Sample Sale Report: Richard Chai

Last night I had the chance to stop by Richard Chai's pre-sample sale at the Soho Grand with Erin. We got there around 7pm, received a price list and parted ways. The room was spacious enough to walk around and there was plenty of merch neatly hung on racks. A bar area and DJ booth were set up in the corners of the room but honestly I just went straight for the clothes! The sale had a very chill vibe. There were 2 pseudo changing stations behind racks of clothes although occasionally a male staffer was looking for stock in the ladies change area so wear leggings! Also only 2 mirrors on the shopping floor that were always in use.

The sale houses three of his lines:
Chai's main line: Jackets/coats were going for $300, blazers were $225, dresses were $250, tops/skirts were going for $125 a piece and sweaters/pants were $150 a pop.
Richard Chai Love: Jackets/coats were going for $150, blazers were $125, dresses were $90, tops/skirts were going for $50 a piece and pants were $85 a pop.
Richard Chai Menswear: Coats were going for $175, blazers were $150, pants were $75, shorts/shirts were a steal at $50 and tanks were $35 a piece.

Even though there were quite a few people at the sale, there was plenty of room to move around in and examine the clothes. Everyone was so polite and shared the mirrors - definitely one of my more civilized experiences at a sale!

For menswear, there was one rack of shorts, two racks of shirts, one of blazers, one for pants and one for coats. Sizes were mostly S and L with the occasional XS, M and XL. Shorts were mostly size 32 or 36 with the odd 30 and 34. Overall a pretty decent selection for men even though the vast majority of merch was made up of womenswear.

Richard Chai himself was also at the sale chatting it up with customers. Erin started blushing while we tried waiting to get a pic with him which was HILARIOUS...but we ended up taking off since there was a group of people surrounding him at the time we checked out.

Erin's take:

For women, sizes ran between 0-10 or XS-XL, I mostly spotted sizes 2-6 and S-M.
Due to budget/affordability I spent most of the sale browsing through Richard Chai Love - plus aesthetically the Garcon casual cool style really appeals to me. There were plenty of slouchy cropped pants and silky pants with drawstrings or ties to choose from. In the style that I picked (see below) up they had 1 other fabrication in 2 different colorways (Silver w/ brown pinstripe, brown w/ silver pinstripe) - honestly they are super comfortable and feel almost like a luxe version of a sweatpant. I also loved the amazing prints that were available. The sweater/blouse I got reminds me of Van Gogh's Starry night and it was also available as an elastic hem short sleeve tunic. I also spotted some lovely painterly abstract prints in simple yet feminine silk tanks and an amazing silk roll sleeve simple Tee in Mushroom (only spotted sizes S & M for this style). There were also some super cute jewel tone (raspberry & blue) rompers that were adorable! One item I was eyeing for it's fabulousness factor was a bead encrusted sheer vest but at $250, I had to let it be. Plenty of trim looking tailored vests, and boyish fit military looking olive wool coats. Also available were a few slouchy khaki colored jackets (size M & L) and trench coats. Flying off the racks were a few color variations of a panelled striped tees that played optical illusions on my mind at $35.

For the main line there were so many beautiful clothes in gorgeous prints and luxe fabrications that I just found myself a bit dazzled. Spotted some adorable colorful tweed wool jackets with raw edge details, super cute floral printed shorts and great tuxedo looking shorts. There was also a knock-out twist shoulder dress in ivory floral with black details that held my eye. Plus Richard Chai buzzing about, chatting up his friends and pointing them in the direction of mirrors or to certain sections of clothing was ADORABLE :) When I was checking out he caught my eye and smiled and when I was leaving the sale he waved and said thanks for stopping by! *Designer Crush Alert*

Here's some of the loot we ended up grabbing!

Erin's stuff:

Knitted top with silk printed body $50,and some navy textured pants $85 - both pretty amazing!

Jeff's stuff:

$50 Striped shirt with plaid collar insert

Purple and blue plaid shirt $50- I've been on a plaid binge for the last few months and I love the colors on this.

$50 Drawstring cotton cuffed shorts with zippered pockets

If you're a fan of Chai's clothing like Erin and I - we definitely recommend checking out this sale before everything is gone!

Who: Richard Chai Sample Sale
What: Up to 90% off current and previous season merch
When: March 4-6, 2011. Fri-Sat (11am-7pm), Sun (12-6pm)
Where: Soho Grand - The Harbor Room (1st floor). 310 West Broadway (b/n Grand & Canal St.)

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