May 18, 2015

*SAMPLE SALE* Ready to Paraty?

In the past, Parisian fashion house Chloé usually hosted private sample sales for employees and invited guests. For spring 2015, the brand decided to warmly welcome the general public to join in their discount shopping party and selected C21 Edition as their venue of choice. The popular label initially planned a 4-day long event starting tomorrow but suddenly had a change of mind and rescheduled for a day earlier and 2 days shorter. So, after receiving the updated notice, I quickly grabbed my purse, hailed a cab, and headed downtown to treat myself and my closet to some Chloé goodies. Is everyone ready to Paraty?

The good news about today's Chloé sample sale was that there was a vast assortment of the company's apparel (Chloé and See by Chloé) and handbags. There was so much inventory to go around (at least that was the case when I was there), the sale occupied both floors of the C21 Edition annex.

The bad news was that there were no shoes, no dressing rooms for trying on clothes, and the sale ambiance was pretty crazy. The bag section, especially, was dangerously crammed with aggressive shoppers rummaging through Chloé's leather goods. If you thought last week's Manolo Blahnik was bad, this was worse.

Alright then, let's talk about the sale offerings. Every single item was priced individually but clothes were mostly 70% off while a majority of handbags were 75% off. Bags were displayed on glass & metal shelves on both the main floor and on the second level. There were thirteen shelves in total housing numerous styles of purses, clutches, satchels, and totes. I spotted a Paraty in blush pink for $595, a Baylee medium leather for $495, a python Baylee in blue for $1,195, a Clare medium shoulder bag for $495, a Baylee large tote for $495, a Charlotte large tote for $995, and an Allison tote for $495.

The company's apparel was also divided amongst the two floors. Clare Wright Keller's designs for Chloé were showcased on the upper level while the house's younger diffusion line, See by Chloé, had racks on both levels. In total, there were twenty-six racks of Chloé and eighteen racks of See by Chloé. Lots of stuff!

See by Chloé sale merchandise mostly consisted of girly hip clothes like printed tanks, eyelet dresses, leopard print dresses, floral skirts, pink blazers, ruffled blouses, and comfy knits. Prices started at around $50 for tops and bottoms while jackets could be had for $150. As for Chloé's selection, I found a white shearling vest coat priced $1,679, a pair of printed trousers priced $345, a ruffled cream skirt priced $838, a buttonless black blazer priced $959, a pink oversized sweater priced $465, and a flowy printed maxi dress priced $899. Again, discounts were mostly 70% off original retail prices.

Accessories were meager in comparison to RTW and handbags. But still, I spotted a limited selection of jewelry and keychains priced $50~$125, leather pouches for $150, and See by Chloé wallets for $50.

The queue outside Century 21 stretched to well over 150 shoppers by the time I stepped out. I asked five different sales associates about restocking but no one could give me a definite answer. If you haven't checked out the sale, I don't suggest dropping by. Despite it being a unicorn of a sale, I simply do not think markdowns were great enough to warrant waiting in a long line and dealing with all the ruckus inside.

49 comments:

  1. Thanks for another great report! I would go for my Mom who loves the Paraty, but you did say you only saw "a Paraty"...sounding like you didn't see that many. I'll skip and go tomorrow instead. Is there a line to check out as well? What's the pricing like for See by Chloe bags? Many thanks! You always have the BEST pictures of any sample sale reports. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sarah,

      Paraty bags were all grabbed up with the first rush. See by Chloé bags were approx. around $150. Thank you for your kind words!

      Delete
  2. Spent 2 hours in the line to get in and then couldn't buy anything because the line to check out was soooo slow, it was about an hour wait, maybe more. Spent 20 minutes in line to check out, not moving, and gave up. Seriously, left so disappointed, it was totally waste of time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohh no, that's awful. Sorry you left empty-handed after all that wait.

      Delete
  3. Thanks, Miz.. was curious but the line alone makes it not worth it to me..same with the chaos inside. Nothing really caught my eye in the pics except maybe the clothes which are probably too much for me right now and without a dressing room, way too risky. Appreciate your going there for us. I prefer the calm of the Reed Krakoff sale last week, even though you found it to be depressing!:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They had one dressing room on the second level but no one was allowed in. It would have been nice if they had set up temporary dressing rooms but the sale space is quite small so I can see why they didn't. Nonetheless, I saw several ladies getting half-naked and trying on clothes. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

      Delete
    2. They opened the dressing room but the queue is enormous. Probably another hour.

      Delete
    3. Hi Nara,

      Oh, that's nice to know. Thank you for the update as always!

