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    Weekend of Shopping: The Best of Sale

    Shopping bags have become the biggest accessory on Madison Avenue. It’s sale season-cum-summer and everyone needs to snatch what discounts they can before they take off for the summer, or even worse, items sell out. So what are the hottest sale items tucked away in shopping bags of lavender, black and white?

    We will never know for sure but you can scroll through the slideshow above to see some of the most covetable sale items. As always, shoes and handbags are a hot commodity but uptown girls will never underestimate the value of a great dress.

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    VBH Sample Sale Early Access

    The über-luxury handbag company, VBH is hosting a sample sale where their exotic and luxurious leathers will be discounted from 50% to 70% off. Expect to find a full selection of merchandise from the current season and past collections, including lots of envelop clutches.

    VBH fans will be happy to know that we’ve been able to arrange for a special VIP shopping time. RSVP here if you would like to attend the sale early and get preferential shopping privileges.

    The sale begins Sunday, May 31 and will run for four days. It’s expected that this sale will be a complete sell-out. Better to get there while the section is plentiful.

    VBH Sample Sale
    VIP Shopping Sunday, May 31 from 11am-12pm
    RSVP Here
    Public Sale: Sunday, May 31 through Wednesday, June 3
    Sun 12pm-5pm, Mon & Tues 10am-6pm, Wed 10am to 4pm
    Essex House
    160 Central Park South, 2nd FL (59th St. Bw 6th & 7th)
    Cash & Credit Card. No Strollers

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    The Same Game: Online Sales

    Yesterday, we spent some time taking a closer look at the discounts at our local department stores. Today we are crawling the web, searching for the best deals.

    One would think that online price comparisons would be easy but e-tailers purposely make it difficult. Instead of one broad markdown, most online stores individually price items according to their inventory levels. It’s almost impossible to nail down a discount at destinations like Shopbop and Net-a-Porter. Generally the discounts at both sites range from 30% to 50% off.

    What really throws customers off is the items and designs that designers create exclusively for a particular retailer. For example, we can only find this sunflower and rose floral print Dolce & Gabbana dress on Net-A-Porter– and it’s still not on sale. Then you have stores that discount items that others do not. Kiran Zibete discounted this YSL Sac de Jour to $1650 from $2750 and that practically sold out chevron rainbow Rockstud tote from Valentino is discounted to $1317 from almost $2200.

    Take note, that Kerna Zibete seems like the overall winner as it still has a really great selection of designer merchandise and most everything is 40% off.  Below is a comparison chart of Kirna Zabete, M’Oda Operandi and Net-a-Porter.

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    The Lowdown on the Best Discounts

    Almost all of the seasonal merchandise in department stores are on sale. At most of our local shopping destinations, spring and summer clothing is discounted 40% off but the prices of shoes and handbags vary greatly.

    Take note, some boutiques are offering even lower discounts than the department stores. For instance, Bottega Veneta and Miu Miu are both offering customers a 50% savings. Below is a comparison chart of Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue.

    Take note that no stores are discounting Chanel or Louboutin yet. Saks has discounted Valentino rainbow Rock Stud sandals but Barneys hasn’t discounted any Valentino. Bergdorfs has marked down rainbow beaded bag and the rainbow dress. If you’re looking for Chloe bags and clothing, you’re going to find the best selection in Bergdorfs. The Lavender Lady even discounted the popular scalloped ballerina flats.

    Here is your discount cheat sheet:

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    Bottega Veneta Private Sale

    Bottega Veneta is hosting a private sale on bags where their best customers were identified and invited to shop discounted bags. The hitch is that you need to be “on the list” to get the bag promotion– or so they say. The discount is 30% off bags and 50% off clothing and shoes.

    The private sale starts on Tuesday, May 25 and runs through Thursday. The sale opens to the public on Friday, but by then there are usually no bags. We are told that the following colors will be included in the markdown: Rosa Shock, Monalisa, New Chartreuse, Banane, Ciel and Flamingo. (You can click here to see photos of the boutique’s full stock list.)

    If you’re having cooperation problems at your local Bottage boutique you can try your hand at a local department store. There is a small selection at Neiman Marcus online and Bergdorf Goodman.

    At the boutique there are no charge sends, no transferring of merchandise and no holds. If you don’t find what you want at the store, we always suggest a call to the Woodbury outlet.

    Mike 845-928-4563






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    The Best Memorial Day Sales

    Memorial Day may not offer the best discounts but some consider it the warm weather equivalent of Black Friday. Pre-sale has started at many Madison Avenue boutiques and department stores and most retailers will officially begin their markdown next week.

    A holiday weekend always translates to celebratory sales. Here are some of the best sales to shop over the long holiday weekend.

