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The Yigal Azrouël and Cut25 by Yigal Azrouël sample sale opens to the public at 1pm today at the company's showroom at 225 West 39th Street. We checked in on the friends and family portion this morning, and found racks well stocked with the main collection's signature form fitting dresses, ethereal gowns, and staple leathers, as well as plenty of tops, dresses, pants, and more leathers from the sister brand, Cut25.
A few things to note right off the bat: prices aren't cheap, especially for the Yigal Azrouël collection. That being said, the selection is really good, so if you don't mind throwing down a bit of cash, you can walk out with something nice.
The deals are definitely the best in the sample section for both brands, but the quality is better in ready-to-wear. Cut25 samples are just $40 (leathers are $90) and Yigal samples are $60 (leathers are $125).
The sample section is directly toward the back of the sale, and is a mix of Cut25 and the main collection. There are some great things mixed in here, but they're sprinkled through a lot of lackluster items.
We found a stunning Cut25 black gown with mesh cut-out details from the fall 2013 collection, a pair of buckle leather shorts, several beautiful Yigal dresses, and a lot of casual tops worth grabbing.
You're going to want to make sure to check with a sales associate before determining if something is truly a sample, because we saw several overstock items misplaced on the racks. Most of the samples that we saw have white "sample" hang tags, though.
Now, onto the ready-to-wear, starting with Cut25. Shorts, pants, skirts, and tees are $95; novelty tops and sweaters are $100; jersey dresses are $125; other dresses are $150; blazers and vests are $175; and leather jackets are $325.
A few highlights from Cut: a red stretch knit dress from the resort 2014 collection, breezy printed silk pants from the spring 2014 collection, and a cobalt leather jacket with shoulder details, also from the spring collection.
For Yigal Azrouël, tops are actually cheaper than Cut25 (they're $75), but everything else is more expensive. Novelty tops are $120; pants (non-leather) are $125; skirts are $150; knits are $178; blazers and leather bottoms are $225; dresses are $250; gowns are $400; and leather and other outerwear is $500.
There are a lot of really great dresses on the Yigal racks, which are perfect for an easy work-to-cocktails-somewhere-nice kind of day. A bright yellow zip-front dress from the resort 2014 collection (recently worn by Jessica Simpson here) was a hit with shoppers, and when we left there were only a few left.
Several other resort 2014 dresses made appearances, like a blue crinkle shift with a zip detail across the shoulder, a fitted red dress with black a side panels, a fuschia gown, and a black leather dress with a zipper slit that can go as high up the thigh as the wearer deems needed.
Sizes are fair across the board on the ready-to-wear racks, with a solid mix of extra smalls, smalls, mediums, and larges scattered throughout. There's a space to try things on that's semi-sectioned off by a rack. We're told that there are more samples to be put out, but the staff wasn't sure what overstock ready-to-wear would be replenished. There's a box of shoes for $30 in a handful of sizes, but nothing was that impressive.
The sale runs from 1pm to 7pm today, and from 9:30am to 7pm Wednesday through Friday, at 225 West 39th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues) on the fifth floor.
· Dealfeed: Yigal Azrouël, Cut25 by Yigal Azrouël [Racked NY]
· Get On It: 21 Sample Sales to Shop Before the End of April [Racked NY]