Category: New York City
Sandro Sample Sale Review – September 2018
When:
October 9th 2018 to October 14th 2018
Where:
260 Sample Sale, 150 Greene Street, New York, 10012- View venue
What:
It’s the sample sale we’ve all been waiting for…. Sandro! Besides the Sandro Stock store in Paris (a well-kept secret along with Maje and Claudie Pierlot Stock), 260 Sample Sale is the best place to get Sandro’s laid back chic French ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories for men and women at a lower price point! This is usually one of my favorite sample sales of the year! Cash and cards accepted. All sales final.
My Experience – 3/5
My friend Teresa and I went right after work at 5:30PM on 10/9, the day the Sandro sale opened to the public. I saw on Instgram that the line for the sale started at 5AM (WHAAT). I love sample sales, but I’m not sure if I’d get up that early for cheap fashion. When we arrived, I was expecting the line to be long, but not this long. We were two blocks away from the entrance to the store with maybe 70+ people in line. Luckily, me were into the store within 40 minutes. I’ve been at other sample sales where it took 1.5 hours to get in the door *cough cough reformation*.
The Selection – 3/5
Coats, shorts, skirts, pants, jeans, and everything in between. The racks were packed, but the selection was relatively limited. I’ve actually never been to a sample sale where I wanted so little… there were good staple blouses, party dresses, and winter coats, but not a graphic tee or cute blazer/jacket in sight. There were a LOT of items, but they were pretty repetitive. I wish I had some more time to dig around, but with people shoving you from every direction, it’s hard to take a good look at every item. I wouldn’t worry about them selling out! 260 Sample always refreshes the stock daily so there will definitely be decent pieces remaining if you can’t make it today!
The Shoes – 5/5
Many cute flat options for work and heels for dressy events! I had my eye on a pair of wrap-up slingback flats, but decided I have enough shoes already.
The Accessories – 4/5
Lots of good staple purses and bags for men and women! If Eugen used briefcases, I would have gotten him that brown one in a heartbeat.
The Prices 4/5
See the below images for current pricing at 260 Sample Sale. I would say these are fair prices for Sandro products. If you want to wait for them to drop further, 260 Sample Sale always reduces the prices for the last few days. Sometimes they go down by 20-50%. The trade-off is that the staple items and a lot of the trendier pieces will be out of stock by the time the prices go down.
I was a little peeved at 260 because the blouse I had picked up had a tag from a Sandro store that said they were charging $37 for it, but 260 still charged the marked up price ($65). 260 is charging higher prices than Sandro stores in some cases so don’t trick yourself into thinking these are the best deals out there!!
The Overall Experience – 3.5/5
Like most other sample sales, you have to push your way through the aisles and hold your breath while passing (or smushing bodies to get by) some people while simultaneously holding onto your phone, wallet, and items you’ve picked up. I ended up buying a staple blouse in white that I already own in black, but I don’t think the sale was worth the wait in line. I’ll probably head back when the prices drop in a few days just to see if there are any new pieces.
Follow @Hersey.Kiss on Instagram for live shopping and updates on the Sandro Sample Sale.
My Picks
We left with a couple items each, but here are some of the other cool items I found:
Share Your Experience Did you go to the Sandro Sample Sale? What did you think? Share your thoughts below!
The Bagel Bible
The true guide to New York City’s bagels.
The bodega around the corner most likely has “bagels” 24/7, but nothing compares to a true, fresh-out-of the-oven NYC bagel. Back in CT, I find myself craving these all the time so now that I’m back, it’s hard to stop eating them! Here’s my list of the top places to hit up (and places to steer clear of).
- Hudson Bagels– Far and away the best bagels you will find in New York City. Luckily, this small, family-owned bagel shop isn’t super trendy and never has outrageous lines like many of these other places (a major + in my mind).
- Murray’s Bagels– Overhyped and not worth the wait for a crunchy bagel. They do, however, have a very wide variety of cream cheese flavors.
- Tompkins Square Bagels– Always incredibly crowded here. The line wraps around the store and out the door. That being said, their bagels are to die for.
- H&H– One of the most famous bagel shops in the city. I don’t think they are worth the trek uptown, but if you’re in the area, may as well check it off your list
- Bagels on the Square– First of all, it’s actually a bit of a walk from the square, unlike the name suggests… That being said, these bagels are just .. blah. Go to Hudson Bagels.
- Bagel Bob’s– This is the NYC Freshman bagel headquarters. It’s right on University so it’s easy to stop in and grab something to munch on on the way to Stern. Unfortunately, the line can get very long during passing time.
Killer Heels
I touched on this in Paris, but it’s even more true in Manhattan. If you intend to wear heels on a day you will be walking a lot, be careful… you may never walk again.
As a former dancer, my feet have built up a very high pain tolerance, but sometimes it’s too much for me. A girl can only push through the pain of so many blisters. I’m usually running a few minutes behind schedule and have to rush from one place to the next. Speed walking in heels on the uneven sidewalks of New York, carrying a heavy bag filled with textbooks is always a recipe for disaster.
Here’s my favorite pair to wear around. They look great and are not too tall to be uncomfortable on my hasty runs to class.
I asked around and here’s some of the best advice I got for wearing heels in the Big City:
- Don’t wear suede heels in the winter because they WILL get wet and they WILL be ruined. forever.
- Get a pair with a thick, sturdy heel not a tiny little skinny one unless you want to eat s***.
- Get some comfy gel inserts or wear shoes with platforms. The sidewalks of the City will have no mercy on the balls of your feet.
- Don’t wear stilettos in the West Village or Chelsea because the cobblestone will destroy the heels.
- Make sure your destination has a seat!
- Carry blister band aids with you at all times. There’s nothing worse than blisters you can’t do anything about.
Back to School Shopping. New York Style.
What would a new school year be without some new outfits to freshen up your wardrobe? And while online shopping is good fun, why spend your time hunched over your laptop when you could go out in the fashion capital of the world?
Since we arrived a few days early, I dragged my friends out with me to enjoy the nice weather. We went up Fifth Ave because I am still holding a grudge against SoHo after some unfortunate events last year. Near us, Fifth Ave has a lot of chain retailers so we took a peek around there before heading down some smaller side streets. One of my favorite stores, PinkyOtto, is near the Flatiron so we headed over there next.
I’ve been dying to try wearing hats so with the encouragement of my friends, I finally bought one. We’ll see if I actually end up wearing it though. I also bought a simple, striped t-shirt dress. There is an adorable triangle cutout on the back though, making it more fun than a plain shirt dress.
Rae Hersey 