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When we stopped by yesterday's preview of The Kooples sample sale (it's open to the public today as of 9am), we made three somewhat unusual observations. First, there were few shoppers at the outset, especially considering the excellent prices. Second, the majority of them were men. And third, almost everyone was French — bonjour!. Those who were there first all seemed to have the same idea: Go straight to the outerwear and the leather.
Almost every person we saw was carrying around at least a coat or two, which should come at no surprise considering the price — only $295 for both men's and women's styles. In some cases, this meant really impressive discounts, like when we spotted leather jackets originally priced upwards of $1,100. Therefore, if leather jackets are what you're in the market for, stop by sooner rather than later. While there was a good variety of styles and sizes, there's only one rack per gender, and they'll likely get cleaned out pretty fast.
In general, the largest supply of inventory seemed to be in non-leather jacket outerwear, with tons of parkas, puffers (cropped or otherwise), and wool coats in both men's and women's. Many of these styles are fur-trimmed or leather-paneled, which will add that little bit of je ne sais quoi to your winter wear, and the majority seemed on-trend enough to easily wear this season.
As far as getting the best bang for your buck, this might be in handbags. There were a few shelves of styles embellished with fringe, studs, and buckles, and all were only $65. In case you're still on the wait list for the infamous Mansur Gavriel bucket bag, the black and animal-print options here are a worthy placeholder (and marked down from $495), while the small buckle bags are PS11-esque for roughly 3.5% of the Proenza Schouler price tag. Not a bad deal, non?
Elsewhere, shoes were appealing at $125 per pair, especially the cold-weather appropriate combat boots. Beware, though — while there is backstock here, it is not available in all sizes. In particular, a super-functional stacked heel black boot was the only one available, so beeline to the shoe section if that's what you're angling for. Women have an array of styles to choose from -— particularly when it comes to loafers and flats — but men, alas, only seem to have three: a camel-colored ankle boot, white high-tops, and a sort of generic (but nice) black boot.
In ready-to-wear, women will find denim for $55, tees for $45, shirts for $70, knitwear for $85, and sweatpants for $60. Options here are limited, but there are a few Kanye-approved leather-look sweatpants available. Men, on the other hand, can expect a lot of suiting — think jackets for $195 and pants for $85 — as well as comparable prices to women's on tees, knits, and sweats (denim is slightly more expensive at $65).
One quick note for those unfamiliar with the brand: Though we found a good mix of sizes available, in general they all seemed to run quite small, at least for women. Keep this in mind as you browse to make sure you're grabbing sizes likely to fit.
We were told there is some more merchandise that's not on the floor, so expect restocking as the sale continues. We also heard they may drop prices at the end, but there are no guarantees. Back in April, those with patience got an extra 20% off, so let's hope that established a precedent for this season. The sale runs until Sunday at 4pm; check out the Dealfeed below for more details.
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