THEY KEEP PULLING US BACK IN: The Barneys Warehouse Sale Sneaks Back To Life in Brooklyn Tomorrow

The Barneys Warehouse Sale had been frustrating in its final incarnations, and now it has become downright inscrutable. As far as we can remember, the last time the once highly anticipated shopping event was held was two years ago, long enough to feel confident that the sale which had become a shadow of its formerly abundant self had finally been put down for a well deserved dirt nap. With little fanfare, however, Barneys announced yesterday that the famous seasonal event will rise from the presumed dead and take up residence for a couple of weeks in Williamsburg on Metropolitan Avenue. At this point, there's really no telling exactly what we will find there. In past years, there have been a few good finds, but also increasing amounts of merchandise that appeared to have been carted in from Barneys outlet stores that had never really seen the inside of a full line Barneys store or even just acquired from off-price vendors to fill bins that felt very off-brand. The Barneys Warehouse website handily took over from the live Warehouse Sale, often offering satisfying bargains throughout the year, but, just when we thought we would never see another one again (seriously, we actually though about it two days ago) here comes the news that the live, brick-and-mortar sale will come back tomorrow. Will the two years off be enough to make sure the sale has enough great merchandise to fuel two weeks of selling, or will it be a bunch of irrelevant, picked over dregs? We will have to check it out tomorrow to find out for sure. See you on the L train.

Barneys Warehouse Sale from August 31st to September 14 at 280 Metropolitan Avenue between Driggs Avenue & Roebling Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

SAMPLE CIRCUIT: TOMS Shoes, James Perse Redux, Cadet & ABC's Bronx Outlet Swan Song Sale

Images courtesy of TOMS

For what is supposed to be one of New York City's deadest shopping weeks of the year, there is a remarkable roster of sales which are counting on the possibility that many New Yorkers will be having a late Summer staycation instead of heading out to beach destinations and beyond for the Labor Day weekend. Some of them are names that have had sales this season already, but as they used to say about reruns, if you missed it the first time around, then it's all new to you. Here are some highlights.

A host of sales are starting today, Tuesday the 30th, to get maximum weekday traffic  starting with still unusual arrival of TOMS shoes at 260 Fifth Avenue through the weekend. The ever more popular slip-on shoe label  is offering 60% off its footwear for men and women (pictured above) which brings a very affordable item down to a how-can-you-resist-? price point. The sale will be sharing space with S’WELL's sustainable water bottles (pictured at bottom). Both companies feature charitable initiatives with the purchase of each item which are understood to be in effect even at the sample sale through Sunday.

Downtown at sibling sale site 15o Greene Street in SoHo, JAMES PERSE will be returning (again) for (another) sale featuring the label's beloved t-shirts and casual sportswear. We have lost track of how many James Perse sales we have had this season, but it really doesn't matter, because any opportunity to stock up on high quality tees should be welcomed and this one runs through Sunday.

Another familiar sale name, REBECCA TAYLOR will be staging a one-day-only sale on Wednesday the 31st in her midtown showroom featuring up to 75% off her most recent Spring collections, leaving find several weeks of warm weather to take advantage of their purchases.

Popular burgeoning brand CADET is broadening its focus from the military inspiration that has characterized its past collections, but there will probably still be a lot of functional, rugged looks at its reprise sale starting on Wednesday at its Williamsburg boutique in Brooklyn. Look for current and past season merchandise including special runway pieces and samples through Sunday.

Starting on Thursday the 1st, ABC CARPET & HOME will be taking the entire month of September to clear out whatever is left in its 200,000 square foot Bronx warehouse. ABC's warehouse sales have been known to be treasure troves for bargain hunters with stamina and a sixth sense, and this may be the one to literally end them all.

Finally, on Saturday, it's back to Brooklyn for FRED PERRY's last minute Labor Day Weekend Sample Sale offering up to 70% off all of its collections past and present including samples and collaboration collections.

Next week, we start heading into Fall with Nanette Lepore, a promising Chopard sale that ends Soiffer Haskin's late summer hiatus and more last minute additions.

See below for a selection of S'well bottles expected at the sale.
Click each image for a larger view in a new window.

THIS WEEK ONLINE: Armani Collezioni, Movado Watches, Persol Sunglasses, Billy Reid, Bottega Veneta & More

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Shop well!