    Nordstrom
    The half-yearly sale at Nordstrom is not dead. As a matter of fact it’s fully alive and just kicked off today. From now until the end of the month you can save up to 40%. This Alexander Wang bag is about $700 from almost $1100 (35% off), an IRO white leather jacket is $890 from $1480 (40% off) and Sophia Webster t-strap sandals are $415 from $620 (33% off). Take note, that a lot of designer merchandise has not been added to the sale yet but we are sure it will be marked down soon.

    Bloomingdales
    All sale and clearance merchandise is an extra 20% off though Monday. Just use the code SPRING20 at checkout. We found a Maje leather jacket with fringe on the arms and back for $570 from $995 and a Moschino dress comes to $400 from $850. Chloe ballet flats are $380 from $645 and an adorable Kate Spade tote with a scalloped edge is $160 from almost $300.

    Diane von Furstenberg
    There may not have been a DVF sample sale (yet) but that doesn’t mean that you can’t pick up a few great wardrobe additions. Through the holiday weekend, you can save an extra 30% off sale items. Just use the code SUMMER30 at checkout. Some older pieces top out at 70% off. A gingham shirt dress comes to $200 from $400, a striped knit wrap dress come to $175 from $500 and this lace top is $120 from $270.

    J. Crew
    You can now save 25% on most anything with the code SUMMERLOVE. The best part of this sale is that many of the co-branded collections like Birkenstocks, Catbird gold jewelry and Point Sur jeans are included. Unfortunately, the Commes des Garcons is not eligible for the discount.

    Shopbop
    Head over to Shopbop’s 70% off section to browse 100s items that were just further reduced. A Viktor & Rolf sleeveless top is reduced to $440 from almost $1470, a Dion Lee top is $225 from $750 and a Yazbukey clutch is $240 from $800.

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    YSL Presale Starts Friday

    If you’re looking to grab something that’s Hedi Slimane sleek, you will want to head over to your nearest Saint Laurent boutique on Friday.  (If you’re leaving town for the holiday weekend, “a manager may be able to help you with you pre-sale on Thursday.”) The sale goes public on June 4.

    The spring and summer collection is all discounted 40% and shoes and handbags are 30% off. Although the discount may not be stellar, the selection is pretty great. Most of the sale bags– including Sac de Jours and High Schools– are in colors like Argento and Indigo. There is one black du Jour but it is studded with stars, which is $2450 from $3500. (You can see pictures of a variety of sale styles, over here.)

    In the shoe department most shoes are included in the discount. Holdovers, or classic, styles that return every season are the only styles that are not reduced.

    Take note, most of the department stores are offering the same discount. Barney’s discount is 40% on shoes and bags and is a better deal if they have the item you desire. Pre-sale just started there but it could be hard to find a cooperative sales person.

    Miguel (YSL Boutique) 516-493-1929









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    3.1 Phillip Lim Sale Draws Huge Crowds

    The Phillip Lim sample sale started today and we were lucky enough to scope out the merchandise before doors opened to the public. As a matter of fact, by mid-day the line to get into the sale spanned the entire Avenue to Prince Street.

    Those who waited in line were probably happy to find the huge, huge assortment of clothing for both men and women. Those looking for bags and shoes, may not have been as lucky. The selection was small and was going quickly.

    The bag selection was obviously the most popular department. The attractive pricing only made customers even more hungry for 31 Hours, Pashlis and clutches. Small bags are $200, mediums are $300 and larges are $450. Clutches are the most attractively priced at just $150 but in order for a bag to be considered a clutch it can’t have any strap or evidence of having a strap. Shoppers were a bit unnerved by the lack of consistency in the small-medium-large judging. A few photos of bags are over here but we wouldn’t bet that there is much left over after employees got their pre-shop (which came with a large extra discount.)

    The shoes was the next most popular section. Actually, we were surprised the footwear wasn’t going more quickly considering that everything was just $100. Take note, there was very little inventory of each style and just two racks of samples. We wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t many shoes left for shoppers tomorrow. See the shoe selection here.

    As for the clothing– there was a lot. The problem was that it’s still a bit pricey for sample sale regulars. All leather jackets are $550 and coats are $400. Cocktail dresses are priced at $400, sweaters are $300 and even tees are $75. Not exactly a huge discount off of retail. You can see lots of photos in the jump.

    We are told that merchandise will be restocked throughout the remaining days of the sale. We don’t think that includes bags and shoes. Insiders weren’t anticipating price cuts but wouldn’t count it out either. We will keep you posted.

    3.1 Phillip Lim Sample Sale
    Through Friday, May 22
    Wed 9am—8pm, Thurs—Fri 10am—7pm
    Hosted by 260 Sample Sale: 151 Wooster Street

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