The Ivy Pinkerton Files

 

Anatomy of a Sale

Winter sales can be as dreary as week-old New York snow: only the dingy dregs are left, with makeup stains, pulled threads, and tired trends.

But there is one sale I always look forward to, the Barneys New York winter sale. Barneys gives odd designers a chance, and consequently, their sales are rife with strange and mysterious items others won’t dare to wear. At the very least, it is fun to figure out how to put them on properly.

Here is my recap:

A gorgeous dark blue velvet dress by Zero, Maria Cornejo had luscious, thick, tangled straps. Unfortunately, it pancaked my breasts and looked more goth-tranny than elegant.

A mini dress by Imitation was made of crushed, bright red velvet. It seemed so spunky on the rack, but looked more like a poorly made ice skating uniform on.

An Eley Kishimoto mini dress looked interesting, made of sheer gray, gathered silk with an inexplicable, gigantic, crushed dark gray velvet waist band. But when on, it, too, conjured up nightmarish images of the rink.

My favorite on the rack was a dark gray/blue dress overlaid with netting and ribbon by Mist, from Antwerp, – a ballgown concocted by a creative madman. But it pinched in the ribcage, was too big in the hips, and too hard to alter. [pictured left]

A tiny flower print Mark Jacobs dress made me yawn just looking at it on the rack. I only considered because, well, it was Marc Jacobs. Putting it on almost caused a narcoleptic attack.


A Paul and Joe sea foam green silk dress on the rack looked like granny’s nighty from 1970 but when on, it transformed into a refreshing, wonderfully tailored, flattering, bell-sleeved, waist-enhancing winner, and a total steal at $109 (from $426). [pictured left]

Along the way I picked up some more conventional items, and all in all, it was a most excellent trip. And I didn’t even get to the shoes!