Triumph Lingerie Sample Sale Report September 2014

Hello lovelies,

Are you all enjoying Fashion Week so far? I never know quite how to chime in so I think I'll sit this one out. Instead, for the moment let's all turn our attention to the Triumph sample sale taking place at 168 Bowery this week. The sale will run from Friday September 5 through Sunday September 7 from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm daily. I already let you know about the pop up in the same space a few weeks ago and I was interested to see what they would do with the place for a sample sale. Well, enough padding, let's get on with it.

I'd say that pricing is fair for this sale given the sample sale prices at Natori, Hanky Panky, and Cosabella. Most Triumph bras aren't that expensive to begin with (you can find a lot of them retailing in the $50-$60 range) so this isn't the most dramatic discount but $25 is still an affordable price for a good bra. Everyone can't be Natori. I was informed that they would be replenishing the stock but that no new styles would be added. Both cash and credit cards will be accepted.

Bras are neatly organized by size and there should be no bra envy at this sale as most styles come in a wide range of sizes. As the little red tags are rather small, I thought I'd save some time and simply write out all the available sizes.

34 A, 36 A, 32 B, 34 B, 36 B, 38 B, 32 C, 34 C, 36 C, 38 C, 40 C, 32 D, 34 D, 36 D, 38 D, 40 D, 

32 DD, 34 DD, 36 DD, 38 DD, 40 DD, 42 DD, 32 DDD, 34 DDD, 38 DDD, 40 DDD, 42 DDD, 

34 G, 36 G, 38 G, 40 G, 34 H, 36 H, 38 H

All "homewear" is $15. Shirts, camis, robes, and pants range in size from small to XL.

Panties are $5 or 7 for $25. They are arranged in bins based on size also from small to XL.

Swimwear might be the best deal with items going for $15 and an additional BOGO Free offer. I mainly saw smalls among the one pieces but you'll have to check the tags. 

Babel Fair Sample Sale May 2014

Hello chickadees,

UPDATE: When I went by to check on things around 6:00 pm, there was a sign on the window announcing that the sale was over because they had sold out. I assume this means the sale is also cancelled for Saturday and Sunday.

I honestly don't even know how to begin covering this sale. First things first, this sale is being held in the basement of the Babel Fair storefront at 260 Elizabeth Street from today, Friday May 30 through Sunday June 1, though if you're interested, go by as soon as possible because I can't imagine that the merchandise will last long at the rate things are going. The store is open for its regular hours from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

I left the house around 10:00 am so I ended up there before 10:30 am. There wasn't much of a crowd, though more ladies showed up by the time the sale opened at 11:00 am. I was fourth in line which was lucky as they were only letting in 10 people at a time, given the lack of space in the basement. I was told they would continue to let 10 people in for 25 minute intervals as long as there was still a crowd outside. Nothing too crazy. I would guess there were maybe 20 to 30 women either shopping or in line when I left.

So, regardless of whether or not you want to fill a bag, you will be given a rather large white paper bag. Pricing is very simple at this sale. Whether it's on the racks or in the cardboard boxes, each item is $10 but if you fill a bag (I think they said past 4 items) you only pay $40 regardless of how much you shove in there. This is not time to be delicate and coy. This is a good old-fashioned sample sale and you better be prepared to get your hands dirty and to move quickly. My personal strategy was to grab anything with a particularly eye-catching print or made of a nicer fabric and throw it in my bag. Then, when I was about ready to leave, I rifled through my haul and checked the size tags (if there were any) and took out anything I didn't want. I still left with a very full bag with 22 items and if you're really committed, you could probably get more items into those oversized bags. Coming home to examine my haul, I don't see any damaged items but I can see why some items didn't sell at full price.

Hmn... what else? There is absolutely no trying on the merchandise. I don't know if this will change if the sale slows down and there's no line. Cash is fine. I was told cash is actually preferred.

You may have noticed there are no photos from inside the sale. Sorry about that. I was distracted and it was kind of chaos anyway. You wouldn't have been able to see anything with all the people in the way and the majority of items in boxes. I'll just try my best to describe what I saw. Most items seemed to be "small" but I saw one or two extra small items, a fair amount of medium sized items, and maybe a handful of larges. I don't know if they'll be restocking but it doesn't hurt to look as I obviously didn't get a chance to look through everything. There were quite a few floral pieces, which is what I personally gravitated towards. There was a bit of lace and a few leather items (mostly pants and shorts). I'd say it was mostly spring/summer wear, lighter fabrics and shorter hemlines.

