While this is being pegged as a sample sale by 260 Fifth Avenue, many of the items appeared to be overstock from current and previous seasons. The J.Crew sample sale opened to the public today at 10am. Yesterday, sale organizers had a preview for friends & family. It was eerily quite with a few shoppers going through the racks which were organized by style (women’s merchandise on one side of the room and men’s on the other).
The space is filled with tons of stuff for men, women and children. Clothing is up front, shoes (organized by size) can found in the back as are other accessories (handbags, belts, swimwear). There were also a few racks of children’s clothing and kids shoes were in a plastic bin. Jewelry is kept in cases near the cash registers. The price list is below. While items are organized by style, you have to go through almost every piece to see the garment’s size. A bit time consuming. The Madewell pieces were hanging on several racks near the stairs. A couple of women going through those pieces found a few things they liked. I was hoping to find a summer cardigan or flats but I saw nothing special that I wanted to buy… That said, there’s lots of stuff here and if you’re willing to spend the time rummaging, you might find something you like. If you do walk out with anything, let us know!
Where/When: 260 Fifth Ave., b/t 28th & 29th Sts. June 19-24; Tues-Sat (10-8p), Sun (Noon-5p).
Women:
Dresses $60 (Collection dresses $149/$99)
Tops/shirts/blouses $30
Sweaters / madewell/ basic $35
Skirts $40
shorts $25
Pants linen/lightweight wool $70
Blazers/jackets $110
Handful of leather $199-$249
Jeans $40
Mens:
Apparel same pricing as women
Swim trunks $25
Handbags:
Cross-body (leather & suede) $80
Medium bags, satchels $120
Jewelry:
Bracelets/bangles $15-$25
Necklace $35-$60
Footwear:
Ballet flats $60
Collection exotic skin $99
Heels/boots $100
Men’s dress shoes $100
Long long line…….. Been waiting for more than half hour to get in….
Got there about 10:30a, and didn’t actually make it into the sale until almost noon. I found several things I liked, but ended up putting about half of them back on the rack because I felt like I could get similar items for less from amazon or directly from j crew clearance sales (especially since most of the things I saw weren’t actually samples – they appeared to be retail overstock items). I’m hard to please on sale pricing, but I just couldn’t swallow $65 for plain flats.
That being said, they do have a TON of items in there. I found a couple of good staple tops ($15 – $30 each), a cute pair of ‘boyfriend shorts’ ($25), and a great blue/white striped modal scarf ($15). They also had some well priced chino slacks ($25-$40 each), but I couldn’t find the right sizes.
Overall, worth going to if you have the time and patience to wait and rummage. Just don’t expect magic.
FRIENDS? the only reason i go to this sale is to get unusual sample items
now that i know 260 is allowing friendsin beforehand i will never go again…i certiantly wouldnt have gotten up at 6am to be 3rd in line. I was wondering where all the interesting stuff was –unbelievable
I cannot stand 260 sales and this sale was TOO CROWDED –too many customers and too many STAFF getting in the way !
JCREW Should give this to another proprietor
Picked up four scarves at $15 each, a gray zip-up sweater for my boyfriend at $35, a pink polo shirt for my brother at $15, and two long sleeved silk blouses for myself at $30 each, and the Tillary purse in canvas for $20! I don’t recommend this sale if you don’t have time or patience to dig.
I was there at 2:30pm today, had to wait ~35 mins in line outside in order to get into the store. I got really frustrated after waiting and by the time i got up to the doorman, I saw him just let some woman in who was clearly not even a friend, just a person trying to look through the door. i knew exactly what I was looking for, so it was a bit frustrating navigating through the crowds. there were some decent deals, but i didn’t have the patience to rummage through everything and I was on a relatively tight budget. I ended up walking out with a nice “perfect shirt” for $30, but questioned whether or not it was even worth all the time I had wasted standing in line. if you are patient and have extra cash to spend, i’m sure if you spend a lot of time in there you can find some gems, but don’t try to go there thinking you’ll be in and out within an hour. there’s a huge line outside, one to get into the dressing room and one to purchase your items.
I thought it was the worst of all the jcrew “sample sales”. Frankl the worst sample sale i have been too and i have been to them all including CYNTHIA SS STEFFE!
I just do not understand why this venue was chosen. JCREW could have sold all this overstock in one day at a biggger space. Its too cramped and it has left a giant sour taste in my mouth for jcrew!
I am not alone in my sentiments. It was too cramped and dangerous and I think both a crowd and fire hazard.
and if one person more nearly BLINDED me with a hanger I was going to scream. I was unnerved and upset when i left “` shaking frankly. I am no sample sale virgin but this was the WORST
I agree somewhat with Crazed. No bargains & overcrowded. Maybe an additional 50% will do the trick for me:). But for now, neither the merchandise or the prices are worthy of sample sale stoicism.