The Shophound

Event Alert:Derek Lam & Gilt Groupe Join Forces For Housing Works' Fashion For Action

Housing Works is getting a boost from Gilt Groupe this week for its Fashion For Action fall shopping event. The burgeoning online retailer has donated hundreds of items for the the benefit sale and auction along with over 150 designers who will be providing over $1 million worth of goods. Derek Lam has signed on to co-chair the preview party on Thursday evening which will include a silent auction as well as cocktails, VIP shopping and first pick of the 70% off Sample Sale goods before the event opens to the public on Friday. Tickets are still available HERE for the party which will provide a bit of shopping nostalgia. The venue, Chelsea's Rubin Museum of Art was previously the original Barneys Women's Store, and the dramatic Andrée Putman designed spiral staircase remains intact.
Housing Works Fashion For Action
VIP Preview: Thursday November 19^th, Rubin Museum of Art 150 West 17^th Street
Public Sample Sale: Friday, November 20^th - Sunday the 22^nd Housing Works Chelsea Thrift Shop 143 West 17th St.

More Chocolate Is Always Good: Jacques Torres Arrives At The Chelsea Market

Regular customers at The Chelsea Market will have noticed that the large event space at the center of the complex has been undergoing renovations, but rather than preparing the place for a large retailer, it is being divided into smaller stalls with a prominent centerpiece, Jacques Torres Chocolate along with a branch of the Gramercy Park Flower Shop, returning a floral component to the market that has been missing for a while now. The popular sweet shop has just opened a new outpost that inaugurates the reconfigured space with all its temptations in tow. If you can resist the various bakeries and brownie shops you have to pass to get to the new counter, then Torres is cunningly situated to finally make sure that nobody gets out of that place without something to ruin a diet.
Jacques Torres Chocolate & Gramercy Park Flower Shop at the Chelsea Market 75 9^th Ave between 15^th & 16^th Streets.

Cintra Wilson Goes Shopping: Resolutely Unwearable Edition

At some point it will be possible to separate Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson's columns from the recent flap over her review of JC Penney ...but not just yet.
In today's Thursday Styles, Wilson takes a visit to the looking glass world of the mass market chain's diametric opposite, the intriguing and often inscrutable Comme des Garçons boutique in West Chelsea, a store which had been relocated because its original location, a busy SoHo block, had become too popular and commercial. In its place is now a Barneys Co-op. As expected, designer Rei Kawakubo's work gives La Cintra endless opportunities for her signature similes,

The black vinyl garments looked like something a naked fugitive would assemble if he were trapped in a garage full of covered cars with nothing but an X-Acto knife. Hats were made of what looked like mangled black tetherballs.

The likelihood of angry repercussions from the naked fugitive community is pretty slim, no? Not only has Wilson found a backlash proof subject, it appears she has found the perfect fragrance for her new role as Persona Non Grata in the state of Texas,

Take, for example, Comme des Garçons’s first “anti-perfume”: Odeur 53, a blend of bizarre notes including oxygen, “flash of metal,” mineral carbon, nail polish, cellulose, burnt rubber and “flaming rock.”
I guarantee you that no fragrance designers at Coty are sitting around, dreamily licking D cell batteries and saying: “Hey! Let’s make a perfume that smells like an asteroid hitting a manicure parlor.” You want white lace and peach blossoms, indulge in a bottle of Jessica Simpson’s Fancy Love. Odeur 53 is not for those who need to be universally liked.

As if to push the point further, La Cintra proceeds to try on a garment that defies actual wearing. Nobody, not even the store's staff, can figure out how to actually get it on.
We have to give Cintra extra credit this week. If it is meant to be a slap in the face to her own critics, this column delivers it with a velvet glove.
Critical Shopper | Comme des Garçons: Fashion Up There Where the Air Is Thin By Cintra Wilson (NYTimes)
Comme des Garçons 520 West 22nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues, Chelsea

Barneys Warehouse Report: The Discounts Begin

Several sources around the web have confirmed that Barneys Warehouse Sale has already begun reducing prices –adding a 25% discount to several product categories. We have heard various reports of shoes and women's RTW getting hit with reductions.
Time to revisit.
Barneys Warehouse Sale 255 West 17^th Street between 7^th & 8^th Avenues, Chelsea

