The Shophound

Unexpected Recession Dividend: Comme des Garçons To Paint Barneys And Chelsea Black

On June 22^nd, Barneys will be graced with its own Comme des Garçons "Guerrilla" boutique in addition to the 11 larger stores thatthe Japanese brand  is opening in celebration of the brand's 40th anniversary this year. The collection is called BLACK after the label's signature color (or anti-color as the case may be). Founder Rei Kawakubo's label is credited by many with starting the Pop-Up craze that has prompted temporary stores for thousands of brands to sprout across the globe over the past few years, so it's fitting that it should celebrate in such a manner.
The Barneys store will last for only two weeks, but Chelsea will host its own 500-square-foot freestanding and longer running BLACK store on 10th Avenue at 17^th Street sometime this month, not far from the brand's flagship on West 22^nd Street. The special collection will include iconic women's styles from the label selling for about half the price of items from the main collection (which is still pretty pricey but should please CDG fans).
Comme des Garçons CEO Adrian Joffe tells WWD that the line was conceived as a response to the global recession, and is meant to last as long as the downturn which, according to many estimates, could take it into 2011 or beyond. Merchandise is meant to be refreshed every six weeks, and the lower prices are possible in part because goods will be produced in markedly larger quantities than the company's usual exclusive runs –meaning there will be plenty for everyone. Joffe also said that adding menswear is a distinct possibility due to strong demand from already opened shops in Asia.
Comme des Garçons Goes Guerrilla With 'Black' by Miles Socha
COMME des GARCONS BLACK Store Openings Hypebeast

Weekend Planning A Socialite's Sale & Other Events

For those of us city-bound this weekend, there are plenty of sales to go around. In fact, it's clearance time, so if you are sick of rummaging through sample sales, you can now take pleasure in shopping in regular stores, most of whom have begun or are about to begin seasonal clearances.
For those of you looking for a more esoteric shopping experience, the estate of the late model/actress/social figure Frances Louise Ward of Manhattan, Hollywood and Locust Valley, NY is staging a one day sale of 500 of her items at the Tribeca Grand Hotel on Saturday the 30^th. Her impressive wardrobe included the most desirable labels of the 1940s and 50s including Ceil Chapman, Tina Leser, Lilly Pulitzer, Mollie Parnis and Adele Simpson. Prices will start at $20 for a belt and rise to a couple grand for furs. The event is being touted as a treasure trove of vintage clothing, shoes and accessories, and will open at 12 PM for those willing to pay an "early shopping" fee of $10, and from 1 - 7 PM for all the rest of the non-fee-paying riff raff. We'll be interested to hear from anyone who hits this event.
Frana's Closet Sale at The Tribeca Grand Hotel, Church Lounge, 2 Avenue of the Americas, Tribeca
In other Weekend News:

• ADAM by Adam Lippes will be taking a page from John Bartlett and holding a pet adoption event with the Humane Society of New York this Sunday the 31^st. We are promised Burgers, Bloody Mary's and Dog Biscuits from 2-4 PM, but adoptions will be live all day long. 678 Hudson Street between 13^th & 14^th Streets.
• In Welcome-But-Not-Terribly-Shocking news, SAVE FASHION will add another two weeks to its sale schedule at Port Authority's Blank Sl8 space and will be taking some nice, hefty discounts on the remains of its men's and women's assortments. 641 8^th Avenue at 41^st Street), now through June 13^th or 14^th (?)
• ALOHA RAG is having a one-day sale on Saturday the 30^th (presumably in advance of permanent markdowns) featuring 40% to 70% off its achingly hip stock if. 505 Greenwich Street near Spring Street.
• Artist Terrence Koh is staging his own intriguing Pop-Up, EVERYTHING MUST OUT GOING, through June 6^th at his Asia Song Society (yes, that's ASS) which will include art objects and clothing for $100 and under (and maybe some over). Expect some serious kookiness. 45 Canal Street; 11-6 PM daily through 6/6.

