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The Barneys Warehouse Sale opened exactly a week ago and initial reviews from critics of the female persuasion have been mixed at best. Today, we decided to drop back into the fray with an open mind, uninfluenced by the usual opening day madness. Based on the intel gathered from our recon mission, we have some good and not-so-good news.
Let's get to the good news first: Shoes are an additional 25% off. Now, of course Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte wax-heel booties marked 25% off of $619 still falls on the wrong side of affordable, but hey, baby steps. (Warning: Since they're showing some devastating signs of manhandling, we don't know if they'll make it un-scuffed and unscathed to final markdowns. Sob.)
All in all, after a week, the shelves appear to be more spacious and less populated. Now that there's some breathing room, we did notice multiple pairs of Pierre Hardy ponyhair strappy shooties with exposed stitching (in black and leopard) now discounted to $344.25 (from $1140). The Lanvin selection has noticeably decreased, but we saw a pair of ponyhair leopard pumps from winter 2010 discounted to $359.25, amongst the remaining black booties.
We also noted a bunch of wine-hued python Proenza Schouler flats now priced at $231.75 (originally $775) and spotted two Chanel clogs, but on the size 11 rack, now priced at $666.75 (from $1795). We didn't see a single Louboutin and the Manolo selection was pretty slim, and very seasonal at that. For those last ditch efforts to buy the Alexander Wang Abby shoes (we swear, we see those everywhere), they're now priced at $149.25.
Now for the bad news: So far, there are zero additional markdowns on women's ready-to-wear or designer. The crafty Barneys folks did however mix the blue tag 25% off imperfects into all the racks, presumably to make us feel better since menswear has all been discounted. Don't bother, though—the imperfects are few and far between, imperfect and still really pricey.
The ready-to-wear racks are slightly less packed, but still quite plentiful. The extra space gave us opportunity to unearth a few items we missed last time, like a black, stripey, tectured Opening Ceremony puff sleeve cardie for $179. The Isabel Marant items have been snatched up, and rightfully so.
A rack of swimwear has appeared, offering Cynthia Rowley for Roxy purple and yellow scuba bikini set for $139 (from $338) and a DVF wine colored one-piece for $89.
The designer items look roughly about the same as last week. We did notice that all but one stained $29 Rodarte tee have been snapped up and those loosely knit sweaters are still there and are this close to being completely trashed.
All in all, kind of disappointing because we know the goods can be at least 25% cheaper at this point. We asked around and a senior staffer indicated that markdowns will probably start next week ("There isn't an exact science to it," he said). Also, Barneys will be shipping in the remaining items from the Los Angeles sale, which could be good (more and possibly different items) or bad (LA's cast-offs). The staffer did share with us this tidbit: The final markdowns will take place on Friday, March 4, so it might be worthwhile to wait until then. We have a feeling that those Suno gold paneled riding pants will still be there.
· Dealfeed: Barneys Warehouse Sale [Racked]
· All Barneys Warehouse Sale Coverage [Racked]
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