Cheryl Shops

Cheryl shops...the Prada sample sale
This morning, I finally made it to the Prada sample sale. I always go into this sale with a pretty open mind--much like hitting an outlet mall. You can't go to this sale with a "I hope they have that peacock top" frame of mind, because 1) the current-season stuff always goes in the first day or two, and 2) it's just kind of catch-as-catch-can. If you like fancy cashmere sweaters (the good stuff, not the $89 crap from Lord & Taylor), it's a good place to stock up (more on that later). Also, if you never got around to buying something from a previous collection, it might turn up here. For example, this sale had much merchandise from the "Chinoiserie" collection from two summers ago. The good news is that this year's sale had a lot more Miu Miu than previous years--I tend to prefer Miu Miu to Prada due to its more youthful look and its more Cheryl-friendly prices--and by the time you take 50% off Miu Miu at wholesale, it's like shopping at Banana Republic. Price-wise, that is. There is still a lot of merchandise--pants in all colors, a lot of orange stuff, gorgeous silk mousseline skirts, stiff taffeta minis, and cashmere sweaters galore. There were also a ton of belts--so many that I was too overwhelmed to go through all of them. The shoes were a bit disappointing--pretty much everything left at this point is a platform. (Note to Miuccia: Enough with the platforms.) I managed to find a Prada Sport slip-on sneaker thing, webbed silver with black accents, and I couldn't decide if they were ugly or cool, but I bought them anyway because they were like $45. Bag-wise, if you like satin or exotic skins, you're in luck. Otherwise, not so much. (Keep in mind, though, that Prada, like many luxury houses, makes its money in bags and shoes, so of course it's going to be slim pickings at a sale like this.) Price-wise, most of what I saw was 50% off wholesale, which put the Prada Sport and Miu Miu stuff in the $40-$150 range but the Prada at $150 and up; last year I got five tops for under $200, but this year I had a hard time finding a sweater for less than that. I'm assuming that they'll mark everything down further as the week goes on, so if there are any slots left, bargain hunters, sign up for 'em. In addition to my Spider-Man-if-he-were-silver-instead-of-red shoes, I got a gorgeous fall 2003 Miu Miu silk chiffon skirt (they couldn't find a price for it, so they gave it to me for $50--whee!) and a Miu Miu floppy felt hat (random impulse purchase, but very fall-looking). Overall, not my most successful shopping trip, but still worthwhile. I think.