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Today's Time's Arrow sample sale started off slowly, with just a handful of shoppers perusing the options from this up and coming handbag brand. Let's start with the bad news first: those looking for super low prices are likely in the wrong place. There are only 3 groups of Time's Arrow merchandise under $100: bargain bin items for $25 and $45 respectively, and pouches/wallets/wristlets for $95. Among the small leather goods, we think the large, continental wallets (marked down from $275) are a great buy, with colorways including a cool iridescent silver and smokey grey. These are the same sale price as mini zippered options that don't look like they can hold much more than a few credit cards.
With the exception of a Coachella-ready black mini-backpack for $25, we found the bargain bins pretty uninteresting, and many items here are damaged or have missing components (hence the super low price point). That said, the first group of shoppers spent the majority of their time here, so maybe we were just distracted by all of the really, really nice bags throughout the rest of the sale.
The final option for those seeking bags at $50 or less are a few shelves of Royal Tartan purses. Prices on this brand range from $35 to $50, and none of the styles have gone into production, so this is your one chance (at least until 2016) to get your hands on them. Here, you can find perfectly lovely top handles in orangey-red, mint green, black, blue, and lavender, which makes this section great for those seeking a spring-y color palette. We, however, vastly prefer the options from Time's Arrow.
Fans of the brand will be pleased to hear that there are lots of Jo totes, in large ($350), medium ($295), and mini ($225) sizes in a number of colorways. We saw black, cream, smoke, blue, maroon, and a number of multi-colored options as well. We thought these were a great buy, though beware: a number of Time's Arrow styles are currently on sale at Last Call. Depending on your promo code wizardry, you could possibly get a better price online (at least for the large version).
You'll also find Helene bags in regular ($295) and micro ($225) sizes, and smaller cross-bodies and clutches for $150. We were impressed by the large variety of colors and materials available, and think fans of the aesthetic will have no trouble finding something to take home.
We also recommend coming sooner rather than later—we were told that everything they have is out, so there will be no restocking. Some of the colorways have multiples available, but in general we mostly saw one-offs. That said, we were also told that if there is any merchandise left as of Friday (the sale's final day), there will likely be additional markdowns, so the gamblers out there may be rewarded with lower prices (or a sold out sale).
Wednesday, April 15th through Friday, April 17th. Daily 10am—5pm. 209 W 38th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves, Suite 500 (917-261-7962).