The Upper East Side was almost completely wiped out just hours after the launch of DVF for Gap Kids, on Thursday. We were able to snag a few key items by hitting the official Gap pop-up store in mid-town. Even there, the inventory was running low and sales people estimated the merchandise would not last past  Friday afternoon.

Even if you procrastinated, you still may be in luck. First we suggest checking online. There are still lots of girls wrap dresses and rompers, toddler dresses and tees and baby bodysuits.

If you’re looking for more popular items, like the blazer with DVF patches, we suggest looking outside the boundaries of Manhattan. At Short Hills Mall, in NJ, there was a consolidation of area merchandise that included the aforementioned blazer in a variety of sizes and the highly popular DVF printed baby bodysuit.

Alternatively, there’s always the option of stalking the store for returns. The East 85th Street Gap, only received two items in each size for the launch. By Thursday afternoon, the store was practically void of all merchandise. Returns started to trickle in this weekend and there will be many more once customers receive their Internet orders. After all, kids can be more picky than their parent’s when it comes to shopping.

All this warm weather has us fishing for spring-like clothing. While searching our closets for weather-appropriate wears, we couldn’t help ourselves from noticing how much of our belongings go unused.

It’s been several years since we’ve rocked that red Chanel bag and that Hermes duffel hasn’t seen the light of day for almost a decade. Prada shoes from 2006 have been worn exactly twice and we never should have purchased that Oscar de la Renta cocktail dress in size tiny.

Seems like the ideal time to arouse that organizing hormone and cash in unused fashion into Summer 2012’s best purchase. Our first call is always The RealReal. The online luxury designer consignment store offers more than any other outlet we can find. The RealReal consignors earn 60% of the sale price. Then when you reach sales of $1,500 per year, your rate increases to 70% for the remainder of that calendar year. Try topping that!

For the next 30 days, Madison Avenue Spy readers will get a $50 site credit when they consign 10 or more items and mention Madison50. If you need some guidance, don’t worry. The RealReal offers white glove service and will personally pick up items from the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.

So round up your Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, Prada and Gucci. It’s time to sell sell sell.


The RealReal
855-435-5893 (9am-5pm PT)
email us: stylist@TheRealReal.com

By ManhattanMataHari

With the warm weather rapidly approaching, replacing our favorite worn out wedge sandals from last spring is a top shopping priority. We stopped by the DSW in Union Square to see what designer items were in stock, at a discount of course. Head straight to the back clearance racks where with a bit of patience you can find spring and summer footwear discounted 30% to 40%, while boots and pumps are discounted up to 70%.

Fans of Sergio Rossi, Stuart Weitzman, Ralph Lauren purple label, Badgley Mischka and Giuseppe Zanotti will fare best. However, our favorite finds for the day were a couple lovely pairs of patent Jimmy Choo sandals, both now $420.

Exotic skin Sergio Rossi pumps and Giuseppe Zanotti nude patent slingbacks are both marked down to $280 with a 30% cut. The best deals were on Stuart Weitzman and Ralph Lauren purple label shoes, both marked down 70% off. A pair of Weitzman orange snakeskin espadrille wedges are now a mere $39 while purple label suede loafer pumps are now $180 from $600.

We forecast that a bother markdown is still a few weeks away. Even though the best clearance merchandise can be found in stores, online shoppers won’t regret clicking around in the DSW luxury section. In the clearance section we found $99 Gucci flip-flops and $99 gold Gucci slides.