MadParkNews.com, covering New York City's Madison Square Park & Flatiron

The Rent the Runway sample sale started up today at 260 5th Avenue (between 28th and 29th Street) and here is the scoop from a MadParkNews reader…

‘The selection is good, with dresses by Herve Leger, missoni, Vera Wang, milly, Rebecca Taylor, Lela rose, Tibi, Christian Sirano (from project runway) and many more, and there were no lines to get in the door. Prices are about 70% off retail for the gently used clothing. They will be replenishing through the week with similar items and they had a range of sizes. Biggest drawback was the fitting room, which had a line to get in.’ This reader bought a missoni dress for ~$185 (normally $745) and a Tibi dress for $59 (normally $390). She also noted that almost everyone in the dressing room was trying on a Herve Leger dress.

A lot of you already use Rent the Runway to literally ‘rent’ a designer dress at ~90% off the purchase price for special occasions like weddings, special events, and nights out. You wear your favorite high-end fashion designers and then just put it back in the mail. (www.renttherunway.com)

Here is the rest of the sample sale schedule:

Wednesday Feb 29th: 10am-8pm
Thursday, March 1st: 10am-7pm
Friday, March 2nd: 10am-7pm
Saturday, March 3rd: 10am-6pm
Sunday, March 4th: 11am-3pm

For those who can handle it, the Barney’s Warehouse sale is going on now at 255 West 17th Street between 8th and 7th Avenue, with clothing at up to 75% off. It runs now through March 4th, including weekends. From what we have seen in the past, the deals get better closer to the last day, but the merchandise is much more abundant early on.

More info at www.barneys.com/Barneys-New-York-Warehouse-Sale

A lot of you already use Rent the Runway to literally ‘rent’ a designer dress at ~90% off the purchase price for special occasions like weddings, special events, and nights out. You can wear your favorite high-end fashion designers and then just put it back in the mail. (www.renttherunway.com)

Well right here in our neighborhood at 260 5th Avenue (between 28th and 29th) they are going to be doing a Rent the Runway sample sale, where you can buy their gently worn designer dresses at up to 95% off of the purchase price. Designers include Badgley Mischka, Nicole Miller, David Meister, Catherine Malandrino, Rebecca Taylor & many more.

Here is the schedule:

Tuesday Feb 28th: 10am-8pm
Wednesday Feb 29th: 10am-8pm
Thursday, March 1st: 10am-7pm
Friday, March 2nd: 10am-7pm
Saturday, March 3rd: 10am-6pm
Sunday, March 4th: 11am-3pm

Duo Restaurant opened up in June at 72 Madison Avenue (between 27th and 28th street) just north of Madison Square Park by Russian sisters (and NYC socialites) Sabina and Lorraine Belkin, and now you can have brunch for two people at 66% off or dinner for 2 at 62% off through the current Groupon.

The two Groupon options:

Brunch: Brunch for 2 people including 4 cocktails for $29 total. See the menu.
Dinner: 3-Course Dinner for 2 people plus a bottle of wine for $79 total. See the menu.

Buy it now and use it before June 13th, 2012. See all deal details at http://www.groupon.com/deals/duo-restaurant-and-lounge.

As part of their ‘Best of 2011″ series, Groupon has another deal in the neighborhood which gets you a mani-pedi at QQ Nail Spa for only $16. They have a location right here in the Flatiron at 15 E 21st Street (between Broadway and 5th) and another at 119 E 23rd Street (between Park and Lex).

Buy it today and use it before April 30, 2012. See all deal details at http://www.groupon.com/deals/qq-nail-spa.

The popular Diane von Furstenberg sample sale 2011 starts Tuesday December 13th and runs through Saturday December 17th at 260 5th Avenue (between 28th and 29th Street). They will have new merchandise arriving throughout the week at up to 75% off retail prices.

Here is the DVF sample sale schedule:

Tuesday, December 13th: 9am-6:30pm
Wednesday, December 14th: 10am-8pm
Thursday, December 15th: 10am-7pm
Friday, December 16th: 9am-5pm
Saturday, December 17th: 10am-3pm