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Last week, Helmut Lang and Theyskens' Theory threw us for a loop when they held an in-store overstock sale a week before both brands (plus Theory) hit Clothingline for another sample sale. This afternoon, we swung by Clothingline to check out how today's sale stacks up against last weeks. To our surprise, we found absolutely no line and prices that were much, much cheaper.
If you've got a good chunk of time to kill and don't mind digging through the racks piece-by-piece, we suggest you stop by. Also, it helps if you really, really like Theory because the majority of the sale is Theory merchandise, with a splash of Helmut and a smaller splash of Theyskens'.
Let's begin with Helmut Lang, since that's what you'll see first upon entering. Tees are $30, shorts and pants are $35, sweaters are $40, dresses are $45, blazers are $55, and outerwear is $99. That's what's written on the price list, however, we didn't see any Helmut blazers or outerwear, and the dresses are nearly non-existent.
The majority of the Helmut merchandise is composed of denim. Expect to find a lot of 26s through 29s, with a solid amount of 24s, 25s, and 30s, too. We spotted a good amount of traditional colors, as well as gray acid wash and pale blue and cream shades. Most are cut super-skinny with incredulously long inseams.
As for the tops, most of the tees are your standard drapey sheer tanks or solid baggy black T-shirts. The sweaters were predominantly of the chunky knit variety in gray, beige, black, and cream. We found pretty solid size runs, though most of the styles are cut so large that the actual sizing seems irrelevant.
Onto Theory. Tees are and shorts $30, pants are $35, sweaters are $40, dresses are $45, blazers are $55, and outerwear is $99. If you get easily distracted and/or aggravated with things that aren't organized well, skip the tops. There are some good finds here, but you have to have an impressive level of patience to pick through them. Mostly, it's one-of silky tanks, fitted sweaters, and a sea of button downs. If you need a white one, you can buy about 30 of them.
There are a lot of colored shorts and pants hanging along the wall, in shades of neon yellow, red, purple, and blue. As far as the sizing goes, we saw a pretty wide selection across the board. If you need bottoms that are a little tamer, there are plenty of work-appropriate options to choose from in navy, black, cream, and white.
Over by the dresses, there's a large group of basic white shifts that are mostly size six. However, nearby there are two full racks of other dresses in different colors and patterns where the sizing is better. Maxi dresses came in yellow, navy, black, cream, and gray, and were mostly mediums or larges. And if you need white skirts or capris, you're covered.
Arguably, the blazers offer the best selection, but this could have something to do with their location. They're all hanging on that rack that's going to be just out of your reach if you're below 5'5", so needless to say they've seen less wear and tear than the rest of the merchandise. Predominantly, we found a lot of great white silk options, as well as plenty of navy.
There's not much by way of Theyskens' Theory, and it's all mixed into regular Theory so again, you're going to have to dig. Mostly, we spotted regular denim and coated denim (lots of size 26s), as well as some plain blue blouses and button down tanks. If you're going to the sale just for Theyskens', it may not be worth it.
The men's area for Theory is significantly smaller than the women's, but we did find a surplus of work pants in all sizes, should you be needing an entire new wardrobe of those. For pricing, shirts and shorts are $40, pants and sweaters are $45, blazers are $75, outerwear is $99, and suits are $149. The outerwear is minimal, at best, and for the suits, we only saw about five or six hanging on a rack, mostly in 38 regular.
There were a decent amount of blazers, though not nearly as big a selection as the dress pants. There's a small area of shorts and casual pants, but plenty of tees, polos, and button downs—particularly white ones.
The sales associates said they'd be restocking every day throughout the day, though another one told us that they wouldn't be replenishing Helmut Lang until tomorrow. The sale runs through Thursday, but we recommend heading there sooner rather than later. For hours and more info, check the dealfeed.
· The Helmut Lang, Theyskens' Sale Is Teeming With Overstock [Racked NY]
· Dealfeed: Helmut Lang, Theory [Racked NY]