SaleSALEsaleSALEsale: Men's Week Hits SAVE FASHION & Other Sales

Save Fashion, the monthlong designer sale on the corner of 41^st Street & 8^th Avenue at Port Authority hit some snags last Friday as it launched a week of men's bargains with a late opening and some intermittent shutdowns from Fire Marshals and such, but now that things are running smoothly, guys who have been waiting shouldn't hesitate to visit. Over the weekend, we saw an abundance of Rag & Bone and Rogan, as well as healthy assortments from Rogue's Gallery, Band of Outsiders, Bblessing and piles of jeans from Earnest Sewn and Nudie (the good, unwashed kind) at half price or, especially in the case of Brooks Bothers' Black Fleece, much less. The men's sale runs through Wednesday, and the space will reopen on Friday the 22^nd with one final week of women's designers.
And in other sale news, here are some more sales:

• STRENESSE Women's sportswear, May 19 - 20
10 AM - 6 PM
50 West 57^th Street between Fifth & Sixth Avenues, 8^th Floor
• GIULIANA TESO furs & Shearlings, May 18 - 20
10 AM - 6 PM
584 Broadway between Prince & Houston, 5^th Floor
• LUCA LUCA, May 20 - 31
Weekdays: 9 AM - 6 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 11 AM - 5 PM
19 West 36^th Street, 4^th floor
• MISS SIXTY and ENERGIE, May 18 –  21
Monday: 3 PM – 7 PM, Tuesday & Wednesday: 9 AM – 7 PM, Thursday: 9 AM – 3 PM
435 Hudson Street, near Leroy Street, Suite 400
• PETIT BATEAU starting from $2, May 18 - 22
Monday -Thursday: 10 AM - 4 PM; Friday: 10 AM - 2 PM
131 West 33^rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, Room 807; CASH ONLY.
• ALAIN MIKLI International eyewear, May 19 - 22
Tuesday -Thursday: 9 AM - 6:45 PM; Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM
28 Wooster Street at Grand Street

And this week, the ever popular GILT GROUPE is featuring sales from Christian Lacroix, Thom Browne, Alice + Olivia, Helmut Lang, Barker Black men's shoes, Emanuel Ungaro and Tony Melillo to name a just a few. Click HERE for your personal invitation.

A Moment for Our Feet: J.M. Weston Launches Exclusive Collaborations

Last week, the fine folks at J.M. Weston invited The to The Flag Art Foundation in Chelsea to launch the exclusive French shoemaker's special collaboration collection, "Humeurs" featuring five designers' interpretations of its classic models. As much as we love shoes, we might love our Westons the best. We once described them to someone unfamiliar with the brand as the men's shoe version of an Hermès Kelly Bag, so we were happy to lace up our oxblood demi-chasses and trek out to West 25th street for cocktails & hors d'oeuvres (of course, we are always happy to trek out for cocktails & hors d'oeuvres, but anyway...).
Our favorite pair was Dior Homme designer Kris Van Assche's subtle take on a wingtip oxford (pictured above), but the collection also included Michel Perry's whimsical argyle blucher and modern architect Frank Gehry's unlikely reproduction of an ankle boot with white spats as well as styles from Martin Szekely and Clémence Krzentowski. The seven styles are available for special order through J.M.Weston's boutiques, and we are guessing the prices will fall squarely into the four figure range. For what it's worth, we have a pair of Westons that we have been wearing for 15 years that look better than ever, so the investment value is definitely there.
J.M. Weston 812 Madison Avenue at 68^th Street, Upper East Side

More images after the jump

Benefit Event Of The Week: The Lighthouse Kicks Off Its Annual POSH Sale This Thursday

The Sample Sale schedule looks a little light this week, but it's probably just as well since a POSH weekend in midtown is coming up.
Lighthouse International's 37^th Annual POSH Sale has been a mainstay benefit for 37 years, and it promises to be as big as ever when it opens to the public on Thursday. The Shophound got a special preview of some of the choice offerings last week and being the scavengers that we are, we could have spent hours diving through the racks perusing the couture castoffs donated for the event.
For starters, there were piles of Chanel, (pictured above) for a few hundred dollars (as opposed to a few thousand), and pieces available from nearly every major designer  you can think of. Most item are gently worn with the exception of a size run of golden jackets from Christian Lacroix with their tags still attached provided directly from the designer, as well as other unworn donations.
There are celebrity contributions including  boxes from Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis full of clothes and accessories, many worn on "Sex And The City". Singer Ciara and a bunch of Real Housewives have also added to the bounty all of which amounts to the vast high-end thrift store hard core vintage shoppers dream of. Most of the items ore of relatively recent origin, but the truly persistent will discover museum worthy gems like the aqua beaded and fringed jacket from Halston (the real Halston) dating from somewhere around the late 1970s.
Lighthouse volunteers were quick to let me know that aside from the trove of couture, there will be lots of more casual, less expensive items for much lower prices available at the sale, so don't be scared off if you can't really fit a Chanel suit or a sparkling evening jacket into your lifestyle.
After a benefit preview dinner on Tuesday evening and benefit shopping hours on Wednesday, the sale will open to the public at 11 AM on Thursday, and run through Sunday at the Lighthouse Headquarters in midtown. Look for the long line.
Lighthouse International's 37^th Annual POSH Sale May 14th through 17th,  Thursday - Saturday: 11 AM - 7 PM, Sunday: 11 AM - 5 PM
110 East 60th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues
Daily Tickets: $10
Four-Day Pass: $30
May 13th Sneak Preview and Cocktail Party: $250 & $200, more info at Poshsale.org.

