Set Sale

Place Your Bets

Will this bum economy leave retailers at your mercy? Maybe. But, according to THIS Portfolio story, buyers have started placing smaller orders, which could mean fewer options come sale time. Something to keep an eye on.

Collabos Magnifico

Alexander McQueen and Puma recently collaborated on some shoes that gave Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas a run for their money. Now, MB brings word that Zappos is carrying what appears to be the full line, much of which is being marked down by as much as 50%.

Speaking of which, Y-3 -- the ongoing collaboration between Yamamoto and Adidas -- is presently unloading some of its clothes, accessories, and kicks at what appears to be about 30-40% off.  

Halloween's for Amateurs

Like many a New Yorker, this guy doesn't need some holiday to tell him when he can and can not dress like a total lunatic. God bless 'em.

Pick The Caption

Is the guy wearing these grey Superfine jeans (which Oak just reduced from $335 to $85 online) saying:

A) "Damn girl, You SUPERfine!"

B) "Mother#@$*%!" after getting splashed with street water.

C) "Why!?!?!" after learning that the jeans he bought for $335 just went on sale for $85.

HERE's what else just went on sale at Oak.

Oak - 28 Bond St at Lafayette - 212-677-1293 - Map

Oak - 208 N. 8th St between Roebling & Driggs - 718-782-0521 - Map
Oak - 668 President St at 5th Avenue - 718-857-2080 - Map

More Toe Cap!

While supplies last, one-of-a-kind cobbler Walter Steiger is taking 50% off his fall collection of men's shoes.

**Update** If you haven't made this sale yet, a clerk tells us, wait until the next one coming up on the 24th.

Walter Steiger - 417 Park Ave at 55th - 212-826-7171 - Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Closed Sun - Map

R.I.P.

Well, that didn't last long. Men's Vogue is toast. Shame.

Making The Beggar Blush

The Beggar just sat down for a lively Q&A with our friends at Gilt.com. Check it out HERE. We're thoroughly delighted and honored to be getting such great coverage. That goes without saying. Cheers to Gilt and, especially, to our readers!

Dept. Of WTF

A tipster sends word that the Varvatos U.S.A. sale -- on 5th between 28th & 29th-- is stocked with leftovers from previous sales... which we knew. What we didn't realize is that the stock is more expensive this time around! "Cashmere sweaters are $195 (previously $150), wool/cotton sweaters are $95 (previously $55) , suits are $475, etc. etc," according to our eagle-eyed tipster. Still cheaper than retail, but good to know all the same. If you're still interested, the sale is slated to go on through Friday.

Varvatos U.S.A. sample sale - 260 5th Ave between 28th & 29th - 12pm-7pm - Map

Waiting Game

Last month, a Bergdorf floor manager told us, in effect, "It would take a cataclysmic event to affect our prices before December... We're not Barney's."

Well, the market -- call it cataclysmic or not -- appears to have forced the fashion fortress to mark down women's ready-to-wear, accessories, and shoes by up to 40%. And it's not even November!

Men's wear sales are said to be faring better than women's wear right now, but we suspect that won't keep the other high-end shoe from dropping shortly. "These aren't normal times," a Bergdorf clerk told us today. "There are a lot of factors that we didn't have to consider last year or the year before that." We'll keep you posted.

Bergdorf’s - 754 5th Ave at 58th - 212-753-7300 - Map

Golden Boy

Men.Style brings together some top designers to meditate on the future of fashion, which, as Giorgio Armani makes clear, isn’t quite the same thing as style. The illustrations by Mickey Duzyj really pop.

Raf Simons gets the best treatment by Duzyj (above), while Armani has the soundest advice for you, the consumer:

“I suspect we will see a return to more elegant, classic dressing. This will be because people will want to purchase clothes that have a longer life span and are therefore a better investment … Clothes and accessories should, to my way of thinking, be more about style than fashion.”

The Odyssey

Century 21 isn't so much a discount department store as it is the setting for a classic odyssey tale with treacherous obstacles to be overcome like the sea of downtown commuters barricading its entrances, the hordes of tourist shoppers ravaging its first floor, and the seductively unfamiliar brand names intent on luring you off course to sartorial wastelands...

