Manolo Blahnik Sample Sale Review 5/12

Manolo Blahnik is a designer label synonymous with high fashion and unparalleled exclusivity, so it was no surprise to find that their biannual sample sale attracted a whole lot of attention from excited bargain hunters. With heels starting at just $100 dollars and boots from $150, this was about as exclusive as it gets.

Taking place at Manhattan’s Warwick Hotel for one day only, we couldn’t resist the allure of this particular sample sale. Arriving an hour before the sale room was opened to the public, we still had a three hour wait ahead of us before getting in, that’s how crazy it was!

Luckily the hotel venue was upscale and pleasant, certainly more comfortable than our last sale at Comme de Garcons, though probably not as trendy – there wasn’t a hipster in sight! However there were a lot of well dressed ladies eager for heels. The crowd was huge; there were literally hundreds of women waiting in a large chandelier-lit function room, color-coded tickets at the ready. With all of the chairs filled, people had happily resorted to sitting themselves down on the floor. It sure beat standing in a mile-long line. Unfortunately, what we thought was complimentary coffee turned out to be ice water; still, better than nothing right?

The 11am opening time came and went, and the room was still full. Only a small number of us were allowed in at a time. To make matters worse, we had a numbered ticket, and they started with the letter A, so they had to run through the entire alphabet before they would even start calling numbers! The final blow came when we found out Vogue’s André Leon Talley was not going to be able to make it – he was the star attraction!

After hours of patient waiting, a lot of ice water, and a couple of trips to Starbucks, we finally heard our ticket being called. Inside the sale area, the first thing we noticed was the price list. There were some tempting options listed, such as suede, leather and satin shoes for under $100. Amazingly, the most expensive of the shoes were only $250, which was what the ostrich shoes and alligator sandals were priced at. In terms of boots, they ranged from $150 to a maximum of $500. You could get sandal booties for just $175, or a pair of over-the-knee boots for $400.

But to be quite honest, as much as we liked the price list, the selection was severely depleted by the time we got in there. Bear in mind, this sale was set to end at 3pm, and it was already after 1 by the time we got the chance to take a look at the wares! In fact most sizes had completely sold out, with only some of the bigger sizes (38+) being in any way plentiful. If we were to point out any particular trends on show, gold shoes and sandals and sequinned boots seemed to be a popular choice.

So that was the Manolo Blahnik sample sale! We only wish we had gotten in there earlier, because there were certainly some bargains to be had. But unfortunately, as with most sample sales, it was first come first served, and with this being such an exclusive brand and such a short sale, the demand was much higher than usual. The best advice we can offer our readers from this experience – as if you didn’t know by now – always get in there as early as you can!

WHEN: 5/12, Th (9-3), doors open to public at 11AM

WHERE: Warwick Hotel
65 W. 54th St., 2nd Floor
(near 6th Ave.)

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Posted by Bindra at 02:46 PM
bargain news , Sample Sale Reviews |