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J. Mendel is back with another luxe sample sale in the Garment District, and boy, was it fancy. We previewed the sale yesterday afternoon, prior to today's by-appointment hours (sorry, they're all booked up) and Thursday and Friday's walk-in hours. Similar to last year, there are plenty of furs, gowns, and shoes at 75% off.
Fur is, of course, the star of the show at this sale. We spotted everything from pink fox coats ($2,475) to chinchilla coats ($7,800) to Afghan lamb jackets ($5,500). There was also plenty of mink in various silhouettes and colors. Only two or three sizes were out per piece, but stylists were available to grab other sizes from back stock if needed. See the gallery above for more of the fur selection.
Near the fur, you'll find a few racks of shearling coats and leather biker jackets ($815). We spotted a camel-colored shearling coat for $2,070 and a teal leather and shearling jacket that would make a perfect transition-weather layering piece ($2,070).
The gown section is the second-largest in the space. Arranged by color, the gowns started at size 0 and went up to size 12. We spotted a fully beaded (and heavy!) black and gold tulle gown for $4,875 (from $19,500) and a floral organza gown with netting marked at $3,115 (from $8,000).
Business casual and cocktail-style dresses are right next to the gowns. A rouge colored lace shift dress was $875 (originally $2,500) and a navy/burnt orange lurex jacquard dress was marked at $650 (originally $2,600). There wasn't much by way of business casual pieces outside of the dresses, but we did see a silk chiffon bowtie top ($350) and a duchess satin top in white with embroidered shoulders ($135). Be sure to double-check for snags and stains in this section, because we saw a few that weren't marked.
Manolo Blahnik heels, flats, and boots are available again, but they started at $200 for flat gladiator sandals and went up to $350 for tall suede and leather blocked boots in various colors — still pretty good price-wise, but a bummer if you were looking for the same deals as last year. The shoes all looked gently worn with slight scuffing on the leather, and weren't available in anything smaller than a 38.5.
Handbags and accessories are in front by the check out. There's a table of scarves in mink ($1,170) and cashmere ($1,350), and we spotted a very vintage glamour-esque fox muff in black ($625, originally $2,500). Of the handbags, the Melodie classic was available in a few different colors and materials and marked at $1,560. There were Moonlight miniaudieres available in colored alligator and stingray for $1,260 as well. You'll also find some cute mink letter keychains ($148) and a bowl of wool scarves in blue and red for $150.
As expected, this is not your casual sale where you come in and pick up a few things — at prices like this, you need to be ready to invest. Additional sizes are available, and there is a fitting room in the gown section. The sale will be restocked again before Thursday, and again on Friday. Check out the Dealfeed below to see when you can stop by.