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Ladylike with a sartorial edge is the best way to describe Prabal Gurung's latest sample sale, which opened to the public at 8am this morning in the designer's Garment District offices. Another way to describe it? Full of jaw-dropping discounts. In what's quickly become one of our favorite sample sales, everything from fall 2014 and earlier is close to or above 90% off retail prices—but unfortunately there isn't a ton of it to go around.
You'll find this merchandise on the righthand side of the glass-walled conference room-turned-sale space, where dresses generally hovered between $100 and $200 while items like mini-skirts and shorts stayed just below the $100 mark. The occasional blouse or jacket—like a stunning cropped leather jacket from fall 2013 that's knocked down nearly $2,000—are found here as well, but the boldly-printed silk dresses and shirts are the stars both in this area and throughout the sale.
On the opposite end, you'll find pieces from spring and resort 2015, and while the discounts are still great—closer to 70% off—prices go up considerably. Similarly-constructed silk dresses were closer to $500, while an all-leather number went up to $759 and a mostly white dress wrapped in a plastic bag that could easily double as a wedding gown was $1,320 (from $6,495). Those looking to grab a great piece from the designer while still maintaining some semblance of a bank account would do well to just focus on the older pieces.
A note about sizing: While last fall's sale had a lot of 0s and 4s, plenty of what we picked up today is a size 6, especially from prior collections. The occasional 2s, 4s, and 10s were in here as well, but it's the 6s who really have the opportunity to clean up. And while items from fall 2014 and earlier were rarely repeated on the racks, the pricier spring 2015 pieces usually had a few sizes available for each style.
Off the racks are stacks of tee-shirts ($50), a pile of belts ($30), lightweight sweaters (priced as marked), and two colorways of two different styles of shoes ($150), available in sizes 36 through 40. Don't expect prices to drop between now and the sale's closing time at 7pm tomorrow—if there's something in the gallery above that you want, go grab it now. The sale's taking place on the 15th floor of 247 West 37th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.