bargain news

To be a successful vintage shopper in New York City, one must be patient, savvy and monetarily wise. It can be easy to spend a week’s paycheck in a single trip alone to a downtown vintage boutique, given their lustful and conveniently available selection of second-hand designer goods and edgy tattered clothing offered within their rustic motif. If your familiar with downtown, you are aware that you simply can’t walk a block in the East Village or Lower East Side without passing a vintage store. It’s their bread and butter, so much so that it would be too tedious for me to sit here and list each and every store individually, as it would take up the next three pages and then some!

If you are anything like me, you live for vintage goodies. The mere site of a perfectly worn in vintage tee shirt paired with a long antique necklace gives you goosebumps. The vintage look isn’t for everyone, some balk at wearing second-hand clothing and cringe and toting around a used purse. To each their own, I suppose, but at least that leaves more for us vintage-philes to sift through!

Downtown vintage stores are generally split right down the middle. There are vintage and antique boutiques that are museum like in their décor, making it nearly impossible to not want to splurge on their carefully handpicked vintage. Within these boutiques, such as the East Village’s Stock Vintage — which features a magazine worthy Americana motif — a Harley Davidson tee shirt can cost you up to $225 and a pair Laredo boots, around $300. And then there are the larger second-hand shops, which resembles a well arranged Salvation Army, that contain racks of used blouses, tees, button ups, jeans, etc., for superbly low prices. These stores, such as No Relation Vintage on 1^st Avenue between 12^th St and 13^th St, are more time consuming than boutiques. These shops require you to sort through racks and bins in order to discover the diamond in the rough. However, if you are a dedicated and patient vintage shopper, this is by far the way to go, and will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.

Funny enough, What Goes Around Comes Around, one of the city’s priciest vintage boutiques, situated in SoHo, is celebrating the final days of a long and successful run of their pop-up outlet on Lafayette at Astor Place today. Since last year, this outlet has featured bundles of merchandise, leftovers, samples, and unwanted vintage from their New Jersey warehouse for incredibly low prices, compared to their over-priced SoHo boutique anyway. Until tomorrow evening, when the pop-up closes for good, every item storewide is 70% off tag prices and already discounted items. The majority of goods will only cost you between $5-$30, apart from jackets and specialty items.

When I visited the What Goes Around Comes Around’s Ultimate Vintage Sale this morning, there was plenty of merchandise still available, although the gems of the store have already been cleared out. However, don’t let this deter you! Utilizing the required vintage-shopping-patience can lead to a successful outcome, just as it did for the two trendy women in front of me on line who dropped $250 each at the register and toted away three very large bags jammed full of clothing.

As you enter the Ultimate Vintage Sale, there is a large table that features a variety of Inhabit cashmere sweaters, which are among the only non-second-hand items the sale offers. These typically expensive luxurious sweaters, now only run for around $40 a piece. After checking these out, start your quest for vintage by starting with what’s left of What Goes Around’s famous collection of hand picked vintage concert shirts, where you’ll find an Elton John tour shirt for $60 (orig. $200) and an Asia concert tee for $45 (orig. $150). Don’t exit the section without taking a gander at the small selection of designer jackets, such as the vintage Yves Saint Laurent Blazer for just $105 (orig. $350).

The remaining sections are fit for perusing, with plenty of round racks featuring fun vintage tee shirts for around $5, plaid button downs for as low as $3 and no more than $38, for those that are embellished. Bohemian skirts, peasant blouses, and denim dresses are all available for $30 and below, as are sweaters and cardigans. The fur coats are definitely worth your time, such as the gorgeous White Mongolian Fur Coat ($225, orig. $750) and the simple black and white long wool coat for just $23.

After you exhaust the racks of sweaters, blouses, button up, and denim shorts for under $10, start fishing through the giant bins of random finds for between $3-$5. Patience is a virtue! There are still plenty of diamonds in this rough!

If you are an inexperienced vintage shopper, get your start today or tomorrow by taking a slow stroll through the What Goes Around Comes Around Ultimate Vintage Sale. After you’ve gained your sea legs, work your way through the streets of downtown and pop in and out of the best, and most vast, collection of second-hand shops and boutiques this city has to offer!

By Caitlin Colford

Today is Tuesday, and I personally have this theory that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days for scoring a great deal.

