*SAMPLE SALE* My Day at DK

A lot has happened to DKNY since I last attended one of their sample sales. Donna Karan, the founder of Donna Karan International, abruptly left the company after 31 years at the helm. As a result, the brand (now in the sole hands of LVMH) has been going through big changes including hiring new designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School fame and revamping the label. As it is the norm for any big fashion house, cleaning up usually means clearing out and they did just that by hosting a sample sale that kicked off this morning.

I got an early glimpse at this week's DKNY sample sale at Clothingline just before the doors opened to the public. The staff was busy getting ready for the big opening and they were filling up and organizing racks. Before I started my full inspection of the merchandise, I did a quick scan of the pricing and was pleasantly surprised by the markdowns. The list included t-shirts for $20, embellished blouses for $40, sweaters for $30, dresses for $60, evening frocks for $70, skirts for $25, pants for $40, coats for $70, leather jackets for $125, and shearlings for $250. All in all, I would say these were excellent deals.

As far as selections go, I spotted understated office staples to glittery cocktail dresses and everything in between. To mention a couple of examples, I saw this cute black ruffled mini skirt (priced $25) and this tiered bottom dress (priced $60) at the sale today. FYI, they are currently selling on Net-A-Porter at full retail. Other notable merchandise worth mentioning are the boyfriend-fit one button coats, leopard-print shirt dresses, collar-embellished blouses, and gold pleated skirts. Sizes were available from P(0) through XL(14).

Knitwear items plus a small selection of t-shirt dresses were displayed separately near the entrance of the venue (1st & 2nd photos below). There were turtlenecks, oversized styles, stripes, sequins, classic crewnecks, and more. T-shirt dresses were marked down to just $20 while sweaters were priced $30.

The most surprising part of today's sale, besides the spectacular prices, was the fact that there were items from Donna Karan's main collection. Though the selection was limited to just four racks, the designer's remarkable pieces were priced unbelievably low. Floor-length evening gowns, classic black pencil skirts, draped-front tops, sleeveless dresses, and open-front cardigans were all marked down to $150 and under. Woohoo!

As much as I enjoyed browsing today's DKNY sample sale, there was one disappointing detail which was that there were no accessories or men's merchandise present. You should also know that all of the inventory is from the Donna Karan era which means you'll find no items designed by Chow and Osborne. However, to end on a bright note, restocking is expected throughout the sale so that's good news for those who decide to drop by later on.

Price list:

DKNY

T-shirts $20

Tops $30

Sweaters $30

Sequin & beaded blouses $40

Dresses $60

Sequin & beaded dresses $70

Pants $40

Skirts $25

Leather skirts $100

Blazers $60

Outerwear $70

Leather jackets $125

Shearling $250

Donna Karan

Blouses/Tops/Sweaters $50

Dresses $100

Evening dresses $125

Pants/Skirts $60

Leather skirts $125

Jackets $100

Outerwear $100

Leather jackets $150