Vintage shopping used to be so much fun, but it’s become a victim of its own popularity. Between the dealers and the high prices, it’s rare to find real treasures. But when a neighborhood organization hosts a “clean out of the closet sale” you know there are going to be great finds.
Every year, Upper East Siders (and even some Upper West Siders) clean out their closets and donate their unwanted and unused items to Lighthouse International for their annual designer sale. Most of the merchandise is vintage, but designers like Carolina Herrera and Courrèges donated new clothing from their inventories.
The first thing we did when arrived was hit the designer room. Some items were priced on the high side, but you can’t blame them– it’s charity. While browsing the preview, we found lots of quality new or almost new items that included; Manolos for $250, YSL pumps for $200 (Tom Ford era?), and Dior booties for $250. There were also lots of great bags like a Lanvin shoulder bag at $400, a limited edition Louis Vuitton Olympe priced at $900, a white Prada Saffiano Satchel at $400, a Louis Vuitton Vernis tote for $850, and a huge Vuitton suitcase priced at $900.
The clothing selection was just as impressive. We found a Chloe sheer blouse for $100, a tweed Chanel dress priced at $950, a Chanel tweed skirt suit for $1900, a Carolina Herrera dress for $900, a black wool YSL dress at $450. Fur coats? Yes, there were racks: silver fox for $750, lunaraire mink at $1850, Russian sable priced at $5000, and ranch mink for $1950.
Then we found the jewelry. We were tickled by the Joan Rivers collection of jewels tat were all priced at about $20, but it was the Chanel collection of bijoux that really dazzled. Again prices were high ranging from $600 to $1200.
We noticed lots of people haggling and making deals. As the sale continues, we imagine that the prices will become increasingly more flexible. The sale runs until Sunday, May 6th. Details are below.
Lighthouse International’s Posh Fashion Sale
Thursday, May 13 to Sunday, May 16
Thurs-Sat:11am to 7pm, Sun 11am to 5pm
111 East 59th Street (bw Park and Lex)
Daily pass: $10 or Four Day Pass: $30