I will try to prove my theory, though I have experienced decreased satisfaction with sales in recent weeks. The decrease makes sense, considering how many flash sales sites have mushroomed in recent years, and how stores now hold their own flash sales. There is only that much inventory left for discounts, after all.

Let’s see what we have today:

Starting at 11AM:

TUMI Luggage, Outwear, & Travel Accessories on RueLaLa.com

Why?

My husband has an obsession with Tumi. He has a Tumi bag, money clip, belt and coat. I have a beautiful handbag, as well, but they don’t make the style anymore. I can vouch for Tumi’s quality and I personally like their style. If you like to travel in style, their luggage is worth every penny.

BedHead Pajamas on RueLaLa.com

Why?

OK, maybe this one comes as a surprise to you, but hear me out. We spend a third of our lives sleeping and, quite frankly, many of us don’t pay enough attention to how we look when we go to bed. Yes, we do when we start dating someone, but 10 years into the marriage… Hmm — I’m guilty as charged.

Starting at 12PM:

Noir: Cushnie et Ochs on Gilt.com

Why?

If you are not familiar with Cushnie et Ochs’ “empowered, bad-ass sex appeal” — as Fashionista.com called it while reviewing their 2013 fall collection — you should take a look at this sale.

Ongoing:

Oscar de la Renta for THE OUTNET

Why?

If you haven’t checked out the exclusive collection, you must before it’s completely sold out.

WHAT: Prada Online Sample Sale @ Ideeli

WHY: Prada Footwear at a discount

WHEN: 3/4 – 3/5

WHERE: Ideeli

*To sign up & access the sales, please click here.

www.ideeli.com/invite/mirelagluck

March has arrived and the forecast is looking greener! For both our upcoming sample sale and weather forecast that is! As we wait impatiently for the growth flowers and green grass, now that we are surrounded by mild weather and sunny skies, shamrocks and leprechauns will decorate our coming weeks and we’ll celebrate it all by shopping for bright and cheery spring wear! This week, kick off March with sales from DKNY, Ted Rossi, Frette, J Mendel and 2b Rych.

Sample Sale Alert: Yellow

Frette Fine Italian Linens Sample Sale

There’s something about a Sunday combined with the phrase “Fine Italian Linens” that achieves celestial bliss. Beginning this Sunday, the Frette Fine Italian Linens Sample Sale begins on 59^th Street at 11AM. Last year, the sample sale offered a plethora of bedding for a king sized bed, but not a vast selection for a queen and smaller. Further, a duvet cover will run you around $600, while sheets are priced individually for top and shitted, and marked for under $100.

DKNY Sample Sale

Monday marks the start of this season’s DKNY Sample Sale at 260 Fifth Avenue. This past August, the sale not only offered DKNY, but also Donna Karan, DKNY Jeans, and DKNY Pure as well. We’re hoping for the same multi-collection turn out this time around as well! As we reported in August, the shoes from DKNY and Dona Karan were a hit, as were the wallet friendly prices for t-shirts, sweaters, and denim.

2b Rych Sample Sale

You can certainly gear up for spring at the 2b Rych Sample Sale beginning Monday. Their comfortable maxi dresses should always be a staple in your closet for bouncing around town, in addition to their simple yet elegant cocktail dresses and flowing blouses that will be all on hand for $25 and under! Can’t go wrong with prices as cheap as that.

Ted Rossi Sample Sale

The ever-present snakeskin pattern tends to steadily float in and out of fashion year by year. This summer, snakeskin is back in action and how better to wear the trend daily than as wrist candy? The Ted Rossi Sample Sale will offer 60% jewelry and majorly discount his famous color block cuffs and python and metal bracelets, ready for stacking!

J. Mendel Sample Sale

The luxurious J. Mendel will be holding an exclusive sample sale this week, with two days of invite-only shopping, followed by a public opening on Thursday the 7^th.  Although this sale comes a week too late (we could have utilized the discounts when purchasing our Oscar gown!), it’s exciting nonetheless for fashionistas considering the bleak selection of sales as of late. This sale promises up to 90% off everything from J. Mendel’s furs, to his ready-to-wear, cocktail dresses, and gowns.

Happy Sample Sale Shopping everyone and get ready for a more active sale line up coming this spring!

We regret to inform you that this sale is private and by invitation only, and that we are not in the position to give you any further information.

By Caitlin Colford