The wait is over… Larry Label Whore has sent us his review of the Dolce & Gabbana sample sale. After spending hours yesterday waiting in lines and shopping, Larry tells us it was all well worth it! Here’s his findings:
For those feeling nostaligic for the old game show “Sale of the Century” well you’re in luck because it’s back in the form of the Dolce & Gabbana sample sale at the Metropolitan Pavilion. I felt like I died and went to D&G heaven. There were racks and racks…and racks of main label Dolce & Gabbana and their discontinued D&G label for PHENOMENAL prices.
I started at the racks of shoes in the back because I felt overwhelmed by the aisles of clothes when I first got into the space. I spotted quite a few made in Italy Dolce & Gabbana patent leather black dress shoes going for 90% off down to $97. A few pairs of alligator shoes caught my eye with their $750 price tag down from $7,500. I got the steal of the century, according to one of the sales associates, when I found an amazing pair of D&G boots originally $120 and now down 80% to $24. That’s unheard of for any high-end Italian designer boots.
I then walked over to the racks of belts. Most of the belts were leather and made in Italy and at 80% and 90% off. I picked up a made in Italy D&G belt for myself for $25 (originally $250) and a made in Italy main label Dolce & Gabbana belt for my dad for $29.50 (originally $295). My belt was a size 95 (US 38) and my dad’s was a size 110 (US 44); However, if you look closer the size 110 belts are able to be cut down to fit your waist which is exactly what my dad did when I gave it to him.
I finally made my way to the clothes section and again I wasn’t disappointed. There were aisles of shirts, suits, vests, sweaters, pants, jeans, shorts, swimwear, underwear, and jackets at various discounts from 60-90% off. I picked up two buttoned down shirts: a navy Dolce & Gabbana shirt for $25 (originally $250) and a D&G black shirt for $22.50 (originally $225). Men’s suits were mostly around $500 after the discount. A gem I found was an alligator and leather jacket originally $53,000 down to $5,300 (The most expensive jacket I had ever seen).
The one downside of the sale is the 2-hour wait to pay! In my opinion, it’s worth it, but be prepared to wait a long time to get out of there. While on line I spotted a counter in the front of the space for small accessories. You will probably miss it when you first come in because the line of people at the cash registers blocks it. The highlight was a $2,075 men’s crocodile wallet down to $207.50! On line, I also spotted a few women with these beautiful pink open-toed pumps with animal print soles down 90% to $47.50 so I ran to the women’s section and picked up a pair for my mom. Needless to say, I spotted quite a few pairs of beautiful women’s shoes at under $100. A girl in front of me on line picked up a pair of mohair loafers for $10!! Probably the biggest steal of all at women’s shoes.
I didn’t think this year’s sale could top last year’s sale, but I was very wrong. Don’t wait ‘til the last day because the merchandise is going fast. We’re told there are 17,000 units at this sale, up from last year’s 14,000, and they still had more merch in the back to put out. Don’t walk, RUN to this sale! By far, the best sample sale I’ve ever been to.
-Larry Label Whore
Where/When: Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 West 18th St., 5th Floor. Wed, Sept 19th thru Sun, Sept 23rd; Wed (1-6p), Thurs-Sat (10-6p), Sun (11-5p).
He is so nice to buy for his mom and dad! They would be last people I would think of at a sample sale but at those prices..I guess it’s worth it!
Do they accept credit cards or cash only? Thanks!
TL – They accept both Cash & Plastic…
I stopped by today, and I have to say this is really worth it for the ladies too. Plenty of stuff for 80% and 90% off. The staff at this sale is very nice — I was there well past closing but the fitting room was kept open, and everyone was still allowed to browse at their own pace (no “Hurry up! Sale’s closed!” like Clothingline sales). Dolce & Gabbana is not my usual style but they had such a wide variety of merch I think anyone can find something here — I bought three very plain pieces for work. Definitely worth stopping in especially if there is no line outside!
Gee thanks for the womens review. This has no useful information
Any ties? Prices?
Thanks!
there was a big bin or two of ties; priced at around $120 or so, with further markdowns (seems the few i picked out were just 70% off, but i wasn’t looking hard). some real deals to be found in the men’s shoe section (a lot of it looked like runway samples, but there were brand new ones too). in comparison to sales past, i thought there was an abundant amt of menswear at 80-90% off, but it might just be that it’s still early in the sale w more selection. this one is definitely worth a look.
what’s the prices and selection of jackets like? Are there any nice leather ones or funky fitted type coats and outerwear type things? X
zandeerr,
This afternoon, I saw a bunch of 3/4 length black + white wooly jackets with pockets(about $399), a couple Chanel style jackets (black, reddish), Plain Beige and White blazer styles, a couple short cropped leather jackets (brown, yellow leather), and a couple black trench styles. Most of the options were size 40-44 and pricing was mainly 80-90% off (ending up at $150-$750, depending on the style).
Looks like I’ll have to check this one out tomorrow!
Catherine, the womens selection was basically the same as the mens except there were more clothes.
Zanderrrr, there were many great jackets and trenches for men and women, but not sure how much is left now. Depending on the season, I think most were 80-90% off.
AX, there were ties and I didn’t see too many people around them so you may be in luck.
I stopped by during lunch and walked away with a pair of underwear. There seem to be a lot of jackets, long wool skirts and black pants for ladies, but the selection is definitely picked over. Size 40 has the best chance of walking out with something. Small sizes are pretty much gone. For those with size 39 – 40 feet, there are still a couple racks of decent looking shoes. Very few bags and shoes size 36-38 are left, though the intimates section still has a range of styles and sizes I did see a lot of 2009 and 2010 merchandise… Unfortunately (and fortunately for my wallet) none of it fits!
Thanks, Larry. You know me and my ties. I’m still on the lookout after I trekked out the ISAIA Napoli sale in June only to find that the sale had ended a day early due to lack of merchandise. Grrrr…. Ties were $150? That’s a but steep. They cost like $150 full price at Nordstrom! Is this sale typical of taking markdowns? If so, when?
I’m hoping to attend the sale this weekend. Is it really worth going? I’m mainly interested in ties, accessories, and maybe a dress shirt if I’m lucky.
Thanks!
Ax, the ties are 120 to 150 before the discount. Add another 70 to 80 percent off. I don’t know how much is left since i haven’t been there since Wednesday. There are a ton of dress shirts so I’m sure there’s still some left. I also don’t know how many belts are left bc thosIe prices were also so good. Its definitely worth a trip and they usually do markdown prices towards the end of the sale. I’m going to try to go by Sunday.
Thank goodness. I thought ties were $150 after discounts. I wish a price list had been posted.
Hi AX – Click here to see how the pricing worked. I published it in an earlier post. As Larry mentioned, pricing is done by season where a certain percentage is taken off… Hope that makes sense.
Didn’t have as good a time as I had hoped. I found only one thing worth buying, waited for the dressing room for a good 30 minutes, gave up, went to wait in the checkout line for a good 40 minutes, by the time I had gotten to the front, I realized there was a stain on the skirt and 5 safety-pin sized holes and missing a skirt clasp. The woman at the register would not discount it any further and when I asked to go back to look for another one and come back to the register, she told me I would need to wait all over again.
Come on, seriously? I don’t expect great customer service, but I had already waited 40 minutes. Obviously, I gave up.
A picture of the price list was posted. The discount for prices doesn’t go by specific items, they go by seasons.
Just got back from the sale. It was belts-a-plenty! Got three at 90% off each. All of the ties were skinny, so I passed. Thanks for the recommendation, Larry!