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    The IT-It: Can Prada Become Cool Again?

    It’s no secret that Prada has fallen off it’s perch as a ruling house of fashion. After several years of falling stock prices and loss of market share Prada seems to be taking a step in the right direction. The Italian luxury band has recently stepped up it’s social media game and is making doubling down on Internet sales.

    Most recently, Prada started selling clothing and bags on Net-A-Porter. Insiders say sales have been terrific. Part of what makes Prada great is that it never really goes out of style. You can wear a 13-year-old Prada pint blouse and skirt and it will look as stylish as the day you bought it.

    For better or worse, Prada isn’t all over social media. It becomes tiresome to see the same bag, shoes, coat or earrings on every major Instagram style star. (We are looking at you, Gucci.) Sometimes we are bored of a great new style before we can even get to the store to make the purchase.

    Our favorite thing about Prada— and it might be it’s wrecking ball– is that the brand isn’t just about an It-bag or an It-shoe. Prada is a lifestyle brand of functional and wearable quality products. Prada’s down ski coats are the warmest, the print Summer sundresses are the sunniest, the house’s classic prints are the boldest.

    For all these reasons we are hot for Prada. We always have been and we don’t expect the love affair to end any time soon. We highly suggest you take a look at this season’s collection if you haven’t done so lately. We are confident that Prada will be the next big luxury brand comeback. (Not that it ever really went away, in our minds.)

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    Pottery Barn Brands: Friends and Family Sale

    The best part of Spring cleaning is taking the opportunity to freshen up items around the house. The Pottery Barn suite of companies– West Elm, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen and Pottery Barn — is hosting a friends and family sale where you can save on most any item.

    You can use the code FRIENDS at checkout to engage the additional 25% off discount. The best part is that the sale include furniture and clearance items. There is also free shipping– we all know how much that can save, especially when you’re talking about furniture.

    It’s hard to say that any one of these stores offer the answer to easy decorating but I have some favorites. For instance, the lighting from West Elm is aways a ‘bright spot.’ Over here is a very sophisticated desk lamp that’s just $75 and here is another one that would look great on a bed stand. A small pendant light always looks great in a long hallway.

    The bedding from Pottery Barn Kids and Teen make a room look great and the quality is excellent. This rose gold Flamingo is destined to be the Instagram accessory of the summer. The beach bags and towels make a great gift for birthdays or hostess gifts. I especially love the duffle with a palm print.

    When children are in the picture, every decorator I’ve worked with always suggests Pottery Barn sofas. The Townsend is a safe choice as it walks the line of staying traditional but also feels modern. Pottery Barn also has a decent housewares department. You can never go wrong with white dishes or some fresh linen napkins.

    This friends and family promotion runs through Sunday. Pottery Barn may not be the sexiest brand when it comes to decorating but their customer service is always great.

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    Sample Sale Alert: Marc Jacobs & Oscar de la Renta

    We were attempting to keep one running sample sale list but we couldn’t resist calling out two very exciting sample sales that are scheduled for later this month. Both Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta will be hosting shopping events that will offer great fashions, large discounts and big crowds.

    The Marc Jacobs sale will start first on Greene Street in Soho. Discounts will range up to 90% off retail and include a variety of merchandise, including men’s and women’s clothing and accessories from both the Marc Jacobs collection and the Marc by Marc Jacobs line. There will also be items for children from the Little Marc line.

    Last season the sale also included items from the designer’s beauty line and was quite the hit. That’s not a surprise considering blushes were $9 and foundations were $17. Among the Marc Jacobs clothing, all coats were $250, dresses were $100, blouses were $50 and tees were $20. Dresses from the Marc by Marc Jacobs line were $60 and tees were $10.

    Just a few blocks away the Oscar sale is scheduled to start a few days later. We suspect that there may be a few items from the house’s new designers — Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. We are told that there will be a variety of stock and sample clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry, childrenswear, bridal and home collection. This season there will also be merchandise for men.