But, typical of such adventures, safe passage yields a bounty of spoils -- in this case a fine selection of winter coats (towards the the back of the Mezzanine level) all priced well below retail:

Behold this black 3/4 Yves Saint Laurent beauty for a mere $400 (No, we couldn't find anything wrong with it) -

Another 3/4 beauty by Ralph Lauren Black Label for $600 -

A surprisingly well-constructed John Varvatos U.S.A. 3/4 for $400 -

And this Stone Island down jacket for just $350 -

Century 21 - 22 Cortlandt St between Church & Broadway - 212-227-9092 - Map

Because You're Worth It

Thursday night from 6-9, get to Alfred Dunhill on 5th Ave for 30% off all men’s wear and selected accessories, complimentary tastings of Macallan Scotch, and shaves from Truman’s Grooming Services. [Refinery29]

Alfred Dunhill - 545 5th Ave at 55th - 212-753-9292 - Map

Timesian Chic

The Moment's latest High/Low column -- which masterfully digs up "the chic and the cheap" -- features this Muji military zip-up jacket for $140. "It’s a great basic for fall and has the same cool feeling as labels like Acne, Unis and A.P.C."

Muji Times Building - 620 8th Ave nr 40th - 212-382-2300 - Map

Muji Downtown - 455 Broadway between Grand & Howard - 212-334-2002 - Map

Surprise!

The Cut was surprisingly surprised to find a Sale section on Barneys.com yesterday. (Barneys.com always carries a Sale section.) But we figured, heck, it couldn’t hurt to play along, so we assembled some nice finds from the NEW(!) Sale Section at Barney.com(!!) like the above Surface to Air striped woven shirt down from $165 to $70, and the accompanying Rag & Bone straight leg jeans down from $275 to $140.

Also a deal is this Save Khaki camp shirt down from $125 to $60 - 

This NSF military jacket down from $425 to $210 - 

And this F. Peluso monk boot down from $600 to $400 -

Kill Two Birds...

At 12 noon today, get to Gilt.com for sales on Milus Swiss watches and Cole Haan shoes. (We have fond memories of the first Air loafers to come out of the now long-standing partnership between Haan and Nike. Ten years later, they're still a smart choice for urban pavement pounding.) The Beggar has your invite to the member's only site HERE. 

Albo's Lament

In this week’s Critical Shopper, the Times’ Mike Albo visits Tod’s boutique on Madison Avenue. Putting aside his unhealthy obsession with Gwyneth Paltrow (currently the face of Tod’s), Albo goes back to his now predictable theme of guilty high-end shopping in a gloomy economic climate. No, Mike, Tod’s ain’t cheap! Subscribe to The Beggar, and we’ll let you know when they go on sale.

Preach!

Here's maybe the best comment ever from Evan Rose in response to our Black/Brown 1826 post: "When I heard that name, I was all 'what?' It's a. the stupidest name in the world, b. a desperate attempt to go after some demographic that I don't know exists and if they do, they're not shopping at L&T (have you been to their flagship in Manhattan lately? It's a ghetto crossed with a ghost town) and c. they totally stole the knife in their logo from a shoe company whose name I can't remember right now. Anyway, the thing failed before it even started."

"We're Not That Macho"

Classic-ish

It’s not even November and Lord & Taylor is already marking down Joseph Abboud's much ballyhooed men’s wear line, Black/Brown 1826, online.

Great Marketing, So-So Merch

Today through Friday, Kenneth Cole’s having a sale on ready-to-wear, shoes, and accessories. But be careful with this stuff. Neither Cole's clothes, shoes, nor his accessories are known for their quality. Frankly, none of it is made very well.

Kenneth Cole sale - 261 W 36th St between 7th & 8th - 2nd fl - Tue-Thu 10am-7pm, Wed, Fri 10am-6pm - Map

Blue Works

At 12 noon today, Habitual Jeans go on sale at Gilt.com. The Beggar has your invite to the member's only site HERE.

Atomic Nike

Nike AF1 x Darbotz from Randy Rais on Vimeo.

Mysterious Reappearances

In August, this sample-sale stronghold on 5th Ave -- between 28th & 29th -- hosted a very successful John Varvatos sale. Now, without any advertising or fanfare, the space has been mysteriously restocked with loads of heavily marked-down Varvatos U.S.A. merch. Sorry, no Varvatos shoes this time around. You will find some J. Lindeberg footwear, however.
Varvatos sample sale - 260 5th Ave between 28th & 29th

Take Your Pick

Refinery29 has assembled a very respectable list of fall/winter coats for under $300. We're digging the concept. We're digging the coats. We're digging it all. [Refinery29 via Racked]

