This Morning's Crowds Hit the Jil Sander Sample Sale Hard

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Jil Sander's Soho sample sale opened to the public this morning roughly 15 minutes after the scheduled launch time of 10am. By that point, tensions were running high among the masses crowded outside, who'd been waiting hours in the cold for the chance to shop men's and women's ready-to-wear, shoes, and accessories at 80% off.

Even then, the line moved slowly, as guards would only admit people after the previous shoppers left. When we finally made it in, what we found was disappointing. The center table, which normally holds neatly folded and sorted piles of sweaters, was a free-for-all. Sizes generally ran small, and some sweaters and t-shirts were left over from the last sale. Prices are certainly better than retail, though: One cashmere sweater we picked up was $182 (originally $910), while a cashmere cardigan from last year's sale was $210 (originally $1,050).

At the back of the room are the handbags, accessories and shoes. The shoe selection was small both in available sizes and styles. If you're lucky enough to find a pair of shoes, the sale price ranges from $50 to $150. What is left of the handbags is dismal, unless you're interested in the abundant clear plastic totes. Several Jil Sander Navy leather small and medium gusset envelopes in bright colors were going for $42 and $50 (originally $210 and $250, respectively).

A small selection of men's pants, shirts, and coats are available, but there are no men's sweaters—a fact that had to be crushing to the men who'd spent hours shivering on the Crosby Street sidewalk this morning. Apparently, there were sweaters at the VIP sale yesterday, but how many, we'll never know.

We weren't blown away by the selection of womenswear either. A red wool belted dress from fall 2011 was $596 (originally 2,980), pants were $300 (originally $1,500), and a floral silk dress was $1,196 (originally $5,980). The dresses that remained came in large sizes only, though there appeared to be a better size selection for pants. If you're looking for black, you're in luck—we saw racks of black pants and jackets.

There are no changing rooms and only two mirrors available. A sales associate told us that restocking was likely for clothing, but not handbags and shoes. The sale runs through Sunday until 4pm; consult the Dealfeed for more details.—Pam Krywy
— Dealfeed: Jil Sander [Racked NY]