      Delete
    4. Thanks Miz! Hope you don't mind me posting so much

      Delete
  4. I was lucky enough to be in one of the first few batches and as I was leaving it quickly became a madhouse. So happy though because I got a lovely bag at a great price. Thanks to you Mizhattan *as always*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's great! Hope you enjoy your new bag!!

      Delete
  5. Dear Miz,

    Thank you for posting the updates! I am wondering if I should still go tomorrow morning. Thinking to go first thing in the morning before it opens. I am hoping to score some bags. Are there still any bags left?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jackie,

      There were plenty when I was there but that's most probably old news. If anyone can chime in, please help Jackie out. Thanks!

      Delete
    2. Still lots of bags at closing. Not sure what styles you're interested in but majority of bags are the ones in the first photo: totes, exotics, a few Baylees. There are also the cheaper See By Chloe logo totes for $95. No Paratys, no more bucket bags or wallets.

      Delete
    3. Thank you so much for your responses, Miz and Nara. I am interested in the Chloe Clare Bag. I saw a few in the pictures but not sure if there will still be the Clare bag tmrw when I go.

      Delete
  6. If you showed the email of the invite they gave an extra 30% off. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I show them the email, bit didnot get 30% off, and I purchased one of bag without strap. I didnot notice until get home!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. can u forward the 30% off email I want try tomorrow
      ylzsr09@gmail.com

      Delete
  8. Does any one have a link to the email/invite?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I read that it was a "discount flyer" you had to show for the 30%.. where does one procure?

    ReplyDelete
  10. They really cracked down on that extra 30% off. You had to show the actual email that the VIPs got. They do not accept photos or Instagram.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got a rsvp confirmation email from c21. Does that count? or does the email have to actually say 30% off?

      Delete
    2. Yeah the 30% offer has to be in the body of the email. It was only for Monday though so I'm not sure they will accept it on Tuesday, even with the email but you never know.

      Delete
  11. Any news if they are restocking for tomorrow?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Did any one see the chloe Elsie handbag? If that was available and in what type of colors ?

    ReplyDelete
  13. We're there kids clothes

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was there yesterday at around 5pm and they had two fitting rooms on the second floor, and they allowed people to try clothes on? I tried mines before i purchased them at least

    ReplyDelete
  15. Can anyone pls share the 30 off? To alexisiscastle@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. can anyone forward the email of the 30% off to marianasilvestri@hotmail.com
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  17. No restocking , No additional discount

    ReplyDelete
  18. SALE UPDATE (5/19): Plenty of bags still available!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love reading your reports, Miz. Great photos and info as usual.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi cat!

      Aww shucks! Thank you always for taking the time to read.

      Delete
  20. Thank you mizhattan, you are the best! Best picture, best details

    ReplyDelete
  21. Replies
    1. There was the first day in the first hour.

      Delete
  22. The number one rule with sample sales in NY is that you have to go back the second day. Today at around 4 pm, everything was marked down. All clothing was marked down 40% off and bags were 30% and there was absolutely no line to get in or to pay and they also opened up a dressing room. It was fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's awesome! Thank you for sharing.

      Delete
    2. You're welcome! Thanks for the great report!

      Delete
  23. Does anybody know what happens to the left over sample stock at C21? Do they include in their regular inventory eventually so you can go back if you missed the sample sale?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's an excellent question! I've been wondering myself and will need to look into that. If anyone has any knowledge, please chime in.

      Delete
    2. the leftover stock might head to C21 in Woodbury as one of the sales manager mentioned in passing. she said something along the line of how good the discounts were at the sale than they would be at the outlet. it makes sense that they're already a discounter so hanging on to the rest is standard operating procedure.

      btw on the last day they started out at 30% and 40% off in the morning, and towards 5PM they went 40% and 50%. incredibly good sale considering the post apocalypse of the first day. such high quality products, hardly manhandled, and decent selection remaining.

      Delete
    3. Woodbury Chloe as of last week has the same season as the C21 sample sale but not as much stock. I doubt they will be moving it up there because they are already on sale unless it's Fall stuff. Woodbury's prices were the same as the final prices at the end of the day. Standard price off is 50% off retail. Extra discount at the outlet is currently at 40% and for Memorial Day weekend, it will probably be another 20% off. But they definitely have bags at Woodbury and even some Susanna boots in larger sizes. Those were all 40% off too.

      Delete
    4. These are some very interesting insights. Thank you so much for sharing! I'm definitely going to have to do some research and get to the bottom of things.

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts with Thumbnails