Surviving the Rachel Pally Sample Sale

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The first round of Rachel Pally sample sales happened last week, but we had bigger fish to fry (i.e., the Barneys Warehouse Sale). We took a quick breeze through, but didn't have time to share our findings. Since there are another three days left, starting on Friday, we figured now is the time to get you up-to-speed on what's happening.

To get the most out of the sale, you should probably look online and familiarize yourself with the offerings beforehand. You may not be able to locate the items that you want (but there are some really friendly staffers, often Rachel herself), but here's the thing. It's a literal warehouse, with boxes stacked upon boxes for rows and rows. To tell you what's in these boxes, sometimes there's nothing more than a name and a rough illustration. And sometimes dresses are wadded up in the boxes, and come out wrinkled beyond recognition.

If you are skeeved out on getting naked in public (or seeing others in the altogether)?well, dress accordingly. There's a big communal fitting room filled with women who are not shy. (And least shy of all is Rachel Pally: we've seen her there helping clients and friends in and out of all manner of garments.) The sample sale shopper's uniform of leggings, a tank, and slip-on flats is the way to go. And PS, you will need to check your bag at the door.

How to put this delicately: bring lots of money. It may be a sample sale, but the offerings hardly qualify as cheap. We saw tanks for $55, and most of the dresses started at $80 or $90. Skirts were a little less, starting around $60, and shorts were starting around $50. Recent Spring/Summer merchandise is on racks, at 50% off.
The Rachel Pally sample sale is Friday (10am to 6pm), Saturday (10am to 6pm), and Sunday (11am to 4pm). 2301 E. 7th St, Suite C100, downtown.
· Rachel Pally [Official Site]
· Jenni Kayne, Rachel Pally Sample Sales; Arts & Leisure Takes Over Space 15 Twenty [Racked, previously]