A Guide to Fashion’s Night Out… Discounts, Gift Bags and Cocktails

Thursday night (6-11pm), hundreds of retailers and designers are hosting events across the five boroughs intended to boost consumer confidence while celebrating fashion.  In Manhattan alone, walk into almost any boutique and you’ll get handed a glass of Champagne.  There are so many events planned – get complimentary cosmetics at Saks, free manicures at Chanel, and meet Anna Wintour in Queens or vie for photo ops with Donna Karan, Narciso Rodriguez, Alexander Wang and other designers in Manhattan – that you may want to narrow your list.

To help you with your list, here’s a guide to the top events of Fashion’s Night Out:

• Check out Zac Posen creating one-of-a-kind paintings in the front window at Bergdorf Goodman from 5 to 6 p.m. Watch “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi conduct a cookoff between designers Peter Som, Cynthia Rowley and Lela Rose from 6 to 7. Feeling peckish and getting thirsty? The Olsen twins tend bar and serve appetizers from 7 to 8. Vogue editor at large Andre Leon Talley hosts a game show featuring designer Donna Karan and stylist Robert Verdi from 8 to 9. And Isaac Mizrahi performs a cabaret act at 9. If you hang out long enough, you may catch celeb appearances by Victoria Beckham, Manolo Blahnik and Narciso Rodriquez. Where: 754 Fifth Ave. at 58th St.

• If you’re looking for the Fashion’s Night Out T-shirt, stop by Prada and Gucci where you can get one for free.  Not bad considering the other retailers will be selling it for $35.  But go early, supplies may not last.  At Prada’s Fifth Avenue store, Creative Director of Vogue, Grace Coddington will recreate her magical Little Red Riding Hood story from the September issue of Vogue. Prada has produced a limited edition red basket bag for the night, a red cape and a red coat sold exclusively on Fashion’s Night Out in honour of Grace’s project. Where: 724 Fifth Ave. b/w 56th & 57th Sts.

• Take a breather at Takashimaya where you can view a Japanese exhibition on the main floor as you sip wine and savor hors d’oeuvres. Tea tastings with sweet treats in the lower level.  Sake tasting and snack on sushi on the third floor. Stop by the fifth floor for the Lingerie Diet Champagne event and meet founder Margaret Shrum.  You’ll get a $25 gift certificate when you spend $100, a $50 certificate for purchases totaling $250 and up.  Where: 693 Fifth Avenue (at Fifty-seventh Street).

• Get the star treatment at Saks Fifth Avenue where they’ve laid out the red carpet to lead you into the store’s Fifth Avenue entrance. Head straight for the beauty section where the real deals are found.   More than 7,000 cosmetics will be given away from Estée Lauder, Frederic Fekkai, Laura Mercier, and Tom Ford. You can also take advantage of complimentary brow-shaping services, while guys receive free clean-ups at John Allan’s men’s salon.  Also, you’ll get a chance to mingle with Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera, Peter Som and other designers. Where: 611 Fifth Ave., at 50th St.

• New York native Liev Schreiber and Eileen Guggenheim host an auction at Ralph Lauren’s Rhinelander Mansion uptown, featuring pieces from the New York Academy of Art from 7 to 9 p.m. Where: 867 Madison Ave. at 72nd St.

• At Barneys, you can mingle with some of fashion’s stars while you shop and drink your brains out.  The guests include Narcisco Rodriguez, Isabel Toledo, Thom Browne, Alexander Wang and more.  Wang will host runway-strutting lessons.  If that’s not your speed and you’d rather do something more crafty, you can take a knitting lesson with Wool and the Gang. And swing by the Sue Devitt beauty counter — the first 50 visitors get a free Eye Intensifier Pencil.  Where: 660 Madison Ave., at 61st St.

• Win a classic trench (retails for $1,300) at the Burberry store in Soho.  All you have to do is enter a drawing contest.  It may be a long shot, but why not try your luck? Brit model Lily Donaldson D.J.’s, and Champagne and canapés will be served. Where: 131 Spring St., nr. Greene St.

• Stop into Nolita’s cult perfumerie and receive a five-milliliter bottle (originally $17) of one of the scents from Le Labo’s collection, ranging from rose to patchouli.  Where: 233 Elizabeth St., nr. Prince St.
  

• Ready for some music?  R&B queen Mary J. Blige hosts a Parisian-style fete at Catherine Malandrino in the Meatpacking District.  The designer herself will be joining in the festivities. Grab some treats from Marie Belle, and wash it down with a Cointreau cocktail while DJ Le Woof Pack spins. Where: 652 Hudson St.

• Aussie hottie Hugh Jackman stops by the Jeffrey New York store. 6 to 11 p.m. Where: 449 W. 14th St. between Ninth and 10th Aves.

• Nothing like shopping to work up an appetite.  Stop by Opening Ceremony on Howard Street for snacks from Van Leeuwen’s artisan ice cream and Momofuku Milk Bar while checking out some limited editions made for the event, like Band of Outsiders clip-on bow ties and Rodarte’s Kurt Cobain tote bags made with Rebekah Miles.  Where: 35 Howard Street (at Crosby Street).