The (Brief) Calm Before the Storm: Inside the Jimmy Choo Preview

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Whether you get a good deal at the Jimmy Choo sample sale, which opens this afternoon at 1pm, depends on one thing: Are you willing to wear used shoes? There was already an air of panic and promise outside the sale when we arrived for the press preview at 10am. Inside, we found a decent-sized selection nicely distributed between sizes. If you buy one pair, you pay $250; two go for $480; three for $630; and if you buy four, they're $200 each. However! Used shoes are only $75 ($175 for boots.) The downside is that some of them are seriously damaged—we spotted a pair of sandals missing a giant iridescent medallion on one side—so be prepared to dig for the ones that only have scuffed soles.

Bags run on a similar system: $400 for small ones, $500 for mid-sized, $600 for large, and an extra $200 if they're made from an exotic animal like a crocodile or a mink. Damaged or worn bags cost $150, but we didn't find any that seemed to fit that description. The bag section, perhaps unsurprisingly, was sleepy, especially compared with the chaos the preview ladies—all 25 of them—were causing in the shoe section.

As for the clutch of Rogan in the corner, it's a nice little bonus. In addition to some current-season jeans ($80, down from $360), they've got several racks of their suiting line, A Litl Betr ($500 jackets, $200 skirts). You don't often think of Rogan and Jimmy Choo as brands that go together, but between the Litl Betr blazers and skirts and the killer Choo heels, you could assemble quite a modern power wardrobe, assuming you have the power budget to go with it.
· Lineblogging: Choo Devotees Arrive Extra Early [Racked]
· Jimmy Choo [Dealfeed]