REPORT FROM THE FRONT: G-III M&F FROM PETITE TO 5X!

Let's give thanks for Nancy Brenner:
G-III sample sale is for men and women of all sizes, ages, tastes. Lux label seekers staked out the Gucci and Armani sales last week, while savvy New Yorkers stood outside of a red velvet rope line (nice touch) for a host of outerwear brands and jackets starting at $30 for sample pieces - including Cole Haan, Siena Studio leather, Guess!, Sean John, Marvin Richards, Ellen Tracy and many others. This is the biggest range of sizes - from petites to 5X - thatI have ever spotted at a sample sale. Choose a commitment coat that will take you through the worst of winter (if it ever shows) to a one-season-wonder fling. The bottom line is if you're looking for a puffer, a trench, a classic black wool coat, leather jacket, fake fur, fake patent...you can find it here. Biggest problem at this sale - temptation. Pick your color palette - basic black to fuchsia, tan, burgundy, red...grey python, leopard leathers. Come in with a list of what you're looking for - otherwise you'll leave with more than you and your credit card can carry!

Avoid the stampedes at stores on Black Friday - you'll never find better prices than this. A Sean John leather jacket in a size 5X was $160, regularly $550. A fake fur pink party jacket sample for $30. A trench prototype in cobalt blue $30. Jackets that Sean John retailed for $245 - now $70. A light-weight Cole Haan jacket priced at 1 for $50 or 2 for $75. A red Jones wool coat: $100. A purple puffer sample: $50.

Check out the back room with a glass window for party dresses at $25 and coats with fur trim.

Head here before you head home for the holidays - and bring your hostess a jacket instead of a pricey fruit cake!

241 West 37th between 7th-8th Aves. (ground floor)
CLOSED THANKSGIVING, Mon-Fri 10a-7p until December 18th

Aug. 25: Housing Works "Last Days of Summer" Charity Event

Allure Fashion Director and Housing Works Board Member Michael Carl is hosting a “Last Days of Summer” one-night-only charity shopping event. Housing Works' new Tribeca location will be filled with stylish beach wear, bathing suits and beach accessories handpicked by Carl. Carl will be on hand to give fashion advice at the event, as will his cohosts, designers Charlotte Ronson and Shoshanna Gruss, who are also donating a variety of summer sweet things, including shoes and bathing suits. Carl’s carefully edited collection of beach items will include Gucci bowling shoes, a Robert Graham cotton brocade blazer and Marc by Marc Jacobs white jeans (size 32).

“Last Days of Summer Editor’s Choice” event information:

WHERE: Housing Works Tribeca Thrift Shop, 119 Chambers St. between Church St and West Broadway

WHEN: Tuesday, August 25, from 6 to 9pm

COST: FREE and open to the public

BENEFITS: Housing Works, the largest community-based AIDS service organization in the United States. Since 1990, they have provided lifesaving services to more than 20,000 homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS.

Gucci Tat on Bluefly

While I am no fan of logo-obsessed high-end brand shoe-handbag-wallet nonsense, I thought that this might interest some of you. And I must serve my adoring publics.

Bluefly is offering a few Gucci Tattoo products right now for 20% off.

And the black suede 'Tattoo Heart' cork platform sandals are kind of too hilarious in a Peg-Bundy-meets-Betsey-Johnson way. I couldn't help but mention them. And for the reasonable price of $624!

Win a Gucci Bag

Thought y'all might like to be interactive and show your love of fashion, ability to write comedy, and interest in winning a Gucci bag...

Flypaper is having a super fun CAPTION THIS contest for their "Nothing to Wear" campaign.

Leave a comment on this post captioning the "Nothing to Wear" print ad below -- be as funny, sarcastic, or serious as you like! - and we'll award the one we love the most with a fabulous Gucci bag to strategically place over your parts. Hey, one comment for a Gucci bag priced at over $1,000.... easy enough!

Check out the contest here: http://flypaper.bluefly.com/archives/2007/12/nothing_to_wear_2.html

Robert Polet's 5 Tips on How to be Stylish

...and the Guerilla Shopper's italicized commentary.

Do you know who Robert Polet is? He is the CEO of Gucci who used to be the head of ice cream and frozen food at Unilever. Read the Wall Street Journal for Bob's sake (page B2)! Drumroll...

1. Splurge on high-quality fabric and leather. "Two years ago, I put all my sweaters away in a cupboard and went out and bought myself 10 cashmere sweaters in the same colors I'd had before." (Yo, Bob, so then can I get those sweaters you stashed in the cupboard? My elderly father is cold.)
2. Match your watch to your mood. (I guess I'm always pissed off.)
3. Stay up to speed with technology. His most recent gadget: a BlackBerry 8800. (My most recent gadget is one of those new-fangled "cordless" phones.)
4. Feel at ease in fashion. "I had a pair of flashy leopard-print loafers from Yves Saint Laurent--in fact they're so flashy, I don't wear them today." (Nor would I. Most of my Yves wardrobe is relatively conservative.)
5. Dress down on vacation. On his sailboat this summer, "I didn't put on socks for three-and-a-half weeks." (This guy is zany. Is Gucci sure they want someone so off-the-wall in charge?)

Ina meany miney moe

Hey, I've been meaning to write about Ina, the designer consignment store in Noho and Soho and all around the town. It's basically full of rich people's incredibly expensive castoffs - Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Jil Sander, etc. after those fashions become obsolete (two months after they are bought).

"What's with the attitude, Guerilla Shopper?" you might be asking yourself.

Well I'm kind of tired and cranky, but I also sat next to a saleswoman while getting a pedicure at Haven this summer, and upon realizing she worked at Ina, I began to ask her about the store. I was interested in the kind of merchandise they accepted, if there were parameters for what they would and wouldn't take, etc. I was truly interested because I have some Smithsonian-worthy 80s pieces that I have considered saving for a rainy day. Well, Ms. Ina lady was incredibly curt and condescending. Little did she know I was a bitch with a blog.