Cheryl Shops

Cheryl Shops...the Mayle sample sale
When it comes to sample sales, there's the bad and the good, and there's very little in between. For the former, for example, I went to the Alexander Wang sample sale last week, which I had been very excited about, and while there was some cute stuff, very few items were available in anything above a size 4, plus if you wanted to use a credit card, you had to spend $500--credit-card minimums are a personal pet peeve of mine, by the way, and they are technically illegal (and I'm sorry, I don't carry around $300 in cash). Sample sales can be disappointing for a lot of reasons, but when it's a designer I really admire and appreciate--and, yes, I really dig Alexander Wang, and he's a West Coast designer!--when the sale sucks, it's a huge letdown.

Which brings me to the good. I love Jane Mayle's clothing. It's feminine, it's a little retro, and she uses beautiful fabrics and detailing that you don't see anywhere else. Mayle used to be somewhat affordable, but in the last few years, it's spiraled a little out of my price range--I'm talking $400 for a sweater, $600 for a dress. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I approached today's sample sale--I was expecting a madhouse and prices still out of my reach. Thankfully, I did not have to wait in line to get in, which was good sign #1. There were a lot of girls stripping down to their undies and trying stuff on left and right, but nowhere near Barneys Warehouse Sale levels of mayhem. In short, they had a lot of merchandise--from this season, even!--and it was cheap cheapity cheap. Tops (including sweaters) are $70, skirts are $40, pants and shorts are a mere $25, dresses are $100, and coats are $125; there were a lot of huge shoes (I'm talking size 11) and some of the leopard-print handbags that are on sale at Barneys at the moment. I seriously had to edit my selections; what I wanted to do was say, "I'll take one of everything." But I ended up with a mod shift dress (pictured here and currently $645 at Steven Alan), a leopard-print mini (not as trashy as it sounds), a pair of high-waist wool trousers ($25, man!), and the April "Calendar knit" sweater from Barneys. The best part? For all four items, I paid less than what I'd pay for one Mayle sweater on double markdown at her boutique on Elizabeth Street. And considering that prices had been marked down once already, I have a feeling they might go down again tomorrow. Seriously, if they get any cheaper, they'll be giving the stuff away.

Have I not convinced you yet? Go, go, go to the sale! Thursday is the last day! It's at 95 Canal Street (between Eldridge & Forsythe) from 11-7. Believe me, it's worth the schlepp to Chinatown. What are you waiting for? Go!