SAMPLE CIRCUIT FLASH: Don't Miss Late Breaking Sales From Vince & Barena

It seems like this is the week for extra bonus sales. In addition to the previously announced Hugo Boss Holiday Sale, the folks at Privé have announced a last minute VINCE. sale of menswear only starting tomorrow the 20th through Saturday. Look for deep 75% discounts, but don't go to its usual Chelsea Market spot. For the moment, Privé is using a nearby space on 14th Street and Month Avenue next door to The Kooples.
In addition, the luxurious M5 showroom will be opening its doors today through Friday with a selection of its coveted Italian brands including BARENA, HERNO, LARDINI, J.W.BRINE among others.

Keep an eye on our SALE ROLL at left for locations and hours.

SAMPLE CIRCUIT: Last Minute Sale Surprises With Hugo Boss, Helmut Lang, Marc Jacobs & More

The Sample Sale schedule may have lightened up a bit for the last week before Christmas, but it is not on a Winter break just yet. Some heavy hitters will be making extra appearances to make the most of last minute Holiday shopping.

Last week's surprise LUCIANO BARBERA sale is scheduled to continue through Thursday with some very deep discounts on luxurious Italian menswear. Our visit last week found mostly warm weather offerings and a literal heap of sumptuous neckties for $25 each. We don't know how much is left at this point, but if you have always thought that Barbera was hopelessly unaffordable, there might be a Holiday surprise for you at Rockefeller Center if you act fast.
If it looked like MARC JACOBS was skipping the sale schedule this season, you might be relieved to see that he just pushed his sale back a few weeks from when we all used to expect it. Starting on Tuesday the 18th, he'll take over 260SampleSale's Greene Street location with all of his collections. Men's collections as well as the Marc by Marc Jacobs labels are promised even though they have been out of production for a few seasons by now. The main label should offer fresher merchandise. As usual, the sale will run through Sunday.
Walk one block west to find HELMUT LANG's seasonal blowout. While the label seems to be without much of a creative direction lately, it seems to have retreated into denim basics and signature looks closely linked to its namesake designer which also happen to be worthy additions to anyone's wardrobe.
Uptown at 260 Fifth Avenue, beauty buffs will be lining up for a cosmetics extravaganza featuring TOCCA fragrances, ARTÍS brushes, STILA makeup and DR.JART+ treatment products.
If you can wait until Wednesday, there is one more menswear for anyone looking for a wardrobe refresh. HUGO BOSS will be holding a special Holiday Sale at Soiffer Haskin through Sunday. If the usual pattern holds, you will find savings of up to 70% off with possible further reductions toward the end of the sale.

That should be enough shopping for anyone as we head towards the end of the year. We will be keeping an eye out, though for the inevitable sample sales that present themselves for those who don't feel like braving the post-Christmas madness elsewhere. Keep an eye on our SALE ROLL sidebar at left for times and locations as well as late breaking events.

SAMPLE CIRCUIT: Italian Luxury Leads The Sample Sale Week With Brunello Cucinelli, Eleventy & Isaia UPDATED: + Luciano Barbera

UPDATE:
As if three covetable Italian luxury brands aren't enough, Tuesday morning brings the news that LUCIANO BARBERA is joining the sale schedule this week with a seven-day sale at its showroom near Rockefeller Center beginning on Thursday. If you know that label, then you are getting excited. If you are a fan of Brunello Cucinelli, Isaia or Eleventy, then you should be getting excited. The drill is the same. Everything is going to be very expensive, but at up to 85% off, you might find some special pieces worth investing in, and devoted Barbera fans will be loading their arms with examples of the label's classic, elegant, handmade menswear with a sophisticated northern Italian touch.

