image via Palmetto Moon Online
To make room for new styles soon to hit shelves during the upcoming Fashion Week, stores are heavy into sale season, clearing out old samples and 2012 stock. Great deals can be had--be on the lookout for stellar savings! As part of the sample sale feature earlier in the month, Mizhattan gave her take on blogging, style and shopping (here). This week, I catch up with SampleSally, designer sample sale reviewer extrodinaire...
Screenshot of Samplesally.com
After moving to NYC, a friend introduced me to sample sales. She took me to one of DVF’s first sample sales (early 2000s) where we scored on iconic wrap dresses for $45 a piece! I found an amazing cashmere sweater for $20 and pants for $40 (all stock). I was hooked! The idea for the blog didn’t come until a few years later when I stood outside the Marc Jacobs Mercer Street boutique in Soho waiting to get inside his handbag sale. I had a conversation with the girls in line who were complaining about how there weren’t any reviews of sample sales on the Web, just listings. This inspired me to start a blog. I thought it would be a great vehicle to learn with my background as a journalist and having been trained as a fashion designer.
What are your thoughts on the recent high-low collaborations? Do you think there is a breach of exclusivity for a luxury brand when their namesake items are associated with a "lower end" retailer, mass produced and more readily available to the general public?
If you’re talking about the most recent collaborations such as Target and Neiman Marcus, I was not impressed. The idea behind it was for designers (such as Marc Jacobs and Carolina Herrera) found at Neiman’s to create affordable Holiday gifts but it was clear that Target’s customers found the pieces too expensive and not for them. That team-up was deemed a bust with prices being marked down 70% off in January. Another failure was the H&M Maison Martin Margiela collection which also didn’t go over well with the high-street fashion chain’s customers.
While I’m not a huge fan of these collaborations, I did like some of the pieces from the Marni for H&M collection. As for exclusivity, fashion is ultimately a business whether you’re a luxury brand, you have to stay in business and it’s tough during an economic recession. It’s an interesting idea to offer high-end design fabricated with low costing materials so they can sell them at affordable price-points. It’s worked on some collaborations but retailers should learn from the most recent failures about what they’re offering their customers.
What was the most intense sample sale you covered in 2012?YSL back in the fall and Jil Sander’s sample sale in the spring. The lines for both sales were so long on the first day, especially YSL. I knew that one would be madness, but I had no idea I’d have to wait in line for hours!
What’s your personal style like?Modern classic with a twist. I like to mix classic pieces with something fun, unique and unexpected. That said, my style has changed throughout the years and continues to evolve.
If you were locked in a store overnight, which would it be?
Barneys or Bergdorf Goodman.
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