Danielle Guercio

Perse's following should rejoice at the sound of this sample sale review

20 May 2014

The 260 Sample Sale space should always remain on your radar. From earlier this month’s Rebecca Minkoff and Jonathan Adler sales to this week’s James Perse sample sale, you can always count on 260 Fifth to come correct with the big name sales in a convenient almost midtown location.

Easily accessible by at least 3 train lines, if you timed it right, you could hit the space on a lunch hour with no issue. This week, LA based designer James Perse took over the space, and it was filled top-to-bottom with his socially conscious and high end basics.

Known for their dedication to social responsibility and quality, Perse’s cottons were giving us a very Miyake or Wantabe-fied basics vibe. The color palette of the sale, when approached as a whole, comes off hazy and blurred, with a large percentage of the cotton goods that feel worn in and ready to rock.

No crisp brights here, this is the stop for you if you are an understated beauty who doesn’t need to be loud.

This sale featured a huge amount of stock to be liquidated from at least 3 of Perse’s lines, from the high end ‘Standard’ line to the lower priced ‘Los Angeles’ line, you can find your next favorite tee, fashionable sweats, or our personal favorite, the jersey knit, tee-style midi and maxi dresses.

Tees and tanks came in white, black, soft heather grey, muted reds and blues, as well as the occasional (and probably first to go) tie-dye. We saw a huge variety of hybrid cargo-sweat pants, which are a very hot item this year, with many sizes and even a few runs left of olive green. Perse’s Yosemite line had shorts and sweatshirts for $30 and $50 and looked a bit more sporty than the other more laid back designs. Though the dresses were not crazy cheap at $60, these were the star item to us, with stunningly different takes on simple silhouettes. There were tanks, see thru crew sweaters, and a full on assault of lengths, sizes, and fabrics.

Guests of this sale clearly knew what they were buying, so to avoid long lines and a frenzy, this sale has a 10 item limit in the dressing rooms. We saw tiny undercover millionairesses (they always wear gym clothes to these sales) with huge armfuls of clothes for what we can only imagine everyone they know. A sure indicator of the apparent following of this designer.

Though not cheap, this sale lasts until Friday and is very exceptionally stocked for both men AND women. If you like to spend your dollars on socially sustainable and high fashion basics, this is the most promising sale for you. The normal James Perse retail price is most certainly in another tax bracket than the prices at this event, which makes it an essential stop if you know what you are buying here.