Aug 19-20 Rachel Roy Sample Sale

Rachel Roy is having a designer sample sale next week. The designer collection will be 85% off.

What: Rachel Roy Sample Sale
Where: 1411 Broadway (between 39th Street & 40th Street) 37th floor
When: Wednesday, August 19th, 10 am - 7 pm; Thursday, August 20th, 10 am - 7 pm

Aug 13-16 Dolce & Gabbana Sample Sale

Dolce & Gabbana Sample Sale
August 13-16 Thursday-Saturday 11-7 Sunday 12-7
109 Spring Street (Mercer-Greene Streets)
Womens and Mens Clothing
DENYC is holding a Dolce & Gabbana sample sale for Women and Men. Racks with thousands of Dolce & Gabbana couture dresses, jackets, skirts, tops, pants, sweaters and much more ... all straight from Italy. Prices start at 70% off. All sizes are available and try-ons are permitted. Get there early for the best selection!
Visa, Mastercard, Discover and cash accepted. All sales final

Gramercy's Vintage Thrift Shop

Where do New Yorkers spend a humid August afternoon? At the Zagat rated Vintage Thrift Shop - where traffic was so congested, that I had to wait until several frugalistas exited before I could get in. It's not as busy as Trader Joe's where the line for the privilege of paying at one of the 22 cash registers is 45 minutes, but busier than let's say Saks shoe salon, so big it has its own zip code, where a major 70% consolidation sale started last Thursday. Usually I just pop by and drop off my donations, but I had to investigate what all the buzz was about. The last time I was there, someone sauntered off with a pair of Prada shoes with soles that had never touched the ground - and a hard to find size 5 too. A vintage one-of-a-kind Lanvin belt was being priced and put out for sale while I was donating. Among the real finds - the costume jewelry - why pay more for less at a retail shop for fake 70s and 80s when you can find Debbie Harry, Madonna heyday studded cuffs here? Tired of the same old Drew Carey eyeglasses found at every optical shop? Discover an original stand-out pair here. Check out the shoes too - while many are worn, think of it as a treasure hunt to see if you can unearth brand new ones. The best time to go? Transitional periods - such as Fall and Spring when closets are cleaned, although new merchandise arrives daily. When everyone is tweeting at the tents in Bryant Park, try out Vintage's window auctions - no stilettos necessary shopping - but bidding can be fierce. Vintage has so many donations, they even have stuff in storage. Also look out for the "blue tag" fifty percent off sales when the goods are marked down even further after a few weeks on the floor. Find furnishings, hats, vintage gloves, housewares, matchbook covers, etc. Talk to the salespeople - they are fashion curators! Friday afternoons are busy, as are Sundays. Go shopping for back-to-school items, or a new armoire. Apparently recessionistas everywhere are shopping the thrifts. According to a report by the The National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops (NARTS), issued this month, nearly 80 percent of their survey respondents experienced an increase in new customers. And the quality of incoming merchandise was either higher (28.2 percent) or the same (59.1 percent), with only 12.8 percent feeling a decrease in quality.

Peruse in-person in Gramercy Park thrift-shopper heaven or online at vintagethriftshop.org. Or donate, and get a tax deduction!

~Nancy Brenner

PERSONAL NOTE FROM GSNYC: This is in my hood and is definitely one of the better thrifts around. I got a rhinestone "V" pin here...

Aug 13-23: ABC Carpet & Home Warehouse Sale

Up to 75% off original prices on lighting, select tabletop & decorative accessories, bedding & bath and modern, grounded & antique furniture, handmade oriental rugs, modern rugs, and more...

when:
August 13-23

what:
Select traditional furniture, Theodore Alexander, French Heritage, case & occasional goods as well as modern, grounded & antique furniture. Modern dining, office and storage furniture. Chinese, European, Indian and South American antiques. Upholstery, sofas, chairs and sectionals. Lighting, decorative textiles & accessories, table top and bedding. Modern rugs, handmade Orientals, needlepoints, Aubussons, flatweaves, shags, mansion sizes, runners, wall-to-wall carpet and remnants.

where:
abc carpet & home – bronx warehouse outlet
1055 bronx river avenue
bronx, ny 10472
718 842 8772
mon-fri 10am-7pm sat 9am-7pm sun 10am-6pm
http://www.abchome.com/

specific merchandise details:

Mitchell Gold Winslow Chair
was $2,685 now $499

Mahogany Dining Table
was $3,150 now $799

Contemporary Shag Rugs
were $1,999-$3,499 now $699-$999

DIA Granite Table
was $1395 now $299

The Barksdale Collection Manhattan Night Stand
was $1.095 now $499

Urban Oasis 4 Hands Coffee Table
was $1295 now $795

Modern Nepalese Rug
was $9,299 now $1,999

Silk Trading Curtain Panels
were $420-$170 now $210-$85

Chinese Needlepoint
was $1,999 now $599

Handmade Pakistan Chobi Rug
was $7,299 now $3,699

Retro Collection Spectrum Rug
was $699 now $249

Arper Office chair in warm orange
was $1295 now $699

Aug 6-7: Yohji Friends & Family Sale Today and Tomorrow

I can't give you any details, but might I suggest that you contact anyone you know who works there or is in the biz?

