Proenza's Surprise Sample Sale Has $19 Denim, $99 Shoes

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At the Proenza Schouler sample sale this morning, a reign of calm prevailed—perhaps because there was a very limited selection of the brand's beloved PS1 bags. When we got into the sale 45 minutes after it started, we found one small table with the large style for $399 with lots of tan, some purple, and two white bags. A sign above the table indicates that there's a limit of three bags per customer, but that didn't look to be of concern to anyone—in fact, there were hardly any shoppers around them.

The other PS1 style available was the pochette clutch for $299 (current styles online are $895). While there were less of these available, they came in colors like olive, orange, and yellow—but no neutral colors.

Other bags here both large and small didn't draw any crowds, including more clutches and a row of handbags with orange and black stripes that resembled a tiger (unfortunately, sales staff didn't allow any photos in the sale).

Branching off from the main room that contained the bags, the cash registers, makeup from their summer collaboration with M.A.C ($10—$15), belts ($19), scarves ($99), iPhone and iPad accessories, and other smaller goods were four more rooms dedicated to different categories, like the sample room whose price points began with $29 soft tees and ended with $499 leather dresses and jackets.

Every item in here has a plastic colored tag denoting its price category, which is marked on signs along the wall. It's very well organized in here—each rack is generally dedicated to items of the same price. One was devoted to $99 denim vests, for example.

Next to that is a half-filled room with just denim jeans, all priced at just $19 (regularly $265). High-waisted, boyfriend, and skinny sizes are available, and white and very light blue washes dominated here. While sizes 24 through 32 were represented, it looked like those who are 27—29 will have the widest selection here.

Another room had its walls lined with $99 shoes, mostly heels with a few booties as well. While a variety of sizes were available, not every style had every size—one pair of burgundy (marsala?) booties had two pairs of 37s and two pairs of 40s, for example.

The largest room was dedicated to collection overstock, with spring 2014 pieces going for 70% off (luckily, all items are priced as marked, so you don't have to do that math without your calculator app). The room was filled with lack, white, and beige items—if you're looking for more colorful items, go back to the sample room. Examples of prices here include leather pants for $525 and an ecru knit sweater for $146—generally speaking, don't expect to spend less than a few hundred dollars on anything with structure or hardware. A singular rack of fall 2013 items were also available with an additional 30% discount.

In order to maintain a comfortable shopping atmosphere in the sale, the number of customers let in at once were extremely limited, so expect to wait in line outside in front of the Levi's store—there was a line of 20 when we left nearly an hour ago. There are no dressing rooms, so shoppers tried on dresses over clothes or hid in corners to check denim fit. Expect to check your bag, coat, and phone upon arrival. The sale runs until 4pm today, and cash and credit cards are accepted. For more details about the sale location, check out the Dealfeed below.

· Dealfeed: Proenza Schouler [Racked NY]
· Praise Be: Proenza Schouler Sample Sale Returns Tomorrow [Racked NY]
· Sample Sales [Racked NY]