*SALE HUNT* A Peek Inside the Chanel Pre-Sale

Sample sale season is still abuzz but I thought I'd direct your attention to a different kind of sale. As I reported yesterday, the highest of the haute French luxury brands, Chanel, started their seasonal markdown this week. After receiving an invite from my SA a few days ago, I headed over to their NYC flagship boutique yesterday and spent my afternoon getting some retail therapy. So, would you like a peek inside? Right this way s'il vous plaît.

When I arrived at the Chanel boutique on 57th St, I found the staff had discreetly transformed portions of the store for their pre-sale shoppers. The shoe section, situated on the 2nd floor, was comprised of the newly arrived Pre-Fall '14 Paris-Dallas collection as well as the sale merchandise from the Resort and S/S '14 catalogues. The shoe shelves on the left wall was where the sale items were. Each shelf held several styles of Chanel's summery sandals, flats, pumps, peep-toes and wedges. Footwear was discounted 40%. I found a cute pair of pearl embellished sandals for $789 (5th photo below), pearl embellished strappy sandals for $615, CC logo embossed cap toe flats for $450, camellia embellished wedge sandals for $630, and chain detailed t-strap sandals for around $900.

The pre-sale RTW inventory was located one flight up on the 3rd floor. Here you'll find the entire level dedicated to markdown clothes. Just like shoes, prêt-à-porter was 40% off. While inspecting the offerings, I spotted a delicate ivory silk blouse for $990, an elegant scoop neck cardigan for $1,380, a beautiful tweed knee-length skirt for $1,650, and gorgeous spaghetti strap silk dress for $2,970.

This year's Chanel summer markdown officially begins this Monday which means you now have a 3 day lead to take advantage of their pre-sale. If you plan on checking it out, please note you will not be able to pick up your purchase until Monday when the sale opens to the public. If discount shopping at the glossy flagship store sounds a bit daunting, the same discounts are being offered at their Soho store which has a bit more casual ambiance. Finally, I would like to mention, unlike department store sales, Chanel boutiques do not offer a second round of markdowns so don't expect additional price cuts.

P.S.- You'll have to pardon the quality of some of these photos. I was politely told by my SA not to take any but I couldn't resist a few snapshots to share with my fellow Mizhattanites. Hence the poor quality.