New York

Stella McCartney made headlines this week when she stepped up on stage at the Victoria and Albert Museum to condemn her industry as being “incredibly wasteful and harmful to the environment.” She went on to demand significant changes in the way we produce and use clothes. Amen. It’s about time.

The designer joined forces with Dame Ellen MacArthur, a record-breaking sailor and environmentalist who became concerned with the rapidly depreciating state of the environment while sailing around the world. Upon returning home, she immediately set up the MacArthur Foundation in an effort to address this alarming issue.

The report published on Tuesday by the MacArthur Foundation revealed that this industry us shopping addicts love and support creates greenhouse emissions of 1.2bn tons per year, more than international flights and shipping combined. Ugh.

The solution offered by the foundation and endorsed by Stella McCartney has a four-point plan:

1. phasing out substances of concern to the environment
2. radically improving recycling
3. using renewable resources with fewer damaging processes
4. increasing the utilization of garments

While most of us are not industry insiders and can do little to change the way clothes are designed and produced, we can all become more conscious consumers by delivering on that final point: increasing the utilization of garments. I was personally shocked to read in the report that on average people wear an item only three times after purchase. Wait… what?! How is this even possible? Blame my frugal upbringing in a communist country, but I find this completely unacceptable and wildly upsetting. This is beyond wasteful for our environment and for our own wallets—it’s not in our world’s best interest or even our own selfish best interest!

As your Shopping Spirit Guide, I feel it is my duty to not only guide you through the myriad NYC sample sales, but also to help you become that shopping extraordinaire that makes only sensible purchases. Here is The Stylish City’s six-point plan to help you achieve that state of closet nirvana:

1. Know your closet. I hate to admit it, but even I get surprised sometimes by the things that emerge (or perhaps, never emerge) from my closet. My resolutions for next year include a rigorous inventory of my closets. Yes, I have more than one. Don’t hate me—I am still learning to be a conscious consumer, too.
2. Buy only good quality stuff. A good friend told me recently, “I am too poor to buy crap.” No matter your definition of “poor,” aren’t we all too poor to buy crap? Because what he’s really saying is: “I’m too poor to be wasteful.” And considering our current predicament, there’s honestly nothing anyone could ever do to afford to be wasteful.
3. A bargain is a bargain only if you use it. I actually mentally perform ROIs on my purchases and I have concluded that despite being a bargain connoisseur, sometimes buying full priced items is cheaper in the long run… if the life of those items is longer and more productive than an item that was a “bargain.”
4. Wait. And then wait more. I know sometimes it’s hard, but don’t make impulse purchases. Impulse buys are born from the part of your brain that screams, “Oooh! SHINY!” Not the part rooted in wisdom, logic, and intuition.
5. There is no such thing as “retail therapy.” That’s just an intelligent marketing ploy  they want you to invest in. Spending money on pretty things will never fix your unrelated problems. Chances are that next morning you’ll feel worst.
6. Buy things that complement items you already have. If you buy one item that is “completely adorable” but doesn’t work with anything you have, you’ll end up spending a lot more to create a new look.

Now… where to test this new strategy? Next week’s sample sales, of course. There are so many of them, we stopped counting at 50. These extra temptations plus the holiday frenzy makes us feel entitled to spend money—kind of like when we go on vacation and feel like we’re spending Monopoly money… so be wary of that in honor of our six-point plan!  

From $200 Italian coats at Cinzia Rocca Warehouse Sale to sterling silver jewelry with semi-precious gemstones and natural fiber textiles at below wholesale price (best place to buy a gift) at Paz Collective Holiday Sample Sale, or everything clothing or footwear at Tory Burch Sample Sale to socialite-worthy handbags at Nancy Gonzales Sample Sale, you can literally buy everything this week at one of these sample sales. But remember: with this much power comes great responsibility. Are you ready to venture into the belly of the beast (retail insanity) as a serious sensible shopper with love for your wallet and the environment?

We hope so.

We believe in you.

Happy shopping!

I’ve used Rent the Runway in the past. I am sure you have too. After all, why would anyone want to buy an haute couture dress that would most likely be worn once? It makes sense to just “borrow” it. You rent it, twirl around in it one night, send it back. No strings—or typical price tags—attached.

Now Rent the Runway wants you to give up on your closet, and replace it with their “Rotating Dream Closet.” “I want to put H&M and Zara out of business,” said Jennifer Hyman, CEO and co-founder of this disruptive company. Its new program allows members to rent four pieces each month for only $89. This is no surprise since the company is marching toward an IPO. It’s on a mission to attract millennials, grow into an empire, and own as much media buzz as possible.

How am I reacting to this news? Well, ever since I read Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I have been flirting with the idea of decluttering my apartment and keeping only items that—in her words— “spark joy.” Despite my many attempts to downsize, my small Manhattan apartment continues to have a rather cozy, non-minimalist feeling to it. So… when I read this news about Rent The Runway, the Marie-Kondo-part of me considered their offer for a split second. But then I quickly dismissed it. The name “Rent The Runway” makes sense when you’re literally renting the runway. When you’re borrowing evening dresses you’ll wear only once, this brand is the way to go! But… the concept doesn’t really hold up when it comes to a Nike hoodie. The thought of sweating in somebody else’s tank and leggings makes me a little queasy. Even wearing somebody else’s jeans feels… wrong. But maybe that’s just me! There’s no doubt that I love the thrill of finding a designer item on sale and then making it mine. Without shopping, I’d miss that.

