Mayle Sample Sale Report, Part II

Most people would decide one day dealing with the lines and the frustrations of limited merchandise was enough, but I can get obsessive about things I love. Besides, I was curious to see if there was new stock (as there had been in previous years, like my beloved Sonya dress) and, moreover, I wanted to check back in for friends who wear small sizes. On Friday, I had seen next to no size 0 or 2s--except in items like Theodora and Helen that my friend already owns, and coats that she has no use for. There was also that temptation to see if there were any markdowns and to see what was left after all the shopping fervor had died down.

So I agreed to meet Cindy at 2 at the store--hanging out with her is always so much fun--and we're both curious about markdowns.

When I got to Elizabeth St., I was almost afraid to look. There wasn't too much of a line, but there was a line nonetheless. Within a few minutes, a Mayle representative counted the next ten people in. I was now third in line. I waited about another 15 minutes in the sun (not bad at all) and watched people leave with smaller bags (they only had the large ones out yesterday) or empty handed. I realized from this that stock had to be pretty low. People were still asking what was going on and why we were in line--it seemed funny given how huge the line was on Friday compared to Saturday.

When I got in, there was a lot of new re-edition dresses left. Very few bags--just two or three travel Billies, three baby Billies available for special order. I assumed they hadn't received the full size Billies. Little did I know that I'd missed them completely. I guess everybody missed something. While I'd have loved a bag, I would rather have had some of the archival pieces but Doris later assured me that they didn't have Izadora and that most were in 4s or smaller 6s so I wouldn't have fit into them anyway. I regretted not ordering the Fedosia coat on Friday--the ones I saw were lovely and they were all gone. I should have gotten one of those rather than Olympe, but that's the way things go. I nearly got another Raisa in gray (they were still there), but I don't need two nearly identical coats, much as I love them.

Amidst the new dresses were the Sylvania in pansy lace and the ivory gauze lace used for Pina and Pilar at $465 or $425 (I forget). These had come in, presumably that day, and were beautiful but wouldn't have fit me--the largest were in a size 6 and it was such a small 6 that I couldn't get the dress over my hips (had it not opened at the front, I wouldn't have got it on at all). This was odd as the Sylvania top fitted me fine. I think I prefered my Ilaria anyway--I love the button detail at the front, the lacy collar and the drape of the skirt. It was also $265 and a size 6 which fitted me well.

The Shijos were also in. Mainly in cotton prints like Via Rita, this also only went up to 6 (or that was the biggest size left). It didn't really fit me and was $265. I passed.

Two Pitsulas also came in--one in black with white lace trim and some black lace also on the sleeves. This was the same textured fabric as the original ivory but in black. There was something about it that reminded Cindy and I of Therese. The other Pitsula was very much like the Violetta from FW 07--it used the same white eyelet over black silk. Both were down to $100. Both were really nice and ran true to size but Pitsula doesn't fit me at all--my shoulders are way too broad. These were nice, very Mayle and probably very late in, hence the price.

Other than that, there remained a rack of re-editions, slightly picked over, but still the same price as Friday (about 40-50% off the original prices, bringing them in line with Shijo and Ilaria).

Josie rompers were all gone. Cindy wore hers yesterday (it looks amazing on her). I'm wearing mine now. I love it and Evan really likes it too (he also thought the Ilaria looked great). Two pairs of the black star clogs remained.

Back to the old stock. Prices were about the same as Friday--just a very few pieces were marked down, including the three remaining Tamas from F/W 08 which were now $100 not $175. I wished they'd had the 10 I needed but these were a 4, a 6 and the sample (6). I think that's all they'd had the day before.

Remaining were Betto and the top version, Theodora and Helen in size 4, Rosamelia in both black and white, Delaura, one grubby Josefina, two Ninon cardigans (one of which I snagged for a friend), both in brown, both smalls, very few Gia camis and one sample black Sabbia top with no embellishments, a few Zhazra, 1 size 4, mainly 6s otherwise (this runs small), Marie Laure and Eunice pants in odd sizes, incl. one Gaia that wasn't there yesterday, two Lana dresses in 6 that weren't there yesterday (still $200, probably the reason they didn't sell), a few Simone sweaters (again, runs small and was still $125), lots of Mariposa tops in all black (made specially for the sale) and 1 or 2 of the originals which were far higher quality, Vita pants in black and in white, 2 Suzelly jackets, 1 Hilaire dress, 2 Lucienne dresses (still $175 and ran very small), one Claudie top in cream and one Claudie short sleeved cream vest. That was about that. No 8 or 10s again, few large 6s, very few 2s (mainly in Betto or Theodora).

So, slim pickings really but there was some stock left and those who were in the store seemed content to pick up an item or two at these prices. I love Theodora and would have loved to have gotten one in size 10 but Jane never recut this in the larger sizes. I have to say that had she done this, there would be a lot of demand. Girls were trying to fit into this dress and couldn't--it always ran small in the back and arms. Still, these decisions are not mine to make.

The crowd wasn't such ardent fans--people were surprised they had to wait in line outside and some just walked away rather than wait 15 minutes in the sun. Many wore DVF or other designers, or just jeans. People seemed happy to get something or were not unhappy if there was nothing for them. One really nice woman was very happy with her Mariposa top in the bright colors, another was thrilled with the top in the Betto design, which looked great on her. The Pitsulas were the best new item.

I got nothing for myself. I would have got the Zhazhra but the 10 I needed had a large dust mark that was going to require dry cleaning so I passed (fortunately I discovered this as I was checking out, just before I paid).

I was pleased I went. It was fun to see Cindy, try a few things on, and get things for friends. I would have loved a leather Billie or Fedosia and was a touch disappointed--the first I thought should have been posted at the very least so we could order them, but the latter was my fault and mine alone. I suppose I wanted to stick to my list and didn't want to spend over $300 on a single item other than a full size Billie and a pair of clogs. But I don't feel the same regret as I did over putting Sascha back in 2007 or not getting the red resort gown. Those were silly decisions on my part and I would have loved to have gotten them had they reappeared at this sale or the last (I bet they went to F and F customers in 2008, the sale I had to miss because of my California conference).

I guess my main thoughts on the sale are that it was slightly disappointing. I wish archival promises hadn't been made, or that they had made enough Billies and Fedosias to match demand. Given that there wasn't as much stock as there was demand, I wish Jane Mayle had ran the F and F sale for only 2 hours or so, not a full day. I don't say this for me--I did as well as could be expected, given what was there--but for those other people who waited for hours to get in on Friday and left with very little. Some waited for over 6 hours and may have found little in their sizes. The postcard overhyped the sale--and it was a sale for which no promotion, no hype, was necessary--leading to some bitter discussions (see racked.com). Clearly, a brand like this, closed in its prime, has many followers who wanted to stock up while they could--F and F or not--and I am convinced that a postcard saying that there'd be some new stock because there was limited old stock would both be more truthful and allow people to have more reasonable expectations. Of course, this could have also backfired with people arriving at midnight. I guess there is no way to handle the limited supply/excess demand issue. Even new editions isn't always enough when people want stock that they missed like Haverhill and Elvira, and the fabrics may no longer be available, nor may it be cost-efficient to recut some items for a sale and sell them at the expected prices.

So, overall, I am happy. As with all sample sales, I didn't get all the items I'd hoped for and I got some pieces that weren't expected but I am very happy and grateful to get what I did. Still, if anybody doesn't pick up a full sized dark leather Billie or a Fedosia in 8 or 10, whichever would be my size, I hope that the store will contact me! Elise and Christina do have all my contact information, after all...