ORIGINAL POST:
We really aren't sure if someone plans it this way, but sometimes the sample sale schedule converges in a way that highlights a particular category. IN this case, it's sophisticated, luxurious Italian apparel. Yesterday, the folks at BRUNELLO CUCINELLI launched their highly anticipated seasonal sample sale just off Fifth Avenue in midtown. The brand is one of those luxury mysteries that pop up in the fashion landscape. It's exorbitantly expensive, but also massively popular which means that there is an abundance of overstock left hanging around when it comes time to clear the warehouse in favor of new arrivals. The sale will run through Friday and, as with its fellow luxe labels like Loro Paina or Hermès, the prices are still staggering even at 60% off. That means that you will find fewer customers at the sale who load up their arms a lot more stuff. Still, it looks like there are enough goods to last through the week, but if you are a devoted Cucinelli fan or just looking to splurge on one special piece, we would recommend going sooner rather than later.
If that's still too rich for your blood, and you wouldn't be lamed if it is, a valid alternative has coincidentally opened its showroom to the public this very same week. Luxury label ELEVENTY offers a similar style of laid back Italian elegance at somewhat more digestible prices. The brand is no slouch —you'll find it in Barneys, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales as well as in its own SoHo boutique— but at around 80% off retail, the prices at this sale start out at $25 for small items and top out at $299 for outerwear and leather pieces. This sale is weighted a bit more heavily toward showroom samples, but there are still a few bigger stock sizes mixed in here and there, and more than enough cashmere and slouchy tailoring to satisfy any sprezzatura fan.
Rounding out the lineup of Italian artisanship, Neapolitan men's label ISAIA has returned to 260SampleSale's Wooster Street Location where it is scheduled to start welcoming its cultlike following today through Sunday. As usual, the pricey main label is joined by its somewhat more affordable little brother EIDOS offering a mix of past season's merchandise and a bit of current product that has been revamped by its latest creative director Simon Spurr in his signature streamlined style —keep an eye on the brand's ever-evolving logo to catch the differences from season to season. This time, the labels are sharing space with American heritage leathergoods label GHURKA which adds an welcome accessory component  to the assortment.
That's not all this week's sales are offering. There are some other heavy hitters operating  including contemporary powerhouse ALICE and OLIVIA which will be at 260 Fifth Avenue through the weekend. Over at Clothingline in the Garment District, KAREN MILLEN will be holding a three-day sale of samples and stock. Designer ULLA JOHNSON will be taking up residence at 150 Greene Street for four days starting on Thursday.

As always there are still more sales this week to be shopped like Ippo, Butter and Quinn Cashmere, so keep an eye on our SALE ROLL sidebar at left for hours and locations as well as any late breaking sales we can add.
Next week, save some cash for Desigual, Marc Jacobs, Helmut Lang and more.

SAMPLE CIRCUIT: Stand In Line For DVF And Rag & Bone's Sample Sales This Week + Derek Lam, Frette & More

Holiday shopping at Sample Sales can be tricky. There are no returns or exchanges, but when you know you have found the right gift, it's worth the risk. Or maybe, you aren't shopping for gifts. It's OK. We can admit to a bit of shopping for ourselves during the Holiday season, and this year, we have an extra long stretch between Thanksgiving and New Years. Luckily, this week there are a few events that faithful bargain hunters anticipate every season.

Holding over from last week are AUTUMN CASHMERE, PONO jewelry and, for the more extravagant,NANCY GONZALEZ accessories, which are all good for gifts for oneself and anyone else on your list, but coming up, we have some heavy hitters.
On Tuesday, look for lines of eager shoppers outside two of 260SampleSale's main outlets. In NoMad, perennial fave RAG & BONE will be setting up shop on Fifth Avenue through the weekend with its usual mix of luxe sportswear, shoes and accessories for men and women. Down in SoHo on Greene Street, superstar DIANE VON FURSTENBERG will be offering discounts on her popular collections for the same time frame. One block west on Wooster Street find DEREK LAM sharing space with eyewear doyenne LINDA FARROW for their seasonal sales.

Well, that's a lot for any week, but Wednesday brings a two day WHITE + WARREN sale in the Garment District, three days of HANRO showroom samples on sale in the luxury innerwear label's midtown headquarters and a five-day FRETTE sale on Grand Street through the weekend. Thursday launches five days of ELIE TAHARI at Soiffer Haskin.

That ought to keep the city's community of sample sale shoppers busy enough, but some may want to hold out for the coming weeks when ISAIA, GHURKA, MARC JACOBS, ULLA JOHNSON and more will be tempting bargain hunters. Keep an eye on our SALE ROLL sidebar at left for hours, locations and any late-breaking sales. Happy Holiday shopping to all.