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: As of Thursday morning, everything is marked down an additional 50% off. Original sale prices are reflected below and in the gallery above, and you can see our latest sale report here.
The Theory and Helmut Lang joint sample sale kicked off this morning in the Garment District, and we popped in right before its 11am start time to check it out. We were still there when the doors opened to the public to see the sale space become somewhat of a mob scene, so expect long lines and a hectic atmosphere inside.
Another thing to note is that a significant number of items are damaged, so much so that there are bright yellow signs inside warning shoppers to check their merchandise carefully before buying.The selection isn't outdated, but it certainly isn't current. Overall, we saw a lot of white.
Womenswear is up first, and prices for both brands are as follows: Tops, tees, skirts, and sweaters are $50; shorts and pants are $55; dresses and jumpsuits are $70; blazers and zip-up sweatshirts are $90; and vests and outerwear are $155.
When you get past the registers, you'll find Helmut Lang dresses to the left and a rack of skirts to the right. We noted a purple satin-y mini dress with a cutout racerback ($70), an abstract-print gray and white three-quarter sleeve bodycon dress with draping at the hips ($70), a monochrome printed mini skirt ($50), and a white cropped sweater in a chunky knit ($55).
Tops and sweaters are to the right as you walk further back into the space, with more dresses to the left. There are a few blazers ($90) behind the dresses, but the selection isn't great and we didn't see a great assortment of sizes. There are a few racks of pants ($55) toward the middle of the space, where we noticed a few pairs of jeans mixed in as well.
Coats ($155) are behind the blazers, and while there's only one rack of these, we recommend spending a few minutes here. There are a few black walker coats with leather trim that are marked down from the $850 range. A white wool coat with goat fur trim is 90% off at $155, marked down from $1,690.
Theory womenswear starts abruptly about halfway back into the space, with racks of Helmut Lang pants blending in to racks of Theory pants. A cropped style of clean-cut pants ($55) available in khaki, olive, navy, and white takes up a good portion of the first few racks, with dresses hanging to the right and tops and blazers to the left. There's a decent selection of blazers ($90), but since shoppers were flocking to this section, expect it to dwindle quickly.
The selection of tops ($50) is overall very colorful and printed, which is pretty unexpected. We noted a green sleeveless style and a bright orange blouse (both $50) that stood out for their vibrancy. Sweaters ($55) start in the back left corner and are hanging in front of the windows along the back wall. Styles ranged from a chic three-quarter sleeved sweater in navy to chunky knits in odd patterns. There are a few coats ($155) at the end of this section, but nothing stood out as really special.
The men's section and fitting rooms are in the back right corner of the space. We only saw two racks of Helmut Lang in the very back of the section, so it's almost entirely Theory styles. Men's tees, shirts, and sweaters are $50, shorts and pants are $55, blazers and zip-up sweaters are $100, and vests and outerwear is $155. There's a good selection of tees, sweaters, and pants, with a few racks of blazers hanging below the pants along the right-hand wall. There are also boxes of sportshirts on a table in the back of the section for $50.
Be prepared to wait in the cold to get into this sale at any point today. Check out the Dealfeed below for more details about the sale.