Posts Tagged ‘sales’

The Union Square vortex

As shopping districts go, Union Square does almost nothing for me. As recently as the early 80s, the area was actually borderline scary, but now there’s just a different kind of blight: a crazy clusterbang of massive chains, food trucks, incense vendors and hangers-out of every stripe—all unwittingly conspiring to create some of the worst retail feng shui anywhere. The park itself has its charms—like a nicely maintained, extra-chill dog run, for instance. And there’s the  greenmarket, always and forever. But truly, it’s ABC Home’s annual post-holiday sale that can not be denied, and that sucks me back into its  haute-ethnic/bougie vortex year after year after year.

Right now I’m looking to up my game in the decorative pillow department. For a while now I’ve gone bright and ethnic, but now I’m feeling ethnic, but less literally so. Like this Eskayel print.

From Dwell Studio: So tribal, and yet so thoroughly versatile.

The charcoal and red stripes on this linen blanket feel both Moroccan and Pendelton-inspired, and make me so happy I almost don’t know what to do with myself.

This bedding set is unreconstructed in its ethnic appeal, and very much says I have an airy country house and do yoga and cleanses  in a way that has nothing to do with my reality, but is somehow quite appealing nevertheless.

Not on sale but so totally up my alley I couldn’t not share: my favorite bird thing of the month.So far.

 

I wait for this all season

Sticking to a no-more-new-clothes regimen in my boutique-laden neighborhood is like trying to kick heroin when your dealer lives on your block: tough sledding for the dedicated addict. And it’s presenting a particular challenge now that sibling French imports Sandro and Maje started their sales, because their sales are magic. Everything is marked down. Possibly there’s an itsy rack at the front of the store that’s full-price, but aside from that, all bets are off. And while it’s still not cheap (my main complaint with Sandro and Maje is that everything costs about 30 per cent more than it should—which perhaps is partially explained by the lousy exchange rate, but still) the discounts do bring certain items within the realm of possibility. I like it best for coats, because I can rationalize spending a lot on that. Last year at Sandro, I bought a wool toggle coat with leather sleeves that I wear endlessly; right now I’m considering the one you see here from Maje. But also this electric blue and black number, which seems possibly to have a few more seasons in it. Also: dying over this one, rather predictably. And am I nuts for liking these platforms from Sandro? I think they’re kind of adorable.

Seconds count

Rachel Comey’s online sale ends at midnight. Go buy yourself a nice dress or something.

Shopping (the sale) for pretend: Les Nouvelles

 

Years ago when I lived in Brooklyn, there was a boutique a few blocks from my place where I spent a lot of time and even more cash. The owner was consistently ahead of the curve, and was always discovering one indie designer or another a good year or so before their stuff was selling in shops over the bridge in Manhattan.

So I was surprised one Saturday when I was combing the racks and came across a Marc by Marc Jacobs coat. Not because I didn’t like Marc by Marc Jacobs—we all did; the line had just launched and it was wall-to-wall Marc by Marc mania out there. But it was a known entity and read like a shortcut here. I expressed surprise to the owner. “That’s what pays the rent,” she replied. Which reminded me yet again that retail is tough; tougher still if you care to take risks. And she was pushing some pretty esoteric stuff for Atlantic Avenue in 2002. Les Nouvelles reminds me of that store. There are safe bets on the lineup, but this site is mostly about discovery and the unexpected. And a whopping dose of color and prints, which is never a bad thing.

Lady-type stuff almost never works for me, but the drapey details and unusual floral print of this Karen Walker dress almost make me want to give it a go anyway.

A touch vertigo-inducing, yes. But there’s something to be said for any take on the shirtdress that allows it to be worn on a variety of body types. And this one has a nice, feminine, swingy cut.

Just a pretty, flouncy floral print skirt  you can have fun mixing patterns with, like so.

This Cacharel tunic is nice and long—for those days when butt-coverage feels like more than just a good idea.

I have a crazy-or-cute? reaction to this Rachel Comey dress—with its clever cable-knit trompe l’oeil print— every time I see it. It’s a little on the edgy side, but I know there are a lot of you out there far cooler than me who could  pull it off.

This Gryphon trench is exactly the kind of classic with an interesting twist that I’d occasionally see one of the gutsier  fashion editors show up to work in—causing me to go into an immediate shame spiral for always playing it so damn safe.

In a world where truly un-special beaded tunics proliferate, wouldn’t it be nice head into beaded tunic season with beaded tunic you could stand by?

 

Just tough enough

Perhaps you’ve always longed to look cool and badass in a big old serpent ring—but are concerned that you’ll come off all mutton-dressed-as-lamb because badass isn’t really your thing. Or maybe you are the very soul of the badassery, and simply want to bring a talisman along to that meeting with the exceedingly powerful, extra-clueless corporate consultants to whom you must very calmly pretend to defer. In either case, this Chloe ring* seems just about right.

It’s on sale at Net a Porter. The Net a Porter sale is—like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction—both crazy and not to be ignored.

A lot of really expensive stuff is less really expensive right now

 

 

Gilt’s Marni sale started today: this pretty little number is marked down from about a zillion dollars to a comparatively reasonable $544.

 

And over at Ssense, there is a monster of a sale going on. Lots of  Christopher Kane’s glorious floral prints now seem almost within reach. Also there:

Tons of Marc Jacobs—particularly bags, which one doesn’t see on sale every day. And really just insanely so much more. Don’t not go to the Ssense sale.

And don’t pass up Forward! How great are these pre-styled-for-your- convenience stackable rings?  Plus, plenty of (actually within the realm of the affordable) tees, tunics, and other slouchy necessities of summer.