Warehouse Report: Back To Barneys

If you are familiar with the Barneys Warehouse Sale, then this season's edition will hold few surprises. If you are unfamiliar, then the above photo may give you some idea of the vastness of the assortment and the patience required for success in certain departments.
Do we need another sport shirt? Not really, so we couldn't muster up the patience to pore through racks of random shirts. Perhaps our bargain hunter instinct was muted since we were already feeling the shopping glow from the pair of Nudie Jeans we ordered from Gilt Groupe moments before setting out for the Chelsea Barneys Co-op.
So here's our report. We will not be itemizing our findings, because there's no guaranteeing that that pair of Louboutin sandals we saw will be there when you show up, or were ever there in your size. We will say that the women's shoe racks were full of Prada, Manolo Blahnik and Louboutin when we breezed by. Don't expect basics. The racks were a tangle of straps and torturous looking platforms, which might look good today, but we suspect may be on the last of their fifteen minutes. The rest of the women's section was crammed with customers, relatively well behaved, but slightly frantic. The only thing there worth reporting on specifically was a large group of racks featuring an abundance of Lanvin x Acne Jeans at 80% off at least. Of course, it was all indigo denim, but it looked worth going out of one's way for.
Downstairs in Men's, things were a bit more civilized with more room to breathe. The set-up remains as usual, and it's still the best place to go if you need business suits at a great price. There were lots of well priced classics from Barneys private label, and for those willing to invest more, we noticed lots of good options in all sizes from Isaia, still expensive at $999, but not compared to their usual $3,000+ prices.
Dress shirts are almost exclusively private label, which makes us wonder why none of the store's branded shirt inventory seems to ever make it to the warehouse. Ties? A crapshoot. Jeans, sweaters and t-shirts were piled in their usual heaps, waiting for the ravenous rummagers. These are the sorts of things that we wait to look at until at least a week into the sale, when further reductions start to begin. Men's shoes, which can be a parade of horrors in weird colors and materials, were much more appealing this time, with great styles from Prada, Jil Sander and Paul Smith that were worth grabbing. The one style that appeared in great supply (and there's always one) was a black velvet evening slipper from Crockett & Jones embroidered with a gold peace sign on the toe. Apparently there were not enough formal pacifists this year to move them at retail. We expect those to hang around until the bitter end. The less said about the wall of belts, the better. Chelsea Passage was dregs-y as usual, but if you are interested in a few random pieces of Hermès porcelain, head on over.
So that's our visit. There are some more detailed examinations of the various departments over at Racked, but as a general rule, we don't start shopping the Warehouse Sale seriously until next weekend at the earliest, when the signs indicating additional discounts start appearing. The final day, Labor Day, as most know by now, offers the deepest discounts if you can brave a long line.
We wish you the best of luck!
Barneys Warehouse Sale 255 West 17^th Street through September 7^th
Previously:
It's That Time Again: Barneys Warehouse Starts Today
Barneys Warehouse coverage on Racked

It's That Time Again: Barneys Warehouse Starts Today

There is no more reliable sign of Summer's waning as the Barneys Warehouse Sale which began this morning and runs through Labor Day.
No, we didn't get up at the crack of dawn to wait in whatever line may have formed, but we will be stopping by later today to check out this season's offerings.
At this point, no news is good news, although they do throw in a few new twists every season. This far into a year that has seen more sample and clearance sales that we could possibly have foreseen or even begun to follow, we are somewhat curious to see if there is any enthusiasm left for more rummaging amongst crowds through packed racks. Alexander McQueen's recent fully stocked but surprisingly uncrowded sample sale might suggest some sale fatigue has hit, but we suspect Barneys will still be able to pull the crowds. Often, the prices are no lower than they were at the final clearance inside a full Barneys store, and look out for private label goods that may have really been made specifically to be sold in Barneys Outlets rather than Madison Avenue's flagship, but that shouldn't discourage you if you are rarin' to shop.
After the jump, our list of tips, only slightly updated from its original appearance in 2006.

Mike Albo Goes Shopping: Second Date Edition

In today's Thursday styles, Critical Shopper Mike Albo revisits one of his favorite themes, his romantic life, as he stops by John Bartlett's West Village boutique.
Moving on from bitter breakups of the past, Mike is now in dating mode, though we are not quite sure that we would have set up Mike, who has been known to occasionally moonlight as a glitter clad performance artist, with a John Bartlett wardrobe. Bartlett, of whom regular readers know we are a fan, has certainly had his own avant-garde moments over the years, but lately has been working in a more tailored mode. Mike is, not surprisingly, initially put off by all the classicism, but ultimately finds his own inner regular guy, though not without a bit of drama:

[The clothes] made me look presentable. Suddenly I felt as if I were on “What Not to Wear,” and Clinton and Stacy were going to hop out from behind mirrors and say how much they loved this look on me. Then they would say something totally caring, sweet and self-helpish, like “Be the person you want to date, Mike!” And then I would cry and walk out and all my friends would be there clapping. This didn’t happen. The salesman was very busy taking inventory or something. And no one else was in the store. But I am fine!

