When everything in store is full priced it’s refreshing to find anything seasonal that’s on sale. That’s why we were so excited to find out that European online luxury store, Forzieri is hosting a Fall sale where many items are reduced up to 70% off. The sale includes an assortment of shoes, accessories and home decor items for men and women.
Forzieri always seems to have some good coupon codes floating around. It never hurts to do a search or add an item to your cart and let it sit for a while. Usually some sort of discount or promotion will pop-up after awhile.
When we speak about fashion trends, it’s usually focused on skirt lengths and particular hues. This fashion season, however, the most talked about trend has been how designers are opting to use their time during fashion week.
Designers ranging from Tommy Hilfiger to Tom Ford have opted to use the fashion week media spotlight to showcase fashions that can be purchased by consumers immediately. This strategy diverts from the traditional system where designers show their next collection to buyers and journalists but shoppers need wait six to eight months for the opportunity to buy the items they love.
So, how successful is the see-now, buy-now system? Frankly, it’s hard to tell. It’s difficult for a company outsider to know how much of a single item was produced or the in-store effect on sales. Despite our unscientific method, we decided to take a closer look at how retail fared when it was shared immediately off the runway.
Alice & Olivia
Stacy Bendet has a mastery of eye-popping and kitchy designs that jump off the runway. Her collections are the perfect fodder for those who impulsively need-it-now. This was the designers second show that was made available right off the runway. Neiman Marcus was the exclusive retailer and the entire collection appears to still be available through pre-order. Presentation highlights include this moto jacket that’s embroidered with “Always Right” and a “Loving You” embroidered boyfriend shirt.
Tommy X Gigi
Gigi Hadid took over the Tommy Hilfiger runway to a great amount of media fanfare. The collection highlighted chunky sweaters and bell bottom jeans. Heading over to the Hilfiger website it appears as if many of the trendiest fashions, like this wool bomber jacket and this Hadid/Hilfiger hoodie— have sold out. There is still a lot to choose from but shoppers are warned that many items are running low in stock.
Rebecca Minkoff
Part of Rebecca Minkoff’s see now, buy now strategy was to employ a bevy of blogger celebrities to walk her need-it-now collection down the runway. Big name blogger/models included Chriselle Lim, Arielle Nachmani, Gala Gonzales, Caroline Vreeland and Shea Marie. It appears as if most of the collection is available in full size runs except for this shearling moto and this leather jacket are both sold out in medium and large.
Banana Republic
The chain store, Banana Republic may not have a creative director but it does Olivia Palermo as a brand ambassador. The socialite curated a collection that became available online immediately following the presentation. A classic white shirt dress is sold out in several sizes as are these tie slacks but most of the biggest winners have been completely removed from the site after selling out.
We hope you’ve been stashing cash because the David Yurman sample sale is set to start Thursday, October 6. 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.
During the last sale we were pleased with the small amount of classic Yurman. Most jewelry was discounted 40% and sunglasses were priced at 60% off retail. Prices started at $150 for silver and leather bracelets. Most of the iconic cable pieces were discounted just 30% off. The watch selection was quite limited, but all timepieces were 50% off retail.
There aren’t additional markdowns taken throughout the sale, so were suggest going early to get the best selection. The David Yurman outlet closed but we’ve been able to find a steady stream of discount Yurman from sites like The Real Real.
David Yurman Sample Sale
Thursday, October 6 through Sunday, October 9
Thurs 3pm to 8pm, Fri & Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am—5pm
135 W. 18th St (The Altman Building b/w 6th & 7th Ave)
Pre-sale for the upcoming Bloomingdales friends and family promotion has started. The sale officially begins later this week but those in-the-know can start pre-saling their purchases in stores now. The discount is 25% off fashion and home and 20% off jewelry. Online shoppers can use the code FRIENDS.
In the past, the exclusions haven’t been too extensive. Designer collections, beauty and fragrance are never included in the promotion. To make up for the lack of beauty discounts, many brands offer a generous gift with purchase incentive.
