As soon as I entered the designer's showroom, the first thing I noticed was a handful of half–naked women trying on cocktail dresses. Lela Rose's RTW--mostly consisting of evening attires--were divided into different sizes (0~12). I found my size all the way in the back, so naturally, my search started there.
The biggest disappointments from this sale were the pricing and limited selection. Only 1 rack of clothing was available for each size and each rack wasn't packed to the gills, if you know what I mean. So, here's what I found. A plunging metallic ombre dress (5th photo below) was $895. The Galaxy one shoulder dress (4th photo below) was $450, while a knee–length skirt (7th photo below) was $295. A strapless fuchsia cocktail dress (2nd photo below) was $200 and a sleeveless dress I found nearby (3rd photo below) was $550. Blouses were around $175, while wide buckle belts located in a plastic bin by the window were $225. Yikes! Simply put, the only thing that was under $100 were basic trousers. Not good news considering it's a sample sale. Moreover, you would assume that every piece would be carefully wrapped in plastic garment bag at these prices, right? Well, not really. I saw one or two blouses with tiny stains.
So, today's Lela Rose sample sale was definitely not for me. But still, there were many ladies who seemed happy to be there. Also, it was a bit hard to spot an employee, but once you did ask for help, they were very friendly. In fact, I witnessed one employee giving out advice to customers--which is always a plus. To sum it up, unless you are in desperate need for a last minute cocktail dress, I would skip this sale.