    At last year’s sale the bridal gowns from size 2 to 10 were the biggest hit with shoppers and ranged in price from $1300 to $4000. Gowns were either $800 or $1500 depending on the intricacy. Most of the ready-to-wear was about 70% off retail. Handbags were about $600 and shoes started at just $60.

    These two sales are sure to draw big crowds. Stay posted for updates and full reports on both sales.

    Marc Jacobs Sample Sale
    Tuesday, April 18 through Sunday, April 23
    Tues 11am-8pm, Wed to Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-4pm
    150 Greene Street

    Oscar de la Renta
    Tuesday, April 25 through Sunday, April 30th
    Tues 10am-7pm, Wed-Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 11am-4pm
    151 Wooster Street

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    ShopBop ‘Event of the Season’ Sale

    We have been patiently waiting for the ShopBop friends and family sale that usually starts the first week of April. Instead, Shopbop is mixing things up a bit.

    Starting today you can use this presale link to save 20% on purchases under $500 and 25% off if you spend more. You can use the code EVENT17 at checkout to engage the discount. The promotion officially opens to the public tomorrow.

    Some items we have been eyeing include this ‘millennial pink’ ruffle top (yes, it’s a color). We are also heavy into these Pedro Garcia slides and embellished sandals from Elina Linardaki. These two-tone jeans from Citizens are one of the hottest styles of the season.

    The best part of this sale is that you can apply the discount to previously reduced merchandise. The blazer is becoming one of the hottest wardrobe pieces and this style form Helmut Lang has a gorgeous cut. This embroidered top from One by Lanzuli is already reduced 70% and could check out for close to $100 from $473 and this blue and white peplum top will ring in at $40 from $155.

    The sale ends Friday at midnight (PT) but continues through the weekend on East Dane (the men’s site). This is the best deal you can expect for some time. If you ask us, it seems like a good opportunity to celebrate Spring.

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    Victoria Beckham x Target Launched Today

    It was this time last year that Marimekko launched at Target. Shoppers were not particularly enthusiastic and much of the kitchy merchandise languished at stores through much of the Summer. This year, Target teamed up with the Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham for what seems to have been a successful collaboration.

    The capsule collection launched today and even far out of the city Target stores were sold out of certain items and running low on others. The most popular pieces of the collection were items with a calla lily motif. This button down top is sold out within 100 miles of New York and online, same goes for the matching pants but the dress was still available stores. The black and white scalloped skirt was also a big hit and good luck finding one of these bomber jackets.

    Were were surprised that this solid scalloped skirt, which comes in orange or black, was plentiful at our local beach-side Target store and also still available online. The lace collection, which includes dresses, shorts, and jackets were also plentiful. (It seems that everyone agrees that the color palate was off.) The collared dresses are also in full stock. It’s never a good sign when a dress can have you easily confused with a nun or party waitstaff.

    As always, the best items were the little girl’s and baby’s collections. Much of the baby items are completely sold out online and in stores. We loved the floral two-piece set but only found two left when shopping. This body suit is sold out online but we spotted several while shopping. The cotton quality is very nice but $13 is no steal.

    The girls selection was the best but the sizing difference from medium to large was very vast. The mediums were okay to wear right now but won’t fit through the Summer. The larges are so big that they wouldn’t fit for two years. For $28 a dress we bounced for a few key styles like this lovely white shift dress and a pink drip waist dress with flower pockets.

    That is good news is that the return policy is just 14-days for these types of limited edition collaborations. So you’re likely to see a lot of Beckham come back to stores. We suggest talking local Target customer service department in about a week.

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    Coming Soon: David Yurman Sample Sale

    The sample sale that you have been waiting for is for is finally here. David Yurman will be hosting his semi-annual sample sale starting April 27.