GILT GROUPE

Armani Collezioni, Hobbs London, Oscar de la Renta Sleepwear, Martin Greenfield, British Belt Company, Antonio Maurizi, Movado, Sisley Skincare, M.i.h. Jeans, Ray-Ban, Charlotte Olympia, Ben Sherman, John Varvatos, Native Footwear, English Laundry, Bottega Veneta —join HERE

RUE LA LA

Lilla P., Armani Collezioni, Persol, Rockabye, Three Dots, XCVI, Nautica, Phyto, 7 For All Mankind, Religion, Safavieh, Cuisinart, Cuddledown, Hoka One One  —join HERE

HAUTE LOOK

True Religion, Amanda Uprichard, Bed|Stu, Elani, Alternative Apparel, Stone Rose, Free People, Meira T Jewelry, Billy Reid, Unsimply Stitched, Rachel Pally, Jeffrey Campbell, Betsey Johnson, Marc NY, Rivkah Friedman, Pandora, Allen Edmonds, Eton —join HERE

SAMPLE CIRCUIT ALERT: Opening Ceremony's Big Sale Starts Friday + More Additions

We said to keep en eye out for late breaking sales, and a seasonal favorite just dropped it flyer today. The OPENING CEREMONY starts this Friday the 26th at Villain in Williamsburg. Expect long lines, deep discounts and a jumble of designer labels from the retailer's vast roster of directional designers. For the uninitiated, this sale is usually hit or miss, but mostly hit. You can't really approach it with the idea of finding a particular item, but with the attitude of being open to finding something cool in your size for a deeply discounted price. Go on the last day and the selection will be diminished, but then so will the prices, making it the perfect opportunity for even better unexpected fines. Go early, and bring lots of patience and imagination.

Also late breaking, ILLESTEVA sunglasses and the Burch sisters' modern lifestyle collection TRADEMARK both to be found in convenient SoHo. See our SALE ROLL at left for details and locations.

Have a look at the Opening Ceremony flyer after the jump.

SAMPLE CIRCUIT: Sale Schedule Still Alive With Herve Leger, Scotch & Soda + More

By all expectation, there should be no sample sales happening right now as the immediate world is taking advantage of whatever bit of Summer Vacation it has left, and yet, there are still a few sales out there vying for your attention. Last week's BARBARA BUI sale has been extended through this Sunday the 28th, so if you missed it, you have a chance to catch up. Another under-the-radar event is the HERVE LEGER Moving Sale currently taking place at the label's Madison Avenue boutique offering deep discounts on stretchy dresses and more. Where it is moving to, we don't know, but this is a secondary concern when there are 80% off bargains to be had. Designer HEIKE JARICK, a popular Sample Sale favorite is at it again through Wednesday the 24th at her Garment District showroom offering no price tag over $100, and, finally, the folks at 260SampleSale have turned over their home base at 260 Fifth Avenue to SCOTCH & SODA through Sunday for everyone with a hankering for that particular Euro-take on classic preppy clothes.

Those are the highlights. See our SALE ROLL sidebar at left for details and locations and any late-breaking sales that may pop up at the last minute. Next week, there are, in fact, more sales from Cadet, Dolce Vita and a James Perse redux.

THIS WEEK ONLINE: Dolce & Gabbana, Rebecca Minkoff, J Brand, Ports 1961, Burberry & More

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Shop well!

GILT GROUPE

Dolce & Gabbana, Sergio Rossi, Golden Goose, Boglioli, Versace Collection, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Barbara Bui, Alex + Alex, Falcon & Bloom, Russell Park, Twenty, Sunny Rebel, Ports 1961, Chloé Shoes, Roberto Coin —join HERE

RUE LA LA

Rebecca Minkoff, Lafayette 148, Llum, Kenneth Cole New York, Saint Laurent, Filebrequin, Judith Ripka, Shoshanna, NIC + ZOE, Sophie Catalou, Travis Matthew, Joseph Joseph, Burberry, UGG, Kork-Ease, Hickey Freeman, SPANX, House of Harlow 1960, Mono B —join HERE