To make up for the lack of photos inside the sale, I instead photographed some of my favorite haul items.

Fleur du Mal Sample Sale Report May 2014

Hi chickadees,

You know the only thing I like more than a sale is a sale I don't have to go out of my way to visit, which is why I skipped the Oscar de la Renta and The Limited sales to attend the Fleur du Mal sale at 138 Baxter Street. I'm actually early with this report as the sale only opened at 4:00 pm. It will close at 7:00 pm tonight and reopen tomorrow Wednesday May 13 at 8:00 am and close at 6:00 pm. That's right. It's only a two day sale so if you're interested, run over as soon as possible.

Pro tip before you head out the door, do not wear your heels to this sale. You will be climbing six flights of stairs. I cannot remember the last sale I attended that was this many flights up without an elevator. There are print-outs along the way cheering you on and promising that the workout will be worth it. So was it?

Well, not for me. But then at my current dress size I'm a little more endowed so I wouldn't skip this sale based on my experience. Let me give you a bit more information before you write this one off.

There is a coat and bag check, which was an irritating discovery after climbing six flights of stairs. Both cash and credit are accepted and there is a walled off dressing room. The price list is as follows...

There are eight racks of clothing and bras, one long table of underthings, and some bins off to the side with extra merchandise in specific sizes. The clothing is on the expensive side, especially for the kind of lightweight, wispy pieces that dominated at this sale. I didn't really feel like the craftsmanship or the quality of the label justified those kinds of prices for a sample sale so I'd really recommend checking this sale out only if you're looking for lingerie. The bras came in a variety of styles and colors. I think all the bras I saw had underwire but there were full cup bras, demi bras, lace embellishments, mesh embellishents, polka dots, and leather. The bras came in a reasonable range of sizes. Fleur du Mal does not carry size A so if you're smaller than a B, you're out of luck. They also really only had a few size D bra's so this is going to be a sale for everyone who falls in the B to C range. You might get lucky with one of the 36 D's but personally, I found them all unflattering since the cut was exactly the same as the B and C bras without any adjustment made to accommodate or flatter a larger cup size. However, women in the B and C range have a good range of styles and colors to choose from at this sale so if you have the time and you're looking for a spring update to your lingerie drawer, maybe give this sale a chance. I can't promise you'll find something you like but if nothing else you'll get a workout climbing those six flights of stairs.

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

Dinosaur Designs Sample Sale Report

Hi peanuts,

It's just depressing when I can't think of anything nice to say about a sample sale. At first I wasn't sure if this actually qualified as a sample sale as it's being held in Dinosaur Designs' regular retail store at 211 Elizabeth Street. But it was. The regular merchandise has been cleared out and all of the jewelry is in plastic bins while the homegoods are arranged on the tables and shelves around the store. 

Let me just get this out of the way. I've never been the biggest fan of Dinosaur Designs. As someone who dabbles in art, I'm not going to be impressed with clay or resin jewelry and all of the jewelry at this sale is made of resin, regardless of whether it was made in Australia or not. I just find their jewelry very big and clunky and cheap-looking.

But on to the positives. You will certainly find something at every price point at this sale. If your taste runs to the cheap and whimsical, I'd head to the ring section first. "Classic Resin Rings" are $5 each and if you buy 5, it will only cost you $20. At first I thought the rings were just amorphous, abstract shapes but upon closer inspection I found asteroid shapes full of craters, roughly molded scarab beetles, a pair of lips, and faceted gemstones among the amorphous, abstract shapes. The rings aren't arranged by size so you'll just have try them on and see if anything fits.

There were also these eye-shaped Christmas ornaments which you could use as a dashboard decoration or restring with a longer chain to make a pendant. They were selling for $10.

I realize you can't see much with all the plastic but this bin of necklaces was mainly priced at $20 per necklace. It featured an assortment of styles, all fairly colorful and large. There were large disc pendants as well as a small array of dangling pieces.

The other two bins of necklaces featured more expensive "specialty" pieces which were mainly around $100-$120 though I didn't check all of the tags.

