April 10, 2003
Life & Times
(type under photo - Holding court. Queen of Bargains
Sarah Gardner (in red jacket) shares the wealth of her New
York experience with delighted shoppers during a stop on her
tour.
A Shopping Safari
Big-name hunter Sarah Gardner knows how to track down an bag
the best buys in New York.
By Jean Patteson
Sentinel Staff Writer
New York
She doesn't wear a crown. Instead, she wears a black
wool hat pulled low over her blond bob on this old winter
day. All the same, Sarah Gardner is a queen of sorts.
Her honorary title is Queen of Bargains.
It doesn't take long to discover why.
When she is complimented on the leather coat that wraps her
petite frame from chin to ankles, she responds as automatically
as a soldier reciting his name, rank and serial number:
"It's a Frederick Gelb. It's be $2,200 at retail,
but I got it for $1,200." Her mink-trimmed denim jacket,
she continues, cost $600 retail, but she bought it for half
that amount. "And my pants are Jenne Maag, $60.
They'd be $180 in a department store."It's way more information
that was bargained for, but discount fashion is Gardner's
passion and her livelihood. Once you get her started
on the subject, she can run on for hours. And does.
Gardner, 43, is the editor of Fashion Update, a quarterly
publication that lists more than 250 designer showrooms, outlets
and warehouses where shoppers in the Big Apple can find current
designer and bridal fashions, linens and furnishings that
are discounted up to 80 percent.
She also leads shopping tours to these establishments, most
of which are in Seventh Avenue's bustling Garment District.
The tours are tailored to the needs, tastes and sizes of her
clients. Most cost $175 per person and last 2 ∏
hours. And while most of the locations are open to the public,
some showrooms are accessible only to select clients - including
those introduced by Gardner.
On this winter day, Gardner is visiting three discounters:
one for women's designer fashions, another for men's Italian-label
clothing and a third for American Indian jewelry.
Her first stop is Aaron's, a large, no-frills store on Brooklyn's
Fifth Avenue, about a 20 - minute cab ride from downtown
Manhattan.
"This is one of New York's best kept secrets," says
Gardner. "I love it because it offers a whole lot
of designers under one roof. It's current fashion, the
same things you'll find right now in Saks or Macy's, and everything's
discounted 25 to 70 percent."
"Everything" includes women's casual, career and
trendy clothing, belts and handbags. You can browse
on your own or Gardner will guide you to your favorite designer
labels: Anne Klein, Dana Buchman, Eileen Fisher, Ferre`
Studio, Oscar, Misook, Rayure, Sharagano and dozens more.
It's your choice, but since time is of the essene and you're
paying her anyway, it's smart to follow Gardner's lead.
She quickly picks up on your sizes, your likes and dislikes,
and cheerfully makes the rack-to-fitting-room run on your
behalf.
A Company/Ellen Tracy zip-front jacket ($104, retail $200),
matching pants ($69, retail $130), a Poleci print blouse ($34,
retail $172) and a handbag by super-popular Isabella Fiori
($152, retail $305) are among the temptations.
"Now we take the subway into the city," says Gardner,
buttoning her coat as she heads down the snowy sidewalk at
a rapid clip.
During the ride, she chatters nonstop. She always loved
fashion, she says. She grew up desperately wanting the
designer duds pictured on the covers of her Vogue magaines.
One day in the early 1980s, her roommate, who worked as a
bookkeeper for a dress company, invited her to a warehouse
sale.
"There were these beautiful peasant-style dresses for
only $12, that were selling at places like Macy's for $60
to $75. I think I bought, like, five. Realizing
that I could look like a million bucks without paying retail
was euphoric," she says.
"I had to share my secrets with others, and that's basically
how Fashion Update started."
That was 15 years ago. She now has a staff of four.
She makes frequent appearances on New York TV as the "Big
Apple Bargainista." And she conducts hundreds of tours
a year.