HAUTE LOOK

J Brand, Splendid, Love Stitch, Filson Watches, Joseph Abboud, Tommy Bahama, Dolce Vita, Ronny Kobo, Orla Kiely, Palladium, Original Penguin, Keen, Tart, Nine West, Equipment, Roberto Coin, Maggy London —join HERE

CELEBRETAIL: Kanye West's Life Of Pablo Store Returns This Weekend

Click image for a larger view in a new window

Perhaps you camped out in line this past Spring to grab an exclusive piece of Kanye West's tour merchandise at his SoHo pop-up shop. If you didn't, you have a second chance this weekend, as West's Life of Pablo pop-up stores are not only returning to New York and L.A., but also to 19 other cities worldwide where fans will be able to buy exclusive 'Pablo' tour goods. As shown above, the NYC edition will be opening on Friday morning on the northern edge to TriBeCa at 393 Broadway between Walker and White Streets, easily accessible by the A,C and E trains and not far from the 1. Last spring, the New York shop reportedly grossed a cool $1 million over a single weekend of selling tees and jackets and hoodies along with a few special vintage pieces, so a larger scale return seems like a no-brainer. It also marks a major expansion the concept of selling tour goods somewhere outside the tour venues so they can be available to fans whether they have gotten to see the show or not. Justin Bieber has been selling tour merchandise from his latest tour in stores ranging from Barneys to Target, but leave it to Kanye to exert a bit more control and exclusivity over his tour shops. Other cities to be graced with a pop-up  include London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cape Town, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Toronto. Don't confuse this with the Yeezy x Adidas stores that the designer is planning with the athletic wear giant for his newly reconceived fashion collection. That should be coming sometime next year, but in the meantime, brace yourself for some crowds just south of Canal Street this weekend. Find other pop-up store locations on West's website, where an interactive map will direct you to the nearest location.

(WWD)

DRAMATIC DESTINATION: Do You Need To Go Shopping At The New Mall In The World Trade Center Oculus?

This week, the Westfield Corp. unveiled its most spectacular shopping center in what is possibly its most controversial and likely the most expensive location to construct in the city, if not all of America. The Santiago Calatrava-designed Oculus is the dramatic centerpiece of World Trade Center redevelopment with a multi-billion dollar price tag that has left New Yorkers scratching their heads as if to say "Wait, we said we would pay how much for that thing?"
People will debate the return on that investment for years to come, until it no longer becomes relevant, but along with the opportunity for regular folks to finally walk through that strange, spiny structure comes a reason to be there, which is, of course, shopping at the Westfield World Trade Center. The financial district has become the white hot center of attention for New York City's real estate community for several years now, and the area is finally starting to bear fruit as the vast transit hub is finally ready to show off its dazzling tenant list —even if some of those tenant aren't quite ready to open their doors yet. Like in any new mall, not every store is finished, but we can see what will be arriving in the coming weeks, and the question is, do you need to go out of your way to go shopping in the newly retail-packed financial district?
Our answer: Maybe? Maybe not.
Like its also-highly touted neighbor Brookfield Place, which we understand is doing well with its collection of contemporary-to-luxury retail boutiques, There is no store open or coming to Westfield World Trade Center that isn't open somewhere else in the city in what is probably a bigger and more convenient iteration. That is not to say that the stores are unwelcome. The mall's biggest store appears to be the city's umpteenth Apple Store, and while we have several of those already here, this one should easily be kept busy with it its captive customer base in the surrounding area. That is probably the same story for all the other stores there. Did we need a new Kate Spade boutique? No but the women of the financial district will probably be happy to see the store in the neighborhood which, up until now has mostly leaned towards men's retailers, given the still predominantly male industry it serves. Though it is a jaw dropping setting, the Oculus is still a glorified transit hub, and the shops inside are geared to serve the vast numbers of workers who will stream through on a daily basis from the subway and the PATH trains, as well as the gawking tourists who have made the location a must-visit stop on their tour. If it is the most convenient shopping neighborhood to your location, then yeah, it's not a bad collection of stores at all, but if you live uptown, or even downtown, many of the stores are already more conveniently well ensconced with flagships in Midtown or SoHo or the Flatiron District or the Upper East Side. What you may want to travel to see is the spectacular building itself. The scale is dizzying, literally. There are some areas that are vertigo inducing, like a wide curved set of stairs on the east end whose lack of railings is a bit unsettling, and there are many areas of the building where the scale is oddly off-putting, but the structure is indeed a sight to behold, like the set for a futuristic movie yet to be filmed. The long-rumored remake of Logan's Run, perhaps? The space is majestic and thrilling, and its sprawling connectivity with the other new and redeveloped structures and transit systems make one feel a bit like one is in an enclosed community large enough to never have to leave. It has the immaculate perfection of a set from a Star Trek movie —the big budget new version, not the original series— but while that architecture is usually computer generated, this one is all real with the same cold perfection that always hints at something less pristine underneath. The vast concourse (pictured below) seems almost too empty, as if any week now, it will be furnished with the kiosks that dot the interiors of every other mall. Time will tell if the need for more profits calls in a Proactive stand or Piercing Pagoda. How the dust settles will determine if it becomes a vibrant city landmark or a dreary boondoggle of taxpayer resentment, but for now, Westfield World Trade Center still has the cool glow of its nascent weeks.

