I was told they didn't allow pictures so I don't have too much to show you.
Clothes: There are two racks of Christian Siriano sample sale items. The first rack (closer to the door) was generally priced a bit higher. Most items were priced around $300. There was a lot of black but also a little orange cape and chartreuse pants. There was actually more outerwear that I was expecting, some heavy wool coats (mostly jackets) and a few jackets.
The second rack was priced a bit lower with a lot of $100-$150 items. The second rack had a lot of cocktail dresses with the dramatic flair that anyone who watched season 4 of Project Runway would expect from Christian. Sweeping lines, pleating, ruching. There was a nice mix of textures and fabrics. There were some gorgeous printed silk dresses...simple, structured 50s style silhouettes...very short, dramatic cocktail dresses in chartreuse...more short sequined cocktail dresses. There wasn't a huge selection so sizing was all over the place. I think I saw everything from size 0 to 10 but most of the clothes were for smaller sizes. I did find quite a few items for size 6 though.
The Erin Fetherston rack also had a lot of variety. Secretly, I was hoping for more of the graphic Erin by Erin Fetherston looks from her most recent collection. The Erin Fetherston items felt like a departure from the heavyness and drama and well, black of Christian's items. There were cocktail dresses, and a lot of pleating, and lighter colors. There was a very affordable mint green top for $25 but most items were dresses priced at around $70. I had the sense that they were mostly smaller sizes but it was hard to tell given the lack of size tags.
Regularly priced non-sample sale Christian Siriano fall items are also on display.
Dressing Room: There is only one enclosed dressing room which I was lucky enough to get into. It has a full length mirror and is decently sized for a small room. Otherwise, you can change outside behind a rack of clothes. There are two mirrors outside in this area as well as a chair.
Checkout: I paid with a credit card so I'm not sure if you can pay with cash as well. With the credit card they let you sign on an iPad.
Staff: The staff around the dressing room are quite nice but while they don't give you a hard sell, they try and sell you on everything. Nothing fits incorrectly. Everything looks good. Everything is
supposed to look that way. It's a lot of that. The staff milling about near the checkout was borderline obnoxious. No one has quite matched the rudeness of the staff they hire for the Elie Tahari sample sales but I found the girls near the checkout quite condescending and aloof. The one who handed me my bag gave me such a dirty look, and this was after I had just made a purchase.
PICTURES... I didn't say there were no pictures ;)
I'm just back from the Pop Up Sample Sale being held at the OpenHouse Gallery at 201 Mulberry from today June 20 through June 25. The hours are 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. I assume that's daily but I couldn't get confirmation. They apparently won't be restocking which is strange since it didn't seem like they had enough merchandise to warrant staying for six days and the woman I asked said there would not be any markdowns.