Her most in-demand tour includes a stop at a showroom that
offers authentic Prada, Gucci and Fendi handbags at way-below
retail prices. Her largest tour was for 150 women.
The most unusual was for a woman and her cross-dressing husband.
"We bought wigs and sexy lingerie," she ways with
a roll of her large blue eyes.
The average client spends $2,000 to $3,000. Most transactions
are cash-only, and Gardner says she doesn't receive a commission.
When the train stops at a midtown station, Gardner glides
through the maze of passageways and turnstiles like a trout
through eelgrass. Shooting up the steep exit stairs,
she pops out onto Park Avenue. Then, with the instincts
of a homing pigeon, she strikes out for 56th Street - leaving
knots of disoriented tourists in her slipstream.
Gardner is New Yorker to the core - fast-walking, fast talking,
and disconcertingly (to a Southerner) direct.
"She's not the sweet-honey kind of guide you'd get in
Atlanta," says Nancy Kirk, a Maitland woman who took
one of Gardner's tours recently.
"But she's real helpful it you want to maximize your
time. And if you're really into your designer names,
and want current things at a discount price, she's really
good."
Kirk and Jeanie Raffa, a friend and neighbor, started their
tour "at a plain-looking building on a typical New York
side street," Raffa says.
"We rode up in this elevator, which opened onto a floor
jampacked with wonderful clothes - a candy store of
delightfully colored and well-made clothes, Raffa says.
It was the showroom of an upscale, direct-sales company not
open to the public, and the women each bought several outfits
at half the retail cost. They also splurged on a dressy
designer outfit each-deeply discounted, of course - at the
Laventino showroom.
Tagging along with the Maitland duo were a reported and phottgrapher
from the German magazine Stern. They wre ding a feature
on Gardner who counts many foreign tourist among her clients.
Back on Park Avenue, Gardner stops in front of a small, street-level
jewelry store. This is David Saity, a favorite of fashion
stylists seeking jewelry designs by Hopi, Navajo and Zun raftsmen
in turquoise ,coral or silver or the covers of Vogue Harper's
Bazaar, Elle, et al. Regular customers include Gwyneth
Paltrow, Jane Fonda, Celine Dion, Lenny Kravitz - and Sarah
Gardner.
She rushes into the store, flinging a greeting to the sales
staff, and bedecks herself with necklaces, bracelets and belts.
"I love this stuff - and it's up to 35% percent off!
She exclaims.
Her final stop is outside Bresciani a nondescript outlet on
40th St. just off Seventh Avenue. Inside the place is
large, bright and filled with rack upon rack of men's suits,
tuxedos, sport coats, pants, shirts, sweaters and furnishings.
Along with the house label are designs by Hugo Boss, Canali
and Pal Zileri, all deeply discounted.
Gardner points out some of the bargains: Super-100 wool
sport coats, regularly $295, for $99; silk ties, regularly
$45, three for $35.
Moments later, she's back on the icy sidewalk, checking her
watch. It's two-and-a-half hours, almost to the minute,
since her tour began.
"That's it," she says, with a quick handshake.
She's got to run. She has a couple of new showrooms
to check out.
And in a flash, like Alice's White Rabbit, she disappears
down the stairs of a Times Square subway station.
SHOP WITH THE PRO
Sarah Gardner offers four different bargain-shopping tours:
· Bargainista; $175 per person ($300 for two) for a
2 ∏ hour tour to at least three locations.
· Superior; $300 per person for a 3-hour shopping tour
and prix fixe lunch or spa service.
· Bridal: $350 for the bride-to-be and one guest,
for a 3-hour tour for gowns, accessories and gifts.
· Girl's/Guy Day Out: $360 per person (2 person
minimum) for a 3-hour shopping tour, spa service and prix
fixe lunch.
· To book a tour or subscribe to Fashion Update ($75
a year), call 1-888-447-2846, e-mail
Sarah@fashionupdate.com
or log onto fashionupdate.com.
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