ATHLEISURE BASH: Adidas Originals Upgrades Its SoHo Lodgings

The New Adidas Originals store in SoHo. Photo courtesy of Adidas

A few flashes of lightning in the sky weren't enough to keep VIP sneaker heads away from the opening party at the new Adidas Originals store last night. This sub brand of the athletic wear giant made waves several years ago when it debuted its previous store on Wooster Street with an open air storefront and an abundance of those nostalgic sneaker styles we all remember from our collective youth. The brand —the one with the original Adidas trefoil insignia— has evolved quite a bit since then, and while still able to wield enough promotional power to launch a full-scale revival of its classic Stan Smith tennis shoe a couple of years ago, it has grown to encompass more modern cutting edge design as well as exclusive collaborations with influential stores, designers and, yes, pop stars. Having outgrown its SoHo showplace, Adidas has finally opened a new one on Spring Street with much more room to show off its latest revivals –the "Gazelle" is the vintage model du jour now— as well as hot collaborations and vastly enlarged wall of shoes (pictured above) to peruse.

Guests at the opening party for the new Adidas Originals store. Photo courtesy of Adidas

It's a lot more store for Adidas lovers to shop, and that's saying something significant these days when every retailer is seriously reviewing the returns on its square footage. Standouts from last night's opening included graphic womenswear from Rita Ora's ongoing collaboration with the label as well as our personal fave, the White Mountaineering x Adidas collection (pictured below), a team up with the influential Japanese men's label.
Last night's party centered around a short film made in collaboration with rapper Joey Bada$$, and Adidas hung on to its old store just enough to usher guests there for a private concert but the hip hop performer and his crew before it gets turned over to a new tenant —kind of like throwing one last blowout party in your old apartment before you move out.
Hopefully Adidas will get their deposit back.
Well, maybe they don't care.

 Adidas Originals now open at 115 Spring Street between Mercer & Greene Streets, SoHo

The White Mountaineering x Adidas collection at the new Adidas Originals store. Photo courtesy of Adidas

SAMPLE CIRCUIT: Light Sale Week With Barbara Bui, Vilebrequin & Ligne Roset

You might think that a muggy heatwave would be enough to keep anyone home from sample sale shopping, but even though it is the quietest few weeks of the summer there are still a few sales to hit, and think of the lack of crowds as a plus that leaves more stuff for you.

We do mean a few sales, however, mostly thanks to our friends at 260samplesale whose main space on Fifth Avenue will be hosting the VILEBREQUIN sale starting today the 16th through Sunday. Look for sporty, classic French sportswear for men including their famous swim trunks just in time for a late-summer poolside style refresh.

Downtown at their Greene Street space, French designer BARBARA BUI has returned with her popular sale. Look for savings on ready-to-wear apparel along with shoes, handbags and other accessories. Shop through Sunday.

Finally, starting on Friday the 19th, LIGNE ROSET opens its big 3-day sale featuring reductions of up to 60% off everything from floor models, overstock and discontinued furniture, lighting and home accessories.

Be sure to keep an eye on our SALE ROLL sidebar at left for all times and locations including late-breaking events. Next week, well, there's a Scotch and Soda sale and not much else on the schedule so far. check back to see if anyone is gutsy enough to launch a sample sale during the last weeks of August.