D&G Hates The Color Blind

For whatever reason, we found no lines at the Dolce & Gabanna sale going on through Friday. But, by the looks of things, what's worth getting is going to get got pretty quickly. There are some nice deals to be had... if you can figure out this ridiculous colored dot system -

The best deals are these excellently constructed, extremely sharp, buttery soft jackets going for a mere $300 -

These are the most conservative shoes you're going to find at the sale -

This bag's a deal at about $200 -

Dolce & Gabbana Sale - Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 W 18th St between 6th & 7th - *5th Fl FOR MEN* - Mon 1pm-6pm, Tue-Wed 9am-6pm, Thu 9am-8pm, Fri 9am-5pm - 877-703-4872 - Map

Aloha, Cold

There’re amazing deals wherever you look these days. Among some other sale items at Aloha Rag, we found this Obedient Sons long coat down from $1,400 to about $400. Dig it.

Whoopin' Esquire's E-Ink Ass

Boys Keep Swinging - Sharif Hamza from Contributing Editor on Vimeo.

Double-Breasted And Loving It

At 12 noon today, Alfred Dunhill goes on sale at Gilt.com. The Beggar has you invite to the members-only site HERE.

Interview Armor

If it seems like Hickey Freeman hosts a sale every week, that’s because they do. It’s all good. The more sales, the better the odds that you’ll catch one when you need a suit. This time around, Sunday through Thursday, find up to 75% off suits, shirts, and outerwear from Hickey Freeman and buddy Bobby Jones.

Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones Sale - 317 W 33rd St between 8th & 9th - 718-747-1656 - Sun 9am-6pm, Mon-Wed 9:30am-6:30pm, Thu 9am-5pm - Map

Time (In Line) Is Money

Monday through Friday, get to the Dolce & Gabbana sale for up to 70% off jackets, suits, pants, shits, shoes, and accessories. Get there early and bring a magazine. With really long articles.

Dolce & Gabbana Sale - Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 W 18th St between 6th & 7th - 4th AND 5th fls - Mon 1pm-6pm, Tue-Wed 9am-6pm, Thu 9am-8pm, Fri 9am-5pm - 877-703-4872 - Map

Two Ships...

The Bling Is Dead

Just as irony was said to have passed on post-9/11, Esquire is now proclaiming the death of bling in our post-boom economy. Taking its place is “Low-Key Luxury” -- something, we must say, The Beggar has always doggedly pursued.

But low-key doesn’t necessarily mean low cost, according to Esquire, which is happy to suggest hundreds of ways to spend many thousands of dollars on this more understated and refined approach to style.

Mastering The Obvious

At the risk of stating the obvious, let’s take a minute to explain the simple process by which you can combine the Web with a physical shopping experience to score a perfectly fitting product at a fraction of its retail price.

Let’s say, hypothetically, we tell you that sale site Gilt.com is about to host a sale on Barker Black shoes. But, other than their great reputation, you don’t know much about Black’s, their various models, or how they fit.

The solution? Get to Bergdorf’s (or any store that carries the product in question) and try on a pair! Then, come sale time, you’ll know exactly what you’re after... Like, perhaps, the highly sought after Derby Suede shoes, which retail for over $800, but which are still available at Gilt.com for just $330.

Be The Vulture

Last night, we stopped by Costume National’s moving sale, going on through Sunday, and found a nice selection of fall/winter wear in a larger range of sizes than you'd find at a sample sale. An overly ambitious security guard kept us from documenting the coat, shirt, and sweater selection, but we managed to have our way with the shoes! 

In case you're wondering, these boots now on sale for $250 retail for over $700 - 

And these shoes now on sale for $150 retail for over $500 -

Soon-to-be-ex Costume National - 108 Wooster St between Prince & Spring - 212-431-1530 - Thu-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 10am-7pm - Map

Nice Color

Through Sunday, streetwear and sneaker makers Alife and A.R.C. are taking 20-50% off stock at their courtyard clearance sale. Cash only.

Courtyard Clearance Sale - 158 Rivington St between Suffolk & Clinton - 212-375-8128 - Thurs-Sat 12pm-7pm, Sun 12pm-6pm - Map

Man Of The Peoples

Friday through Sunday, Oliver Peoples’ uptown and downtown locales will be reducing prices on select frames. We're talking $300 pieces down to about $100. 

Oliver Peoples - 755 Madison Ave at 65th St - 212-585-3433 - Map

Oliver Peoples - 366 W Broadway at Broome St - 212-925-5400 - Map