Steven Alan sample sale report
Good thing I got to the SA sample sale on Franklin St. in TriBeCa immediately after quittin’ time today because by the time I checked out (around 6:45) there was a line out the door and down the street. There was a ton of stuff sprawled over two floors. The downside is that most of it was women’s (from all sorts of different designer lines). The upside is that, even though the menswear was limited mostly to the Steven Alan brand, his shirts fit pretty darn well and there were plenty of them — And what more do you need?
The short men swarming the aisles seemed mostly drawn to the shirts, no doubt because of those super-short hemlines (and the sizing: down to XXS). One very important thing to know: I tried on three long-sleeve XXS shirts and they all fit differently. The biggest difference was in the sleeve lengths, which, unfortunately, were all a bit longer than I’d like. Hemlines were all nice and high, though, but they did vary. One of the salesgirls confirmed that there is a good deal of variation. So my advice is try on a bunch in your size.
Overall, it was worth it. I was able to find an XXS with short enough sleeves. Not to mention that beautifully high hem, cuffs that are two inches (about a 1/2 or even a full inch shorter than average), and smallish collars — it’s all about proportion. At $68 it ain’t cheap but it’s a steal for a Steven Alan.
The men’s selection also includes T-shirts ($10), polos ($20), shorts, pants, jeans, short sleeves, and a few jackets. The sale continues through Nov. 11, and they plan to keep rotating in new merch as long as it lasts.