JCrew Sample Sale: The Good

The JCrew sample sale in NYC has become a regular appointment for New Yorkers. I think they have been helding one every two-three months since the first one in January 2009. I went to that one and to another one this early fall, then I decided to stay away as much as possible because I tend to overbuy while I'm there and regret after. Also, as many have pointed out on the JCA blog, the prices are sometimes higher than final sale prices on the website (especially the shoes and the cashmere sweaters) and the general quality of the merchandise much lower (I'm talking about big holes, "sample" marked on the sweaters with a black marker etc).

However I was tempted to go to this one because they announced that they would have a lot of jewelry, some stock and also shoes (and I'm looking for some hard to find oldies). A friend of mine went on Tuesday at the opening and she said that it was worth it, so I went this morning while my daughter was at school.

When I walked in I was disappointed because they had only samples and there wasn't any current stock merchandise on the floor. Moreover, the dresses and the few jackets that they had looked like they had been around for at least a decade (they were all wrinkled) and were really unappealing. Honestly, thrift stores have stuff in better conditions. Second, it's true that they had much more jewelry that at the last sample sale and nicely displayed this time around, but a lot of them were charms bracelets and necklaces (including some very hard to find) and I'm not much of a charm person (but I know that some of you would have liked those and my friend bought many of them). I was hoping for some sparkle but they had nothing in the current styles.

So you would think that I left empty-handed. Well, after two hours of digging, I had a bag full of stuff. I found some pretty darn good deals, some that won't maybe look like a good deal to some of you but still are for me and a very bad deal (of course I didn't know that it was a bad deal until I got home).

Let's start with the good. Accessories were a good deal. Belts and scarves were $20 each and $30 for two. I got two belts (one is the skinny pyramid-studded in black that retails on the website for $36 and one is a plain black) and two scarves. The scarves are from the current collection and one of them is the very popular floral (aka potpourri) scarf in papaya. As you know I own it in the other color but I couldn't resist the fantastic deal (the only fault is that there isn't any Jcrew tag on it but, honestly, who cares). The other one is a fringed linen one in neon orange (I'm really liking this new shade). Being linen and fringed it can also be worn on the beach as a bottom cover-up (and the shade is very beach-y).

I also couldn't resist buying another two short-sleeved cashmere cardigans. I bought one in apricot last week during the 30% off promo and when I received it I kicked myself for not buying more and earlier when there were more color choices available. It was my first short-sleeved cashmere tee (I have an old Ralph Lauren short-sleeved cardigan but it's a little bit too small now) and it is just what I need to go through spring. Luckily I found a navy one (one of my favorite colors) at the sample sale and while I was at it I grabbed another one in natural (there were $45, pretty much what I paid last week on the website).
These are last year's (with the ribbed hems) and the fit is slightly bigger than this year's in my opinion. Anyway, now I can finally wear an outfit that has been on my mind for a while (I must have seen it somewhere because I'm pretty obsessed with it. If you have worn it and posted about it, let me know):



This is the natural one, with the floral scarf (I actually wore this to the playground this afternoon. The short-sleeve cashmere tees are great when it gets chilly at the end of a warm spring day like today):



I did buy two necklaces. One that I was pretty sure about because I regretted not buying it last year (I don't remember the name but you will recognize it as I think it still pops back every once in a while). Remember that I said that I needed a necklace to wear with my yellow merino boyfriend sweatshirt? Voila:



By the way, I had never noticed before that the beads are asymmetrical. If you own this necklace, can you let me know if yours is the same or if this is an irregular (not that I really care but I'm curious)?
The other necklace was an impulse purchase, but it's really growing on me and could be my best necklace purchase, after the crystal symphony. It's from a couple years ago, maybe summer 08; I remember the matching cuff but I don't remember the necklace (I wasn't much into custom jewelry back then). I tried it over the cashmere tee just to take the pic and it definitively has an outfit-transforming factor. I think that I'm going to wear it a LOT. The pendant is very substantial and in my opinion looks like real vintage jewelry:



The last thing that I bought and I'm happy with is an embellished tee (all the embellished tees were $25 and all the plain ones, including the few graphic ones, were $15 or 2 for $20). This one is one-of-a-kind, I think. The tag pinned on the inside says FA 08 but I don't remember it, at least not in this color. I like that it's in the same hazelnut color then the reindeer tee from this holiday season, but with another (non-holiday) embellishment (I'm not sure of what it is actually, a caravan maybe?):



I took a risk with this one because there was no mention of the size on the tag. I must thank my friend who pushed me to buy it. It is a little bit long and the neckline is a little bit low but otherwise it fits like an XS.

It is later than I though, so I will leave the bad for tomorrow.

What do you think of this purchases? Is there anything that you would have bought for yourself? Do you own one of the two necklaces that I bought? Please share!