And, on an crucial note, Mike discovers that while the store is not screamingly, flamboyantly, rainbow flag wavingly gay, the presence of a Tom of Finland anthology, skimpy swimwear and some camouflage make it just gay enough for comfort.
Otherwise, that date could end up really badly.
Critical Shopper | John Bartlett: No Skinny ‘This’ or ‘That’ Here by Mike Albo (NYTimes)
John Bartlett 143 Seventh Avenue South at Charles Street, West Village

8th Avenue Shutdown: Chelsea's Gerry's Abruptly Closes

Gerry's, a popular ten year old pair of men's and women's boutiques on 8^th Avenue has shut its doors with little advance notice as far as we could tell. While not quite as cutting edge as Barney's Co-op, or as sophisticated as longtime neighbor Camouflage across the street, Gerry's still filled a niche and served its neighborhood well with a strong selection of popular contemporary sportswear and denim brands, and a warm ambiance. As recently as last week, we can recall the stores being open with their usual end of season final clearance sales running. Today, however, they are gated shut, with a small notice  posted in the window thanking the Chelsea neighborhood for 10 years of business. In fact, peering through the gates we could still see a store set up for regular business, with merchandise on hangers perfectly spaced on racks, so this must have come as a surprise to more than just us.
So far we have heard no specific reasons for the closure, but we can't help remembering that Gerry's also once had a small branch on Bleecker Street that was one of the first shops sent packing a few years ago when rents there skyrocketed. Last time we checked, that space was still empty. The Chelsea stores would be a much bigger chunk of real estate to sit unoccupied for a prolonged period.

Inside The Lounge Outlet: Welcome To 2005 At A Discount

Will it be Lounge that is left after a nuclear armageddon along with cockroaches and Cher?
Once a reasonable trendy megaboutique in SoHo, Lounge was ousted from its Broadway home along with neighbor Eastern Mountain Sports) by Victoria's Secret, who apparently desperately needed vast space to sell bras & panties. This led to an extended "store closing" sale that featured endless tales of meaningless discounts due to inflated prices, invalidated gift certificates and a general descent into further seediness until the space was finally vacated. We were supposed to have been done with Lounge,  but then a "sample sale" appeared in the church once known as the nightclub Limelight. That  became shabbier and shabbier as the months wore on. In the meantime, a new Lounge was reborn at the Aventura Mall north of Miami —far enough away that we needn't concern ourselves with it.
And yet, the store goes on. Last week a new Lounge Outlet opened its doors a few steps from the old church with better lighting and tidier floors, but with the same aging crap for sale. Don't be fooled by the cheery yellow awning.
Yes, folks, if you are still pining for those Antik jeans with embroidery all over the back pockets that you didn't get four years ago, then rest easy. Lounge Outlet, specializing in a look we like to call "Early Douchebag",  has a table full of them. You know the look, and you probably know who wears it, too, and you don't want to be that guy or girl. In an interesting case of overkill, there is still a booth with a live DJ manning the decks, perhaps in hopes that rockin' scene can be conjured up on a Tuesday afternoon.
Now, we don't expect to find fresh, in-season merchandise in any outlet, but there comes a point after four or five seasons where nobody wants to see that stuff anymore... but not here. There is apparently no item to passé to pack a rack in this store, so buyer beware.
And the story doesn't end there. Owner Jack Menashe has hung on to the Limelight space and is planning a new store for the space. Perhaps he will offer bottle service.
Lounge Outlet, Sixth Avenue between 19th & 20th Streets, Chelsea

Today in Semi-Permanent: BLACK Comme des Garçons Sneaks Open Under The High Line

Well, Comme des Garçons couldn't have picked a drearier week to open a store called "Black"
As you may have heard, the revered Japanese label has quietly opened a non-permanent boutique for its special collection celebrating the brand's 40^th anniversary. The shop's installation has been remarkably speedy, because we walked by about a week ago and the store was completely empty. The tiny boutique has been created from a series of (apparently prefabricated) black panel fixtures holding racks placed to create shopping alcoves and dressing areas. The sales staff was quick to point out that new goods would be arriving periodically, and that the store was "sort of" temporary. It would be there for at least 18 months, and possibly more which makes it more than a Pop-Up, but less than a flagship. At any rate, CDG fans can rest easy that the shop will be there long after the "Black" in-store shop at Barneys is whisked away after a couple of weeks.
As for the merchandise, what we could see was a healthy selection of Comme Classics like cropped swallowtail jackets and boxy trousers in fairly basic black materials. There are purposely no innovative fabric treatments or complicated constructions here, which keeps the prices down. While about $500 for a jacket is not cheap by any stretch, it's a great price by typical Comme des Garçons standards.
Although it's tough to tell on a drizzly Wednesday afternoon, it looks like the die-hard fans have yet to find the store tucked away under the High Line. We hear Barneys' shop has been jammed, so anyone looking for a more civilized experience should head to Chelsea posthaste. They should know the neighborhood since the place is only a few blocks south of the main CDG store on 22^nd Street.
The staff was careful to describe the collection to us as unisex, noting that the trousers and t-shirts in particular ran big enough for male customers (though we know that it was originally intended as a women's collection with the possibility of men's deliveries down the line). That distinction, however, is barely significant to a Comme customer, who is likely not to care as long as whatever it is looks and fits right. "Black" looks like the kind of signature basics collection that also serves as a great entry point for a brand that can be intimidating. We're betting that it will hang around longer than 18 months.
Black Comme des Garçons through ? at the Southeast Corner of 10^th Avenue at 17^th Street, Chelsea
Previously:
Unexpected Recession Dividend: Comme des Garçons To Paint Barneys And Chelsea Black