NYFW Fall 2014: Richard Chai Love

Richard Chai consistently cranks out collections of clothing that is both beautiful and wearable. His most recent runway show for Richard Chai Love gave a slight 90s grunge vibe, in the best way possible.

 

Rich colors like merlot and tobacco were softened by slate blue, camel, mousey taupe and hazy lavender. Texture was an important element with brushed fabrics contrasted by opulent floral jacquards and textured lace over sleek leather. Plaids, stripes and color blocked panels add interest. In the final few looks the subtle colors used in the patterns burst forward in a crystalline fractal print that is like modern stained glass.

Softly rounded and sloped shoulders for both men and women, a dropped waist silhouette and easy shapes that are comfortable looking but with just enough tailored polish to look pulled together without trying. Layering is important as seen with the sheer crinkle knit shown under dresses and tops. For men, layering comes in the form of a shirt shown tied at the waist over pants, creating almost a skirt for men.

Hair looks tousled like you just rolled out of bed, with the men throwing on a beanie to do some errands. The look is effortless dressing that I would love to have in my closet.

   

Sales this Week: July 2-8, 2012

Since it's the 4th of July this week, there are almost no sample sales this week but I'll try to keep you posted if I hear of anything else.

Who: Delicate Raymond Summer Sale
What: Up to 50% off on jewelry, in store and online. Code MIDSUMMERDREAM
When: July 1-5, 2012. Mon-Thurs noon-8pm
Where: 179 Orchard St (nr Stanton St) or online.

Who: Lisa Perry
What: Up to 75% off women's original samples and past season merchandise. The Dot Swing Dress is $298 (from $595) and the Lisa Perry Maxi Dress is $300 (from $950). Girl's dresses and accessories will also be included
When: Now through July 10, 2012. Daily 10am—6pm.
Where: 988 Madison Ave at 77th St (212-334-1956)

Ongoing Sample Sales:
Who: Richard Chai, Richard Chai-LOVE Sample Sale
What: Snag pieces from women's main collection, the women's contemporary collection Richard Chai-LOVE, and select pieces from men's. The sale will include a wide range of women's flirty dresses and blouses, and classic separates, with lots of color and bold prints, as well as select shirts and bottoms for men.
When: June 23-July 8, 2012. Mon-Sat noon-8pm, Sun noon-7pm
Where: 330 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003 (b/n 1st and 2nd ave)

Weekend Shopping

Who: Richard Chai, Richard Chai-LOVE Sample Sale
What: Snag pieces from women's main collection, the women's contemporary collection Richard Chai-LOVE, and select pieces from men's. The sale will include a wide range of women's flirty dresses and blouses, and classic separates, with lots of color and bold prints, as well as select shirts and bottoms for men.
When: June 23-July 8, 2012. Mon-Sat noon-8pm, Sun noon-7pm
Where: 330 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003 (b/n 1st and 2nd ave)

Who: J.Crew Sample Sale UPDATE
What: Take an additional 30% off sample sale prices this weekend only! Up to 60% off on jewelry, shoes, and dresses for ladies, a few Madewell pieces, and shirts and pants for men.
When: June 19-24, 2012. Tues-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun noon-5pm
Where: 260 Fifth Ave (b/n 28th & 29th St)

Who: Ippolita Sample Sale
What: 65% off bangles, earrings, necklaces and rings. Credit Cards Only
When: June 24-26, 2012. Sun 9am—6pm, Mon—Tues 9am—7pm.
Where: Soiffer Haskin, 317 West 33rd St (b/n 8th and 9th Ave) 718-747-1656.

Sample Sale Report: Richard Chai–July 2011

If you missed Richard Chai’s sample sale back in March fear not because now you have your chance to redeem yourself and snag some beautiful clothes at a significant discount. The sale when I stopped by around 6:30pm wasn’t too crowded and I had plenty of room to navigate the store, Odin (Chai’s brother Eddy’s store), which had been transformed to house the merchandise. Everything was super neat and organized and staffers were friendly. Since this is in a boutique, you have the added bonus of fitting rooms, unfortunately there are only 2 so you may have to wait your turn. Fortunately they are equipped with large mirrors.

For womenswear pricing was very similar if not the same to the last sample sale. Since Richard Chai’s Love collection is where my budget lies and due to my limited time, I spent most of my time looking at that particular line of merchandise and as far as I can tell pricing was exactly the same. $50 for tops & skirts, $85 for pants, $90 for dresses and topping out at around $150 for outerwear. While some of the merch was identical from the last sale there was definitely some new items thrown into the mix.

I also caught a glimpse of what they dubbed the “Drew Barrymore Sequin Top” priced at just $50. While the version Drew wore was a long sleeve, the version at the sale was a short sleeve – still very cute and great for a night out.

As for the main line tops and skirts are $120. The real deal is the leather pants/skirts at just $100 a pop and leather jackets for $150! I think I was too distracted to notice there were shoes at the sale, but now I’m starting to think that I want to make a second trip back although it would most certainly destroy my clothing budget. Dresses are $200 and I spotted this beautiful silk printed dress from the last sale again. Prices max out at $450 for shearling, of which I only spotted 2 or 3 of.

As for menswear pricing was pretty similar to the last round according to Jeff. Men’s Shorts $50, Men’s Shirts $75, Men’s Sweaters $85, Men’s Tank $35, Jackets $157/$175 (?). There was some awesome men’s invisible striped knit that totally caught Jeff’s attention. Unfortunately as he did not have any sizes available, I decided to scoop up a sweater for myself. I think the sheer stripes will look great in the summer thrown over cut off shorts or a dress for a breezy look.

Here are my scores from the sale:

Silk Blouse $50, Men’s Invisible Knit Sweater $85

PS. They are re-stocking tomorrow!

Who: Richard Chai Sample Sale
What: Discounts on high quality men's and women's clothing
When: June 13-16, 2011. Mon-Thurs noon-8pm
Where: Odin, 750 Greenwich St (nr W 11th St)

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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Preview: Richard Chai Love

According to WWD, NYC based designer Richard Chai is launching a contemporary collection Richard Chai - Love. According to Chai, "it's inspired by my girl, who's in love with the guy that I dress. They're not carbon copies of eacho other, but they go hand in hand." Such a sweet concept that makes for a totally wearable inspired by the boys collection. Chai says,"This is my woman that's off-duty, more casual, undone."

This collection has nearly 40 outfits and will wholesale for between $50-425. It won't be launching until Spring 2010, but the new collection will make it's runway debut this September 12, 2009, while his signature label will be shown in the showroom only. So far I love the vibe, wish I was there.