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The Barneys Summer Sale: Everything Worth Buying IRL

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Capital "S" Sale Season is winding down, which means one thing: that markdowns are really, really good right now. We stopped by one of NYC's department store meccas, Barneys, to scope out the deals, and found both good and bad news. The good? Tons of shoes are on sale right now, including big brands like Chanel, Louboutin, and Manolo Blahnik. The bad? There are no handbags on sale in the store—everything's online instead.

On the fifth floor shoe salon, sale shoes are located to the right, and are divided up by size. There's tons of styles, and selection doesn't vary too much from size to size, with Chanel and Louboutin making up a huge chunk of the merchandise. Between the (relatively crowded) racks, we found tons of spring sandals from Chanel (mostly in the $700 range), Céline slides ($319 range), Louboutin pumps and oxfords in the $700 range, Louboutin flats and kitten heels in the $400 range, Margiela mules ($309), embroidered Prada mules ($269), Manolo Blahnik black pointed-toe flats ($449), black Chanel oxford booties ($1,009), pink Paul Andrew pumps ($479), chunky Sacai sandals ($159), basic Manolo pumps ($239), Celine flat ankle boots ($419), and Narciso Rodriguez flats ($239). One important thing to note: Don't bother if you're looking for discounts on constantly-in-demand styles like Valentino Rockstuds (not only did we not spot any, we didn't spy any Valentino shoes on sale whatsoever), or quilted Chanel ballet flats.

If you've come for the clothes, however, you're in luck: The apparel sale extends to just about every floor of the store. Expect to do lots of walking between levels—you might find a few Chloé items in one section, and more three floors up.

Among the many, many racks, expect to find discounts between 50% and 60% off the spring collections of designers like Prada, Lanvin, Givenchy, Erdem, Mary Katrantzou, Chloé, Saint Laurent, Alexander Wang, Derek Lam, The Row, J.W. Anderson, J. Mendel, and others, though the best prices can be found on the sixth floor, where contemporary brands like Acne Studios, T by Alexander Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Wayne, and Band of Outsiders (R.I.P.!) live. Here we spotted a gorgeous pink, silky 3.1 Phillip Lim dress ($339), a striped Band of Outsiders dress ($479), Wayne sundresses ($249), a sheer pale blue Acne top for $199, and a denim T by Alexander Wang top for $159.

In short, no, it's not the cheapest sale in the world, but if you're looking for half-off discounts on specific shoes or apparel from a favorite designer, this is the place to be.

Barneys New York, Madison

660 Madison Avenue, Manhattan, NY 10065 (212) 826-8900 Visit Website