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Scoop up 'Sex and the City' fashions on a budget

BY PATRICIA KITCHEN | patricia.kitchen@newsday.com

June 4, 2008

As they drift out of the fantasy world of the blockbuster film "Sex and the City," moviegoers rooted in reality and struggling with budgets may think many of the film's fairy tale elements, say, the $700 Manolo Blahnik shoes, are way out of their reach.

Enter Pamela Parisi, founder of The Elegant Tightwad, who leads shopping excursions to private showrooms and upscale consignment shops. Parisi, of Massapequa, is a former showroom model and garment district designer and manufacturer who says you can find designer attire -- the kind favored by Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda -- for a fraction of the retail cost and without busting already tight budgets.

Earlier this week at La Boutique Resale in Manhattan, she pointed to a Dolce & Gabbana pressed patent leather bag for $720, down from about $2,500. Also spotted was a Donna Karan couture evening gown for $1,200, down from about $10,000, and a $1,750 silk Chanel mini-dress on the rack for $359.

Parisi, who has been in business for six years, shared her advice for scouting discounted designer duds with Newsday's Patricia Kitchen.

Q. How much can you save on designer attire at such places?

Usually you can expect prices to start at one-third of retail price. But you can do much better at end-of-season sales in February and August. A designer dress on the clearance rack can be priced at less than $100, so you want to sign up for stores' mailing lists so you'll get notices of sales. This is when I tell people to buy those classic pieces they'll wear season after season -- core pieces of a wardrobe, which they can get for pennies on the dollar.

Q. What are some of your favorite bargain spots?

Besides La Boutique and its two neighboring locations, there's Margoth Consignment Shop on 81st between Second and Third; A Second Chance on Lexington between 77th and 78th; Collette Designer Consignment in Southhampton, East Hampton, Sag Harbor. (You can find a directory of area showrooms, off-price retail stores, consignment stores and vintage shops in Parisi's book, "Dress Like a Million Bucks . . . While Spending Only Pennies.")

Q. How do you determine whether a purchase is a wise one?

I tell people to ask themselves three questions. What would I wear this with? What would I wear this to? And, assuming I had $10,000, would I pay full price for this? Sales can be seductive, and even if you get a $1,000 dress for $20, if you never wear it, you've wasted $20.

Q. Is it appropriate to bargain for a cheaper price?

Absolutely. You can ask, "Is this the best you can do?" Or "Would you take . . . " But know that shopkeepers know just what they can get for an item and may stand firm on the price, especially if the item is fairly new to the store.

Q. How do you train your eye to recognize the best buys?

Visit full-price retail stores such as those along the Miracle Mile in Manhasset -- like Prada, Gucci, Escada. Study the clothing, try it on for sizing, get to know each designer's various labels. I also tell people to go to Bloomingdale's, pick up a $2,000 jacket and a $100 jacket, put them next to each other, try each on and see the differences.

Q. What else is good to know?

For one thing, designer clothes can be cut much smaller, so you may have to go up a size or two. Also, remember that there'll be just one of a kind. So if you try something on and are undecided, don't set the garment down until you're absolutely sure you don't want it. Someone could have seen you in it, liked it and will pick it up the minute it leaves your hand.