These necklaces in particular struck me as a little Wilma Flintstone but as I already mentioned, Dinosaur Designs isn't really my style. However, there was another bin of $50 necklaces that were fairly similar to these so if these styles do appeal to you, I would probably suggest opting for the less expensive version. 

There was a large array of bangles. I'd say there were maybe seven bins of them. They were mostly these oversized bangles but there were some thinner bangles closer to the register. The bangles were marked as $20-$40 depending on the bin. There was a nice variety in style and color. Again, this style of jewelry is just not appealing to me.

Marais Sample Sale Report March 2014

Hello chickadees,

I just got back from the Marais Sample Sale being held at 355 Bowery. It's a one day only sale, closing at 5 pm, so if you're interested in shopping it, you should probably leave as soon as possible. I arrived at 10:26 am for the 11:00 am sale to find out I was the first to arrive. By the time the sale opened, seven or eight girls had joined me in line but for the most part, during the fifteen to twenty minutes I was at the sale, I don't think it was ever so busy that people were getting in each other's way.

The merchandise is arranged by size from size 6 to size 11. Of course the number of pairs of shoes and the style varies from size to size. I would say sizes eight and below would probably fair best but if you see something you like in the photos, it's worth popping by the sale if you're in the area. There were no clear demarcations between each section so bear in mind that some of the shoes that are in the photos for size 6 might actually be size 7, etc. As for the prices, from the selection in the size 8 section I would guess that any flats would probably be $10 or $20 and any wedges, heels, or half boots are likely to be $30 or $45.

SIZE 6

SIZE 6

SIZE 6

SIZE 7

SIZE 7

SIZE 7

Tocca Sample Sale Report December 2013

Hello chickadees,

Yes, I went to two sales in one day. I was about to go to three because I am a crazy person but I skipped Stella McCartney after buying all those candles at Nest. I barely made it back to the subway. There was no way I was walking the few blocks to Stella McCartney with my giant bag of candles. I probably wouldn't have gone without the giant bag of candles. God love all these brands for having their sales in close proximity on the same day but why do their offices have to be near Chelsea Piers? The only trains I can take are the C and the E. Which reminds me, the Tocca sale is being held from December 4-December 6 from 11:30am - 7:30pm daily at 542 W 22nd St between 10th and 11th Avenue. The sale technically opened yesterday but that's gone and done with so there's no use telling you now. My recommendation is to do the opposite of what I did and go to Nest before you go to Tocca if you're also planning on visiting both sales. There's just much more variety at Nest and you'll probably stock up on most of the things you want and then shop a bit more carefully at Tocca. Which isn't to say I dislike my purchases from Tocca but in hindsight, I might have preferred to get more candles at Nest and then return for Tocca fragrances tomorrow. But I'm rambling.

I was told not to take photos at the last Tocca sale I reported on (thankfully after I had pictures of most of the sale) so I was in stealth mode today. I have photos of the fragrance and body care displays but none of the clothes. Larger sizes are out in the front room and I'm assuming they go down to zero which means sizes run from 0-12. Now, this doesn't mean that you'll necessary find something that appeals to you as the larger sizes pretty much each have a small rack of clothes and from the size of the back room where the changing area is, I can't imagine it's much better for the smaller sizes. As for sizes 6-12, I mostly saw jackets and pants with a few dresses and other items mixed in. It was all very random. This really wouldn't be the sale I would go to expecting to find something special in the apparel section. It's more of a random luck situation.

Now to get to what you're probably interested in... the fragrances and body products. They carried body creams, solid perfumes, full sized perfumes, mini perfumes, 3 mini perfume sampler sets, hand creams, large candles, small candles, and little $10 sample sets of what seemed like all of their perfumes. I would not bother with the little $10 sample sets because if you want perfume samples, you can pretty much just go to Sephora and they'll make them for you without much of an issue. The other items were a bit more worthwhile. Other than in the main fragrance section I felt like one or two fragrances dominated each product section. I don't know if their stores were ransacked after the Friends and Family preview yesterday or if they never had that many of the other fragrances to begin with. What I mean is, the body creams were pretty much either one scent or another. The solid perfumes I think were mainly Stella or Florence. The hand creams were pretty much all Stella. The large round candles you see in the photo above were one of two fragrances. One was a dark blue and the other was purple. I can't remember which one was which but I think one of them had a Peach Bellini scent. It was lovely but I don't think it was worth the price. However, I'm generally less fond of sweet scents. I think there were probably less than 10 people shopping when I was there before noon. If you aren't already familiar with the fragrances, they've set out laminated cards explaining what notes are in each perfume.