If you’re interested in buying designer merchandise, including Chanel, we suggest you take advantage of Bloomingdale’s Power Points. For the term of friends and family you can earn $25 Power Points for every $100 you spend. That means that if you purchase $2000 Prada boots and you will receive a $500 gift card that can be applied– in 60-days– to anything in the store. To get your Power Points you must be a loyalist but that really means signing up for a rewards card.
We admit that Bloomingdales can sometimes be a nightmare to shop –too much merchandise, too many promotion exclusions, conflicting incentives. Friends have had lots of luck taking advantage of in-store pickup. Online product pages have a “In-Store Pickup” button and you can have all your purchases pulled and awaiting for you at the customer service department on the 3rd floor. Once you get there, you can try everything on and only take the items you like.
The friends and family promotion runs through Sunday, October 2 and the discount can also be applied to sale items. There are few better things than a sale on a sale.
The promotion runs online and inspires through Monday, September 26th. The best part of this promotion is that the discount can also be applied to sale merchandise. Highlights from this season’s include this color block fitted dress, this mix print wrap dress and this fabulous velvet wrap jumpsuit.
If you’re the type that values sample sale prices over the newest styles, we suggest you use the discount opportunity on sale merchandise. If you’re going to have to do a bit of scrolling if you’re looking for merchandise that has already been marked down.
The sale section is virtually empty but there are lots of reduced items like these leather culottes come to about $400 from nearly $1000 and white wide-leg pants are about $130 from almost $370. Even this pretty pink wrap dress is discounted to $185 from almost $500. (That’s better than a sample sale!)
Ballet flats have been in style for more than a decade. We’ve seen them in numerous iterations– with studs, bejeweled, tweed, cap-toe, bows, and emblems. The list goes on and on and they are all boring, boring, boring.
This season, the fashion crowd is turning the ballet flat on its toe by offering a variation that includes lace-ups and ankle straps. Some of the most popular styles of the season come from Valentino, which offers a version with chains and leather straps. Miu Miu’s on-point with with an embellished Mary Jane strap and velvet ankle ribbons. Isabel Marant has gone more edgy with a pointy toe and studded ankle straps. Gianvito Rossi takes much more minimalistic approach by rounding out the toe, widening the vamp and using a delicate suede ankle strap. Marni’s offering also includes a thin ribbon but their vamp is a lot thicker and seems less sexy than the Rossi option.
We even found a version by Chloe that’s especially designed for babies!
If you’re looking for a cheap thrill, Asos offers a pretty gold flat with a black ribbon that’s on sale for just $85, a leopard style is $35 and nude is $36. Steve Madden’s iteration comes in an assortment of colors and is available for just $70.
Just remember, these tie-up ballerinas can only be used as transitional shoe or until the weather starts requiring more sturdy footwear. If you’re going to buy into this trend we suggest you quickly jete´.
Neiman Marcus started their double gift card event just at the right time if they wanted to beat Saks to the punch. Starting today, shoppers can weigh their options at Saks Fifth Avenue where loyal customers can be awarded with gift cards totaling up to $700.
Online shoppers can use the code SEPT2016 and receive their gift card in the mail. As with most promotions, there are some restrictions but there aren’t as many as usual. Louboutin, Valentino, Chanel, Prada, Gucci and Jimmy Choo are just a few of the exemptions but you can go crazy shopping for Dolce & Gabbana, Manolo Blahnik, Chloe and McQueen.
The promotion runs in stores through September 21st but starts in stores on Thursday, September 22 and Friday, September 23. (Take note, the sale does not run through the weekend.) Below are the gift card thresholds and some of our favorite items that are included in the promotion.
Neiman Marcus just started their latest electronic gift card promotion. The shopping incentive started online today and runs through next Thursday, September 22. Online shoppers can receive a gift card when making purchases on regularly priced merchandise.
The best part of the promotion is that you can earn double gift cards, up to $600, with the purchase of clothing, shoes or handbags. That’s double the gift card, double the fun. Did we fail to mention that beauty and fragrance products are also included?
