Barney's warehouse sale

Gents - just got a postcard from barney's with a reminder regarding their semi-annaul sale.

Most everything there nowadays is from their house brand, but I'll be looking for Incotex pants and C&J shoes, as always.

BTW, any info on the following shoes brands carried by barney's?

Lidofrt
Franceschetti
Fratelli Peluso

I visited Barney's today at the Santa Monica airport.

I don't have any knowledge of the shoes.

Pretty much everything was 50%. I was talking to a sales associate, and he gave me several insights.

Obviously, since the sale is only a week, and started last thursday, you get better selection at the beginning. But, when they first come in, that's the same sales price they were at the store when they were marking down the price. There's no extra discount when it reaches the warehouse.

IMHO, you might as well as buy it if you see it at the store. The one thing I really didn't like about the sale was that there were no changing rooms, and the lighting was really poor. And, there were no real full length mirrors. So, I was considering buying their suits, but it was kinda hard to see how well it fit me, esp in the back.

However, by the end of the week, if things are going slow, then they might further reduce prices even more. So, you might have to take a chance and wait for further price reductions.

Cool. I was thinking of going this past Saturday, but hesitated due to the fact that people were telling me it would be a zoo. To my knowledge, the sale started last Thursday, and ends on President's Day -- for all you vets out there, when's the best time to go? I was thinking Thursday night, maybe Saturday or Sunday...

sorry, but I failed to mention that I was referring to the NYC warehouse sale. it usually lasts 2 weeks, and the big reductions come at the very end. You're right, esquire, that initially, the store offers the same discounts as the warehouse. But then what fun is it trying on stuff in an actual private fitting room

BTW, any info on the following shoes brands carried by barney's?

Lidofrt
Franceschetti
Fratelli Peluso

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All three are Italian brands. Quality is good - better than Ferragamo, Magli, etc. Styling is even better - I've seen great looking shoes from all three brands.

Gents - just got a postcard from barney's with a reminder regarding their semi-annaul sale.

Most everything there nowadays is from their house brand, but I'll be looking for Incotex pants and C&J shoes, as always.

BTW, any info on the following shoes brands carried by barney's?

Lidofrt
Franceschetti
Fratelli Peluso

Click to expand...

Lidfort is of excellent quality. Akin to the top line Mantellassi, but the leather isn't as soft.

Maybe I was always late, I usually came out empty handed, or at most one or two shirts.  It's just too crowded, and it was difficult for me to squeeze in with the other 6" tall Americans looking for a shirt or tie.

On a side note, since you are complaining about the lack of fitting rooms, if you want to see something interesting (or arousing for some), try going upstairs on the women's floor. Fitting room is everywhere.

Might be able to pick up some Barney's Charles Hill ties. Wish I could go.

Ain't what she used to be, with last season's being genuinely dreadful.

I happened to find a pair of Harris shoes last season that had been left from a previous year (Barneys has done a good job of winnowing out the good stuff before the Warehouse Sale -- no more Brionis or Barberas left to get progressively cheaper, it seems). When I tried them on, I understood why they'd been there for a few sales -- they were incredibly uncomfortable. When I looked inside, there was a piece of cardboard that was virtually invisible. Lucky me.

funny you should mention the women's floor... last year I was there with my wife, attending to our 1-year old son while she was browsing, and there were what seemed to have been a group of models roaming through the aisles completely unclothed. Who said shopping with the wife ain't fun...

Ain't what she used to be, with last season's being genuinely dreadful.  

I happened to find a pair of Harris shoes last season that had been left from a previous year (Barneys has done a good job of winnowing out the good stuff before the Warehouse Sale -- no more Brionis or Barberas left to get progressively cheaper, it seems).  When I tried them on, I understood why they'd been there for a few sales -- they were incredibly uncomfortable.  When I looked inside, there was a piece of cardboard that was virtually invisible.  Lucky me.

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I lucked out last year and got a pair of C&J's handgrade for 100 bucks.

...and there were what seemed to have been a group of models roaming through the aisles completely unclothed. Who said shopping with the wife ain't fun...

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Please tell me you are joking That must have been a nice sight to see.

Not joking, versaceman. the ground floor of the warehouse is a veritable changefest for women. It's not always a pretty sight, mind you, unless you happen on a gang of models let loose on a hunt for clothes...

Back to our mundane sartorial concerns, though, thanks guys for the endorsements for Peluso and Lidfort. I felt the fransceschetis were a little bit more pedestrian, and resembled too many of the house brand shoes they have there (some of which are downright god awful). From looking at the website, I gather francescheti does a lot of business in private label, so maybe it's not coincidental.

I just wanted to clarify that the Barney's I went to was in Santa Monica. As i understood it, this sale is one week only. I don't know how they do it in New York, but here, the sale was not at their regular store location, but in a airport hanger. There was only 1 ground floor so the men and women sections were together, side by side.

Can somebody describe how they do it NY.

I'm just saying that if they're not going to have a fitting room, it would have been nice if they had full length mirrors. This was my first time at Barney's so I had no idea what their sizes were like. The sales would have been awesome if this hadn't been my first suit purchase. I was looking at the suits, and wondering how the pants were going to fit. All of a sudden, the man next to me dropped trou. And, I did not want to know that he wore those European style bikini brief underwear. Alas, there were no women changing.

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Can somebody describe how they do it NY.

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Barneys Warehouse Sale is a NY institution that's been going on longer than I have been in the City. Barneys old warehouse was a typical warehouse space near their flagship store in Chelsea. The sale had/has a basement floor with mens' wear and first floor with womens' wear. Now the first floor is the site of one of their "coop" stores converted into a warehouse-like space, but the basement is mostly the same.

The sale lasts about 2 weeks, IIRC. Everything starts the same price it was at the actual store before the sale began. It gets progressively cheaper (or at least used to) as the sale goes on -- extra 20%, 30% or 40% etc. off. Last year I noticed no drop in price on suits and jackets. It's everything from the remaining New York store (60th) and a lot of stuff I assume is from other stores or overstock that never sold. Stuff that doesn't sell makes a reappearance at a later sale.

I have bought some real stunners there, but it takes some work and a tolerance of crowds and bad staff (they're not Barneys sales people, but temps brought in).