Today marked a very sad day. We believe that today’s Manolo Blahnik sample sale will be the last. This sale has been a bi-annual highlight of the shopping season for as long as we can remember.
Despite its popularity, the Manolo Blahnik staff always treated customers with a warm and cozy place to wait and true sample sale prices. As the Manolo Blahnik brand readies to change US operations, we celebrated in the best way possible– sample sale shopping!
Early birds first arrived at the Warwick Hotel starting before dawn. Ticket numbers were handed out at 6:30am. For the first time, shoppers were given priority numbers to those who arrived the earliest. The sale officially opened at 8:30am to VIP shoppers, who reportedly bomb dived and quickly accumulated any embellished style shoe. By 10:30am all the Lurum-Hangisi-Nadira selection were captured and stashed aways in large plastic bags and under tables.
Prices started at an unbelievable $100, which means no tax. The earliest shoppers were treated to oodles of $300 Lurums, $250 Hangisi and $250 Nadira style shoes. All BBs and basic style shoes were only $100 and there were a plethora of options. You can see the full price list in the jump. For the first time, the sale had a number of small novelty items, including towels ($30), candles ($10), and stationary.
The best selection of shoes, as always, was size 37. Even at noon, boxes of size 37s were neatly stacked on standby for restocking. On all size ables there was an assortment of BB heels in almost every color and heel height. We also spotted lots of sandals and boots. We have some great haul pictures in the jump and some ‘no line-online’ shopping options above too.
With all the crowds, checking out was the most tedious component of the sale. Most shoppers waited 30 to 60 minutes to pay for their shoes. All the crowds died down by mid-afternoon and the sale was extended until 6:30pm. We have a feeling that TheRealReal will be flooded with Manolos in the next week. Keep your eyes peeled.
We usually prefer the end-of-season sale at the Manolo boutique but the rock-bottom ticket price of $100, makes the sample sale impossible to dispute. We are told that the 54th Street boutique will close at the end of the year. We anticipate that there will be one more boutique sale before the current ownership kicks out their heels.
As we morn another loss of a great New York institution, the Madison Avenue Spy team would like to thank everyone at Manolo for all the wonderful memories and amazing shoes. Decades from now we will still discuss the amazing experience of shopping at a Manolo Blahnik sample sale. Cheers!