Benefit Sale Event Update: Housing Works Design On A Dime Hits Chelsea This Weekend

Housing Works, which provides services for homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS, has done a remarkable job upgrading the concept of thrift shops in recent years, but we had never been to it's huge Design On A Dime fundraising event. We say huge because we weren't prepared for the vast expanse if stuff on display at last night's VIP benefit preview. This is the fifth version of the annual event which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for the charity, and if it gets any bigger, we could see it moving from the Metropolitan Pavilion to an armory sized space. Open to the public for free today and tomorrow from 10 AM to 6 PM, the event features about 45 vignettes provided by corporate sponsors and local interior designers with new and repurposed furniture, housewares and other items sold at 60% to 80% off retail prices. This includes new and antique furniture, tableware linens, books and any number of other items all at thrift shop prices or better. Highlights included shelves crammed with fresh new linens from Area priced for $10 to $50, a room full of flowers and prints from Charlotte Moss and room after room of every possible style of furniture. There is really too much great stuff there to start listing it here, so even if you are just looking for a few well priced items to spruce up your home we recommend a visit. There was ample space devoted to sponsors Sears and Kmart, and last night's party gave us our second Jaclyn Smith sighting in two days. Sears celebrity Ty Pennington was also there along with a room full of his products, and there was a sizable area devoted to large home appliances should anyone be looking for a good deal on riding mower.
We suggest visiting as early as possible, as last night's crowd was already snapping things up at a healthy clip.
Housing Works Design On A Dime Free Public Sale May 8^th to 9^th 10 AM – 6 PM, Metropolitan Pavilion. 125 West 18^th Street between 6^th & 7^th Avenues, Chelsea

More pictures and a handy map of the sale after the jump

Pup-Up Report: SAVE FASHION Makes For Easy Browsing & Good Prices At Port Authority

So far, the bargain crazed who lined up for hours to get into yesterday's Jimmy Choo sale have not yet found this month's Save Fashion store in the new Blank Sl8 space at Port Authority. When they do, however prepare for a feeding frenzy.
The shop, produced and organized by Refinery 29 to promote independent designers, will be open all month with a rotating selection of goods at sample sale prices or below. New collections will be added weekly, and the first group is a mix of emerging and slightly more well known labels including Earnest Sewn, Rachel Comey, Gryson, Alice Ritter, Filippa K and Wren among others. One rack features knits from a "Guess Who?" designer who is coyly suggested to be Rick Owens, and a nearby sign indicates that next Friday Rogan, Rag & Bone and others will be added to the mix.
The prices appear to be set by the designers, so the discounts vary, but its hard to argue that one of Lyn Devon's sleek couture jackets marked down to around $150 from somewhere in the $2,000 range isn't a good deal. If that's too fancy, there is everything from jeans to silver lamé coats to be had.
This week, it's all ladies' stuff, but the designer list suggests that menswear will be coming in future weeks, and we will definitely be checking back regularly throughout the month.
Save Fashion, at Blank Sl8 641 8^th Avenue at 41^st Street, Midtown

Designer list after the jump

Pop-Up Report: Ryantown At Earnest Sewn

British artist Rob Ryan has taken over the back room pop-up space at Earnest Sewn with a vast array of his signature stenciled artworks and textiles. Ryantown will be up through the end of May. Venture towards the far side of the rustic denim dealer, and you'll find a profusion of items ranging from the inevitable printed t-shirts to greeting cards, tote bags, painted tiles, pillows dishes and all sorts of other baubles and novelties. All are touched with what looks like vintage folk art patterns which, upon closer inspection, reveal poetic musings and inventive designs. It's one of the more charming pop-ups that Earnest Sewn has hosted, and definitely worth a visit for anyone in search of Mother's Day gifts.
Ryantown at Earnest Sewn through May 31^st, 821 Washington Street between Gansevoort & Little West 12^th Streets, Meatpacking District
Rob Ryan (Official Blog)