What about my aspirations as a minimalist? I guess I can start with the kitchen. Because there’s no way I’m giving up next week’s sample sales:

Women’s Clothing: Escada Sample Sale
Women’s Shoes: Nicholas Kirkwood Sample Sale
Cocktail and Evening Wear: Romona Keveza Collection Sample Sale
Handbags and Jewelry: Bulgari Sample Sale

For many more sample sales, here is the complete list.

I believe there is a nice, happy medium between “The Rotating Dream Closet” and your pre-Marie Kondo overstuffed one. You find it by shopping responsibly. Know your wardrobe—what you have and what you need. Set a budget before you go shopping and make sure what you purchase is a good deal. But most importantly, do some preemptive Marie Kondo work by buying only items that truly spark joy.

Happy shopping.

Reading trade magazines is like following a never-ending rom-com… that never resolves. The retail industry is obsessed with generation Z and millennials, but those kids won’t give them the time of day. And it’s not like millennials are spitefully trying to play hard-to-get… they’re just genuinely not interested. I’m not saying disinterest in general is typical of millennials. I have two in my family and they abound with passion and talent in a variety of realms. But… I don’t think I would take them shopping with me any time soon. They are not really interested in shopping or fashion; they spend most of their money on travel and way too much on Uber. While I understand that they are an emerging consumer group and that they hold a buying power that is worth over $2 trillion globally, I still don’t understand why they’re the only consumer group everybody is wooing.

The funny thing is that as time goes on, retail becomes more and more desperate to be liked by millennials. They invest millions of dollars in research to come up with breakthrough discoveries like:

“Younger consumers feel better about their finances compared to last year and are planning to up their holiday shopping spend. At the same time, they have lower incomes than older consumers, so it is more important for them to score a deal,” according to this article in WWD.

And by “breakthrough,” I mean “definitely not breakthrough.” While the article has some good advice like stressing “the importance of seamless shopping on a mobile device,” most of it just common sense, and by no means specific to millennials. The retail industry is simply looking to the future, and like any hot protagonist, it won’t give up trying to decipher the mysteries of this elusive group of young shoppers who like Etsy and secondhand apparel. And in the heat of their unrequited love, I feel they are ignoring people who actually do love fashion and shopping. Cough—like us—cough.

Fear not, dear shopping extraordinaire; TSC will never ignore you! In fact, we’re more tuned into you than ever before. With the changing season, we know there are some certain priorities on your shopping list and we want to help check those bad boys off.

Winter jacket? Check! No really—check the SAM sample sale. I lived in my SAM last winter.

Shoes? Look to fashion role model, the Duchess of Cambridge, and follow her lead. We all know how much she loves her L.K. Bennett nude pumps. For all Cinderellas reading, here is your sample sale.

Shopping by brand instead? This sample sale features Pierre Balmain, Frankie Morello, Tod’s, Boutique Moschino, Hache, Ter et Bantine, and Miu Miu.

Shopping just for the joy of shopping? There’s the obsessive fashionista the younger generations are missing. Peruse ALL the sample sales you like!

In our rom-com—between TSC and YOU—that’s happily ever after! The end. 😉

From the light traffic at Manhattan sample sales to the reduced interest in flash sales, it’s been  a lackluster year for this niche of retail. True, this news might not come as a surprise to the non-fashionista considering the other events of this year: a whopping nine retail bankruptcies were filed and scores of stores closed their doors forever. But… we are fashionistas, so to our trained eyes: we’re still surprised this retail niche was affected. Why? Because history has evidenced time and time again that retail misfortunes often translate into good news for sample sales. But this time around, sample sales seem to be losing their appeal. As we’ve been around the sample sale block more times (and for more years) than we care to admit, we know enough to have developed our own theory. (OK, we kind of borrowed it from the finance industry, but hey… )

We believe the sample sale market has become an efficient market. If you are a finance person you are not going to need an explanation for that term. If you are everyone else, then here’s a definition, courtesy of Investopedia:

“The efficient market hypothesis is an investment theory that states it is impossible to ‘beat the market’ because stock market efficiency causes existing share prices to always incorporate and reflect all relevant information.”

In our case, flash sales websites provide the consumer with so much information that it is nearly impossible for any sample sale organizer to surprise shoppers and get them excited. Most sample sale shoppers are knowledgeable and pragmatic. They know the brands. They know if prices are a true bargain. Brands have access to the same information as the consumers—if not more—so they align their prices with other discount outlets.

So… if we may be so bold… here is some advice you didn’t ask for, sample sale organizers: sample sales are not just a chance for you to rid of excess inventory at the highest price the market can absorb. Rather, they are a unique opportunity to tap into a new market of aspirational shoppers. Use it wisely. Instead of focusing on how much money you will make with that sale, consider how many more new customers will become obsessed with your brand, brag about it, and serve as a walking advertisement for you.

And speaking of that opportunity… that opportunity is now. Without any further adieu: we are finally in sample sale season! Boys and girls, check your balances on your credit cards, mark your calendars, and head to these upcoming sample sales that are sure to kick off the season right:

Starting Monday: Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale
Starting Tuesday: Halston Heritage Sample Sale
Oscar de la Renta Sample Sale
White + Warren Fall Sample Sale
Starting Wednesday: MCM Sample Sale
Elie Tahari Sample Sale

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Here is the complete list of sample sales for this week.

Happy shopping!