Cheryl Shops

Cheryl Shops...the Barneys Warehouse Sale
After my little jaunt to the Barneys Warehouse Sale this morning, I came to the conclusion that I am now a pro at shopping this sale. I was in and out in a record 45 minutes, although the merchandise did seem a bit more sparse than usual. (But I guess that's good for Barneys--less product for them to sell at a slim profit.) I always hit the designer racks first, and there was a lot of good stuff--tons of Narcisco Rodriguez, Proenza Schouler, a bit of Balenciaga, some gross Zac Posen stuff, and quite a bit of Boudicca. I found a gorgeous pair of wide-leg Alexander McQueen trousers for a ridiculous $79, but unfortunately they were a bit snug in the waist. (Um, okay, they were so tight I couldn't button them. Let's just say I'm not a 42 in McQueen.) In the regular ready-to-wear racks, there was a ton of Rebecca Taylor stuff that I'd never even seen in the stores, many Marc by Marc Jacobs jackets, some Development pants, quite a bit of Future Classics tops and skirts, some scattered Theory items, and, of course, a lot of private label. The denim bins contained a lot of cropped Diesel jeans, colored Citizens of Humanity jeans, and assorted white jeans. I'm always successful in the knitwear bins; I found a last-winter's Marc by Marc teal and silver Lurex belted cardigan and an adorable tank from Rebecca Taylor that I didn't really need but bought anyway. There were some cool cardigans from Diane von Furstenberg and, again, a lot of private-label cashmere (always a good deal). They also had a bunch of accessories--leather gloves, wallets, knit hats, crocheted ponchos, and wide leather belts, as well as some private-label handbags. There were two tiny bins of lingerie and swimwear; I found a La Cosa tank for a bargain $19 (they had a lot, so run run run!) and a crazy pink boyshort (seriously, neon pink). Now, you're probably wondering about the shoes. Well, instead of saving the best for last, I've saved...the worst for last. I was so disappointed by the shoes, I wanted to cry. I even went back again at the end to see if there was anything I missed. Um, no. Now, I'm a 39, so, for comparison's sake, I looked at other sizes, and of course, there were a ton of cute shoes--an awesome swirly purple Miu Miu Mary Jane, a bejeweled Manolo Blahnik stiletto flip-flop, all manner of Prada Sport sandals and flats, sexy Christian Louboutin heels...Yeah, all you people suck. Of course, even though I was kind of underwhelmed by the sale, I still managed to spend $200 (although normally I spend roughly twice that). And I love my Marc sweater--I'm going to go all-out boho and wear it with my vintage slipdress, a wide belt, and some flat, slouchy boots.

And: It's over now, but I hit the Intermix sale on my way home from work and it was, as I had predicted, a bit of a mess. The fitting room was a zoo, the racks were all mangled, and by the time I left, the workers were just throwing clothes on these long tables, and the shoppers were picking through them like vultures. Still, they had True Religion jeans for $80 (20% off $99) and Chloe trousers for $129--both in my size, amazingly--but I already have enough jeans and Chloe trousers, plus the line was ridiculously long, so I called it a night.

Not enough sample sales for you? Check back Monday night for my review of the Prada sale.