Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Today, we stopped by the Nicole Miller sample sale at 260 Sample Sale to see if it's worth an afternoon trip. The verdict? It's seriously fab: We're talking racks and racks of seriously discounted daywear, evening gowns, and wedding finery—not to mention a section in the back full of unique samples.
Casual day and cocktail clothes occupy the central area, and evening and wedding gowns have their own wide aisle that stretches the length of the sales floor. The selection was tidy and well stocked, and not at all picked over. Just about everything was available in multiples and in sizes 0 through 12. Of course, if you're shopping for a wedding or any other formal event, this means that every style has been purchased by a horde of your fellow NYC ladies.
Fortunately, shoppers seeking more individual looks are also covered. Tucked away in the back is a one-of-a-kind section, where there is a decent selection of imperfect and sample wedding and evening dresses. This section also features plenty of daywear, which also includes imperfects and showroom samples that have seen some wear and tear. Note: most stuff here is sample-sized, i.e. model tiny.
Thanks to all of these factors, everything here is further discounted. Expect, though, to find lots of wild patterns and materials; many of these garments never made it to mass-production, but are totally rockable for the more adventurous dresser. Towards the cash register you will also find a small selection of shoes, bags, and jewelry, and several bins with filled with four styles of pre-packaged sweaters.
Most importantly, the prices are excellent. As a rule, everything is priced below $400, and generally much lower. According to the list posted, skirts and tops are $40, handbags are $50, pants and day dresses are $60, cocktail dresses are $80, jackets are $85, and evening gowns are $100.
To give you an idea of the discounts, most of these items were originally priced between $300 and $800. We saw a pair of sweet leather skinnies that were originally almost $900. At their current price of $60, that's around 95% off.
The bridal section is a bit steeper (though not by much), with long gowns priced at $350, short gowns for $80, and accessories for $30. Most of these were originally priced between $1,000 and $2,000, so this is definitely a steal. As an added bonus, in the sample section, all wedding gowns are priced at $100.
Elsewhere in the samples category, pants, skirts, jackets and shorts are priced at $40, tops are $30, short dresses are $50, and long dresses are $60. Best of all, one of the workers on the floor informed us that there will be another round of discounts in the last two days of the sale, which are Friday and Saturday. See all the additional info in the dealfeed below.—Becca Endicott
· Dealfeed: Nicole Miller [Racked NY]
· This Week's Sample Sales: Nicole Miller, Edun, Sferra and More [Racked NY]
Loading comments...