Plenty of Samples and Tons of Frocks at the Cynthia Rowley Sale

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As we were waiting for the Cynthia Rowley sale to open, Cynthia Rowley herself—all incognito donning wide shades and wet hair—slipped into the doorway next to us. A very auspicious start to the sale offering up to 80% off, plus samples. The back parlor room of the West Village boutique is filled with marked down clothes, footwear, bags and other random accessories, resembling a fabulously girly rummage sale.

The best deals are found in the back room where the one-off samples are mixed into the racks. Here's a taste of the samples you'll find if you look hard enough: a smokey metallic tie dye dress with a mini bow on the neck for $69, a few jewel-toned ruffle lined belted dresses for $59, a lovely wide navy and black striped nipped-waist sleeveless frock for $49 and a black leather skirt for $99. We even found some menswear Rowley by Cynthia Rowley pieces priced around $49.

Near the front, we discovered quite a few sorbet-hued sample pieces from the Bridesmaid Dress collection marked to $109 (from $295), so if you have skinny bridesmaids, head on over. That reminds us - the samples are all size 0 and we noticed a good number of 0's all over the racks. Some of the non-sample sale pieces had more of a selection of sizes, but they still veered to the dimunitive.

As for non-sample pieces, there are tons of dresses (day numbers suitable for work and flirty cocktail frocks in silk, taffeta and cotton, you name it), ranging from $89 to $189. We also saw black and cream soft lean sweaters with a circle design for $109, black mini skirts with pastel sequin stripes for $49 (from $265), embroidered front halter tops for $49 (from $285) and abstract tetris patterned silk shorts for $99. Also look at the two racks on the main floor framing the parlor doors. There you'll find more frocks and cropped leather navy and blue striped jackets for $389 (from $798) and long leather shorts with embroidery for $99 (from $395).

There are also shoes, both sample ($49 for white booties and $89 for architectural pumps) and non-sample (a bin of $18 sandals, bronze wide strap mules for $59, Cynthia Rowley for Roxy camel booties for $99). Bags are also on tap, ranging from around $150 to $250+ for slouchy hobos, structured handbags and small pouches. There are also a ton of random items like retro 70's inspired sunglasses for $19, leather gloves with laser cut embellishments for $40, picture frames for $6 and the Swell book for $2.

The dressing rooms on the main floor are available for fitting and the staffers are very helpful and friendly. Everything is out on the floor and the sale was quickly filling up with fans of the line snapping up the samples. We were hoping Cynthia would drop in for a visit, but no chance this morning. Maybe the afternoon goers will have more luck.
· Dealfeed: Cynthia Rowley [Racked]
· Cynthia Rowley [Official Site]