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Yesterday afternoon, we stopped by the friends and family portion of the Thakoon sample sale before it opened to the public today at 8:30am. The sale, located at 270 Lafayette Street, is being held in a bright and airy showroom with racks of samples all along the walls. The most noteworthy point has to be the markdowns: Almost everything is one of four (very helpfully color-coded) price points: $50 (red), $100 (green), $150 (yellow) and $200 (blue). This makes life pretty easy for the bargain hunter.
If your workwear wardrobe could use a refresher, you might want to head downtown quickly. From the khaki symmetrical dresses to the oversized shirts and smart separates, there are plenty of options to choose from. When you first enter the room, the racks you'll see around the walls are all one-off samples in sizes 2 or 4.
As you move to the left, there's overstock in sizes XS to L. In this section, right at the back by the fitting room (bonus!), there's a rack of black pants. Sounds mundane, but as you sift through you'll see there's a huge variety of styles that would be great for the office. We especially loved the elasticated waist cigarette pants with paneling for $100.
Looking for something to wear to an upcoming party? We spotted a metallic snakeskin mini dress ($300), a backless blush pink silk dress with peacock feather print ($200), and a faux fur silhouette dress ($200) that would all do the trick.
Elsewhere, the Thakoon Addiction area offers lots in terms of gorgeous knitwear. Lighter sweaters and cardigans are $50, while chunkier knit jumpers and dresses are $100. If you still have yet to find that perfect winter coat, it's definitely worth stopping, since an array of outwear is also on show.
There was only one of the dark blue biker-style jackets available for $600 (the most expensive item we saw), but it definitely went on our "most wanted" list. Another knock-out one-off piece was a caramel leather quilted jacket, which is a steal at $200.
The layout of the sample pieces goes according to color, and there's definitely a lot of it, so we suggest spotting the color or a print you like and going straight to that rail. Each print has a one-of-each style, so if the monochrome floral skinny jeans we loved ($100) are gone, there's also a maxi dress, shirt, and swing cocktail dress in that same print to choose from.
The shoe section was pretty sparse—we spotted roughly thirty pairs left—but it did include options from the collaboration with French designer Laurence Dacade, such as the metallic red crisscross heels and one pair of grey braided leather boots. Flats (only two pairs left) and heels are $100 and boots are $300. The sizes range from 37 to 41.
An important detail to note about the sale is that Thakoon is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Hurricane Sandy Relief effort, and they're also ask shoppers to consider donating items like toiletries, diapers, batteries, blankets, baby food, and flashlights.
The sale is open everyday from 8:30am to 6:30pm, until Sunday, November 17th. For additional information, see the dealfeed.—Klara Heron
· Dealfeed: Thakoon [Racked NY]
· Updated! Your Guide to November's Fifty-Eight Sample Sales [Racked NY]