Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Update: For Wednesday, the sale's final day, prices have been marked down an additional 30% off. Original sale prices are reflected below and in the gallery above.
We stopped by the Ports 1961 sample sale this morning just before the doors opened to the public at 11am to find styles are discounted to up to 90% off. We recommend checking out the gowns and more casual dresses first, as we found the most styles that we liked in those sections. Overall, unless you're looking for a dress in a dressier than business casual style or a special occasion gown, this sale might not be worth your time.
Prices here are as follows: Pants are $99, shirts are $109, skirts are $119, knits are $139, jackets are $169, heavier coats are $399, and gowns are $499.
You'll find gowns along the left-hand wall and and outerwear to the right once you enter the sale space, past the coat check and registers. A gray patterned cape coat ($399) takes up most of the rack, and we liked a white sleeveless leather vest ($399) that was in this area, too. On the gowns side, a white three-quarter sleeve style in a bright floral print ($499) stood out among its competition.
Continuing towards the back of the space, there are more gowns hanging on the left-hand wall. A gold lamé sleeveless v-neck gown ($499) was one of our favorite styles. We also liked a purple style with velvet chevron embroidery ($499). Racks of cocktails dresses are spaced along the right-hand wall, and there are more styles hanging in the middle of the room. Lots of the cocktail dresses are very outdated, but we did like a strapless red and gray ombré style ($199).
Past the cocktail dresses are the more casual dresses. There are lots of work-appropriate options, including a black and blue printed long sleeve wrap dress ($199), and a green v-neck three-quarter sleeve fit-and-flare style ($199).
Skirts, tops, and pants are in the back, with more pants and blazers hanging on racks in the center of the space. We weren't impressed with the styles available in this section — a pink short-sleeved chiffon blouse emblazoned with "Ports" in rhinestones ($109), a lime green pencil skirt ($119), and blue flared chinos ($99) were particularly memorable, and not in a good way.
It wasn't all duds, though: We did like a boxy snakeskin leather top ($109) and pleated leather shorts ($99) that are waiting to be noticed in the back lefthand corner, but there's only a few of each available. The knits are mostly sweaters and are hidden in the racks in this section. We liked an ultra-soft white turtleneck, and we noticed a cardigan in the same fabric right next to it as well (both $139).
For accessories, we only saw a few styles of bags stacked on shelves behind the registers. There are also a few 9-ounce Swell water bottles available for $13.
The sale runs through Wednesday at 7pm; Check out the Dealfeed below for more details.