20% Off Tanks & Camis at american basics

Established in Brooklyn, Americas Basics knows that most girls spend their lives in basics. T-shirts, camisoles and tanks are their bread and butter, and from the looks of it, most - if not all - items cost $10 or less! Add to that the coupon code you see here (summer 387), and you probably couldn't spend less at Old Navy on similar items. I haven't seen the goods in person yet, but I'm guessing it's like a cheaper American Apparel. I will let you know my evaluation when I get the goods in my hands.

Financial Times: Facebook could be a hit with shoppers

Facebook could be a hit with shoppers
By David Gelles in San Francisco
Published: August 5 2009 03:00 Last updated: August 5 2009 03:00

A new wave of sophisticated e-commerce applications is appearing on Facebook, a sign that the world's largest social network could rapidly emerge as a big destination for online shopping.
1-800-Flowers, the US floral gift retailer and distributor, last week opened its "Facebook storefront", an application running on Facebook's fast-growing platform where users can purchase and send flowers.
At least 20 more such storefronts will appear on Facebook in the next two months, according to Wade Gerten, chief executive of Alvenda, the software developer that built the 1-800-Flowers storefront. "You'll see a lot more coming out in the next couple of months," he said.
Mr Gerten said he had contracts to develop eight storefronts, but that since the 1-800-Flowers application launched, he had secured 12 more. He said the applications would be for "very large general merchandise retailers, and very large electronics retailers".
The storefronts represent the beginning of a transformation that could turn Facebook into a retail destination, said Sucharita Mulpuru, an e-commerce analyst for Forrester Research. "It's an enormous platform," she said. "That means the ability to reach more consumers and make money."
Facebook has more than 250m users and is growing fast. However, it has no current plans to organise the storefronts into an online mall, or to make money from them by either taxing the transactions that take place on its site, or by offering its own virtual currency.
At least two other companies already have limited e-commerce functionality in their Facebook applications. Sears, the department store, and Threadless, the T-shirt seller, both let users add items to their shopping cart on Facebook. But to complete the transaction users must go to the company's own website. Allowing users to remain on Facebook while they complete their transactions is important in increasing the site's "stickiness". More than 120m people log on to Facebook each day, spending a combined 5bn minutes a day on the site.
Companies are turning to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to help them boost business. Many big retailers have a fan page on Facebook, while retailers large and small are offering exclusive deals to their Twitter followers.
But neither site has been able to make money from the increased business activity. Instead, Facebook is focusing on attracting advertisers, and is expected to bring in at least $500m in revenue this year.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

In the Recession, Shoppers Are Becoming Hagglers

From Time magazine: In the Recession, Shoppers Are Becoming Hagglers

According to the consulting firm America's Research Group, in October, 56% of consumers said they had recently tried to negotiate at retail outlets other than car dealerships. Of those hagglers, 50% got deals. When the company repeated the survey in May, 72% of consumers said they had tried to haggle, and a stunning 80% were successful.

Restaurant Review: The Stanton ANTI-Social

Located on Stanton Street on the Lower East Side of New York dwells The Stanton Social, a popular restaurant that serves a variety of "small plates" to everyone's delight. The theory is that sharing dishes, which arrive throughout the duration of the meal, makes for a very "social" experience, and thus the name of the restaurant, I suspect.

This sounds like a beautiful notion.

Except that my experience there this weekend was unbelievably anti-social, thus the clever little name I have rebranded this place with (The Stanton ANTI-Social).

My friend and her fiance invited me to meet them there, so that we could have a drink and catch up. When I got to the restaurant, they were about finished with their meal, so I sat next to my friend on the "booth side" of the table. Suddenly some guy with short, wavy brown hair, who we later learned is the manager, came over and said, "this is NOT a three-person table, you can NOT all sit here." So my friend's fiance agreed and we all nodded along as the manager-boy ran off. We then quickly started to complain amongst ourselves about what an uptight freak this guy was (and is, everyday of his life, I suspect). Not ones to stay where we aren't wanted, we asked the waitress for the check and continued on with our conversation while we waited for it. About 7.2 minutes later, the manager-lad returned to the table demanding, "ONE OF YOU HAS GOT TO GO." Again, my friend's fiance agreed, explaining that we were waiting for the check.

The check came, we paid, and got up to leave. As I was walking out the same manager-dude said, "thank you, gooodniiight!" To which I responded, "um, yeah, right." Then my friend stopped him and explained how that was the rudest most uncalled for experience she had ever had in a restaurant in her entire life and that we would make sure never to return and recommend the same to all of our friends.

Bummer that this guy didn't realize who he was unceremoniously kicking out of his joint.

Stickley Audi & Co. Summer Sale

Save up to 50% at Stickley Audi & Co. starting August 1.
Local stores located in Manhattan, 207 W. 25th St. and in White Plains at 50 Tarrytown Road.