Today Rent The Runway started their sample sale at 260 Fifth Ave. Their advertisement boasted gently used dresses marked down as low as 95% off, so I headed over there to search for some Cushnie Et Ochs, my sole mission. The sale started at 11am and by the time I arrived at 1:30pm there was a pretty good line that had started. And the line held strong, yet it was moving quickly (Max 20 min wait to get in the door)
Overall I felt like the sale was overpriced, most of the garments had substantial wear and tear. I did wind up finding two Cushnie Et Ochs dresses and one Versace Collection dress, yet after trying them on I quickly discovered that they were wore in and had several imperfections, definitely not worth $200 per dress! If they dropped the prices it might be worth it, because you could invest in the repairs. It would have to be an extra 60%-75% off the sales prices for me to even consider that an option.
I wouldn't recommend this sale unless you have a specific mission, I suggest perusing the dresses on the RTR website and finding a particular designer that piques your interest. I would go into the sale with a mission to find those items that you know you like, otherwise it could be very overwhelming, as there's a fair amount of junk to sift through. Either way, the odds of someone walking out of there feeling like they got an amazing deal is slim, but not impossible.
Bottom line: I wouldn't recommend this sample sale based on the quality of the clothing and the prices. The items that are 95% off (not that I saw any) are not going to be wearable. On the final day they'll take an additional 30% off...not enough in my opinion.
Manhattan Vintage Show (March 28th & 29th)
On Saturday I attended the Manhattan Vintage show for the first time. If you're into clothing I would highly recommend coming back to their next show in October. Obviously, some of the shops are better than others, but it's quite an experience to see so many shops in one place showing all of their best clothing. I got lucky with some very unique and glamorous items that are in perfect condition and were priced right. The key to amazing vintage is finding a buyer who puts a value on collecting clothing that's in phenomenal condition and selling it for a fair price. The thing that I've always disliked about vintage shopping in NY is the lack of quality and the astronomical prices, which deters me every time.
My husband has taught me a lot about shopping smart when it comes to vintage, for the longest time I made poor choices by purchasing aged vintage clothing. Peter taught me that the trick to being successful in shopping/wearing vintage items is that they look like they were made yesterday. Dressing in period clothing can cause one to look like they're wearing a costume, so you want to do everything you can to purchase old items that have a fresh look. This tactic will allow you to easily and fluidly mix these garments with your modern clothing.
Bottom line: If you love fashion and clothing, this is a must see! The two shops that I purchased from were Regina McCrutchen and Leon's Vintage. Both of these shops only show at special vintage events like Manhattan Vintage. Leon's had some stand out clothing and stunning jewelry. Regina had gorgeous clothing in mint condition and she was more than willing to bargain with her customers, which I appreciate. You can tell that she's very passionate about clothing and after chatting with her I found out that she's a stylist and collector, she often rents her clothes out for photo shoots and events.
P.S. My husband is a saint for allowing me to drag him along on this vintage hunt, I couldn't do it without his help though, he has a refined eye for outstanding vintage pieces. I can't thank you enough cutie, you're the best!! Thanks for always being patient with me :-)
glam! I like the repair investment calculation... very important to consider!
ReplyDelete