Sale Sale: Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale

The city is still sale-obsessed, and nobody can seem to forget last November's 70% off frenzy. The mere inkling of price breaking for Spring seems to send those who follow such things into feverish frothing at the mouth. Add to that the torrent of sample sales that seem to be proliferating at a stunning rate, and it's a wonder that anyone buys anything at full price. Once strictly controlled, Friends & Family events have practically become public sales offering blanket discounts throughout entire department stores, and now that those are mostly over, the "Private" sales are starting, which will lead to first markdowns sometime later this month, which is a few weeks earlier than normal.
If you are waiting for the deep-discount-free-for-all that happened last fall, don't hold your breath. That affair (spurred by Saks) angered vendors and destroyed margins throughout the industry, and this season, the retailers have much less stock to mark down. The other unplanned effect was that when it came time for After-Christmas sales, there was nothing left for customers in January and February. don't expect retailers to give away the store this early in the game again. They'll some merchandise to sell through the Summer.
Here's what we know (and we have to give a great deal of credit to The Choosy Beggar and Madison Avenue Spy for tirelessly chronicling every markdown)

Barneys is planning a one-day sale on May 4^th featuring 40% off selected merchandise.
Saks is reportedly running a 2-day sale for Mother's Day Weekend with pre-sale (that means reserving of sale merchandise) starting Monday May 4^th as well.
Bloomingdale's Private Shoe Sale begins this Thursday, April 30^th to May 4^th with discounts from 30% to 40% off, and an additional 20% if you buy 2 or more pairs of shoes.

Is this all starting to sound more like Walmart? We are less concerned about finding things for ourself to buy than whether these stores are ever going to be able to get customers to buy full price again.
And here's just a small selection of the mountain of Sample Sale notices we get, including some we don't often see:

Nancy Gonzalez, April 29^th (TODAY) - 30^th
10 am-6 pm, 575 Madison Avenue, 8^th floor between 56^th & 57^th
Spurr menswear, April 30^th - May 3^rd
Thursday & Friday, 12 pm – 7 pm, Saturday & Sunday, 12 pm – 5 pm
at Starworks, 5 Crosby Street, Suite 3D between Grand and Howard Streets. Cash and major credit cards accepted.
Barry Kieselstein-Cord Jewelry, handbags & Acessories (Have we ever heard of a BK-C sample sale before), May 7^th - 9^th
Thursday 12 pm – 7 pm, Friday 8 am - 7 pm Saturday 9 am – 4 pm
The Warwick Hotel, 65 West 54th Street, Essex Suite on the 2^nd Floor. Cash and major credit cards accepted.
Delman, May 5^th - 8^th
Wednesday - Thursday 10 am - 7 pm Friday 10 am - 3 pm
at Savvy, 145 West 18^th Street between Sixth & Seventh Avenues
Domenico Vacca, May 6^th - 8^th
10 am - 6 pm
14 East 60^th Street, Suite 900
Fred Perry (Incl. Raf Simons for Fred Perry) May 11^th -17^th
Weekdays 10 am - 7 pm, Saturday & Sunday 12 - 5 PM
547 West 27^th street. 3^rd floor between 10^th & 11^th Avenues, CASH ONLY
To Boot New York May 1^st - 3^rd
Friday  8:30 am - 6:30 pm, Saturday 10 am - 6 pm, Sunday 12 - 5 pm
603 Washington Street between Morton & Leroy Streets CASH ONLY

And let's not forget about GILT GROUPE, which allows us to forgo the hassle of waiting in line and squeezing into a cramped showroom. This week, the ever-growing website is featuring limited time sales from, among several others: Milly, AG Jeans for men, Jack Spade, Alexander McQueen RTW & Accessories, Alice Ritter, Alexandro Ingelmo, Vince for men, Gianfranco Ferré, Miguelina, J Brand, Bonpoint and our favorite upscale naughty store, Kiki de Montparnasse. Click HERE now for your personal invitation.
Got any money left now?

Fifth Avenue Mob Scene Alert: Olympian Michael Phelps To Stop By Omega

Start lining up now, swimfans.
Record Breaking Olympic Gold Medalist and "Omega Ambasador" Michael Phelps will be fulfilling his contractual obligations this Wednesday April 22^nd at the new Omega store on Fifth Avenue.
Phelps will be making an oh-so-brief personal appearance from 2:00 to 3:00 PM, and will most likely be wearing his Big Size Planet Ocean Seamaster Diving watch (Water Resistant to 2000 ft.). Luckily, we haven't heard anything about there being any required purchases, but if you buy a watch (and we're just speculating here), we're willing to bet you might get an extra few seconds to personally congratulate the swimming legend on winning, what was it, like 30 or 35 Gold Medals?
Despite his unfortunately well-documented meeting with a bong a few months ago, we still think that Phelps has enough charisma to draw a big, big crowd, which can't be a bad thing on Fifth Avenue these days.
Omega Flagship Boutique 711 Fifth Avenue between 55^th & 56^th Streets
Personal appearance between 2:00 and 3:00 PM