    This sale event usually takes place in March and many fans of the brand were afraid that the sale would not happen this season. Better late than never, right? Discounts normally range from 30% to 60% off retail and 10% of all proceeds on the first day of the sale will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

    At David Yurman‘s last sale, attendees reported a line of over 150 shoppers waiting to get in. Many people waited more than an hour before gaining entrance. Inside shoppers said to have found cable bracelets reduced 30% off and other styles were discounted 50%. Rings and necklaces were 50% off and watches and pendants were reduced by 60%.

    Prices at this sale aren’t precisely a steal. This is a good option for discount shoppers considering how David Yurman jewelry retains it’s value and how it’s become increasingly difficult to find the designer’s jewelry at outlets or discount stores.

    There are additional markdowns taken throughout the sale. If you don’t mind a wait, we suggest attending the sale early to get the best selection. Alternatively, we found some discount Yurman you can start shopping now.

    David Yurman Sample Sale
    Thursday, April 27 through Sunday, April 30
    Thurs 3pm-8pm, Fri & Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-5pm
    The Altman Building, 135 West 18th Street

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    Intermix Private Sale 15% to 25% Off

    We aren’t usually big Intermix shoppers but this season’s selection seems especially attractive. We love all the ruffles, the color schemes and broad price ranges. The under-the-radar sale even makes Intermix shopping even more desirable.

    Through April 17 you can save between 15% and 25% depending on how much you buy. The breakdown is below:

    $400 to $999, save 15%
    $1000 to $2500, save 20%
    $2500+, save 25%

    The one problem with this sale is the extensive exclusions. It’s not just top designers like Fendi and Valentin,o but Monrow and Self-Portite are also excluded. Among the items that are included in the sale are this Sea eyelet ruffled blouse, a Caroline Constas off-the-shoulder gingham top and Pam & Gela sport pants with stripes.

    If you’re looking for even better savings, head to the sale section. We found these Helmut Lang leather pants reduced to $279 from nearly $1000, lace-up sweatpants are $90 from $200 and a Tabula Rasa stripped dress is $160 from $500.

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    Inside the Loro Piana Sample Sale

    The Loro Piana sale started at Soiffer Haskin on Sunday. This sale is notoriously on the pricey side, so we held off attending until additional discounts were announced. Today the prices dropped and now the current discounts range from 50% to 70% off retail.

    Loro Piana’s luxurious cashmere tops, sweaters and scarves are placed on isles of huge tables. From the softest knitwears to light–as–a–feather scarves, there were tons of Piana’s classic items in a plethora of gorgeous hues. The discount on sweaters is now 60% off and scarves have been reduced 50%. Many of the silk and cashmere scarves retailed at about $1100 and are now $550. Most sweaters range from about $600 to about $800 and now ring in at about $240 to $320. (Click over this way to see pictures.)

    The inventory is really wonderful at this sale and it’s not often that you can find such a selections with discounts this low. If you can’t make it to the sale we found some similar items reduced at Neiman Marcus. For example this cashmere sweater is discounted 70% off online and on another site we spotted this print scarf that’s priced similarly here.

    Women’s clothing hanging on racks are discounted 50%. Among the ‘racked’ clothing you’ll find various slacks, shirts and skirts. Coats and outerwear, many with fur accents, are discounted 50%. Considering that we are going into Spring, it’s a bit hard to fork over these larger sums of money. For example, a double faced cashmere jacket is still over $3000 after the discount.

    The most discounted items are 70% off and include bags, shoes and fabric bolts. Booties are about $400 from $1350 and men’s ‘roadsters‘ are $270 from $950. Suede cross-body bags are $330 from $1150 and a medium size reversible bag is about $1000 from over $3000.

    The sale was extremely quite. There were more employees on the floor than shoppers. We aren’t sure if there will be more discounts before the sale wraps up on Thursday. Cashmere lovers who don’t mind making a fashion investment will be provided with enough options to warm your heart through next Winter.

    Loro Piana Sample Sale
    Through Thursday, April 6
    Wed 9am-6:30pm, Thurs 9am-5pm
    Soiffer Haskin, 317 West 33rd St
    Click here for pictures from the sale

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