Body Creams

Large candles (blue and purple containers)

Small candles (light blue square boxes)

Fragrances (at the far end of the table) The packaging is very pretty but a lot of the boxes have Nordstrom stickers on them and/or aren't wrapped in plastic.

Solid perfume

Fragrance

Body Cream

There are no coat or bag checks and you get a 10% discount if you pay in cash. Do I think this is a sale you need to attend? No. But if you're in the area, you might as well stop by especially if you or someone you know likes the brand and you're looking for some Christmas gifts. Perfumes that are normally $68 at Sephora are $45 at this sale without tax (or a shipping cost) and if you pay in cash, you get that extra 10% off. Not bad. 

Elie Tahari Sample Sale Report November 2013

Hi chickadees,

Quick post today.

Let me ask you a question. Do you like sheath dresses? Because if you like sheath dresses and you think they flatter your figure, then you will probably have some luck at the Elie Tahari sample sale. I won't bother giving you the basics on pricing as Mizhattan has already written a fantastic post covering all the details. I'm going to talk to you as one "normal" woman to another. I have curves. I have gone up a dress size from a four to a six and an eight in Elie Tahari sizing. I did not find anything that really appealed to me at this sale.

If you don't like sheath dresses, yoke dresses, or tunics, I really don't see the point of going to this sale. The clothing is grouped by size though some things are kind of mixed together. Although I didn't spend much time in the smaller sections, I noticed a lot of 2's, some 4's, and a lot of 6's. This was a true sample sale in that larger sizes were underrepresented but I didn't really think much of the quality of the garments. The last Elie Tahari sample sale I covered had some beautiful, affordable clothes. At this sale I was struggling to find things that I liked. The cuts were just so unspired and while some of the patterns were beautiful, the placement wasn't always great and the fabric was a letdown. I don't know if there was anything that wasn't synthetic, which is fine, but not for those prices when you're claiming to be giving people such a great deal.

The sale was pretty busy mid-afternoon. The line for the dressing room wasn't too bad and service at the sale was generally pretty good. I don't know. The merchandise was just a letdown. 

Barbara Bui Sample Sale Report

Hi chickadees,

I headed to the Barbara Bui sale today pretty early but not early enough to have to stand in line before the store opened. Even with that, the bag section was pretty much ransacked by the time I got there. I managed to find a nice burgundy/oxblood/maroon/whatever you want to call it large purse but the selection was dwindling fast and by the time I left there were only about 10 gray clutches, and the same large purse I bought in the same shade, turquoise, and camel. With tax the bag came to about $320, which is still pricey but a great deal when you consider the 80% discount.

I think you will probably have the most luck with the apparel as the belts and scarves were rather uninspiring. I was actually surprised by how rough the scarves felt. The apparel section seemed to operate by the same "take 80% off the price on the tag" rule. I spotted a blouse with this pretty geometric pattern for about $100 but unfortunately they only had L and XS. When I left, there was still a decent selection of clothes (though whatever was originally on the racks in the very back had disappeared before I got there). There were a few dresses and skirts but I would say that the largest part of the apparel section was devoted to pants. The shoe section was a bit of a mess but there were some nice standard boots and dressy heels.

I don't think this is a sale that you need to attend but if you happen to be in the area, the 80% discount is worth checking to see what's left.

I should note that checkout took an abnormally long amount of time. There was only one person working checkout but it took a ridiculously long amount of time for him to write out the items and then do the math on a calculator. I would make some pithy comment amount the state of our school systems but why bother? I've already lost more than an hour of my life.

I got conflicting answers but I do not think they'll be restocking for the next two days of the sale. That means if you're looking for a handbag, it's probably not worth going at this point but if you want to try your luck at the clothes or shoes, you might still find something you like.

The sale is being held in the downstairs area of the Barbara Bui retail store at 115 Wooster St between Spring St. and Prince St. Store hours at 11am to 6pm and the sale will end on Wednesday.