Made in America
by Wendy Lerman
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| Every year in May I look forward to one of my favorite spring/summer sample sales, Prairie New York. You’ve seen them on the Shopping Diary — the dresses and tops are the perfect summer pieces. The cool patterns and sprightly colors make you feel oh-so put together. And the fabrics and cuts are unusually comfortable, so you can run around all day (and night!) in all your Prairie pieces. It's not easy to find something to wear that is appropiate at work, while shopping, for cocktails, at dinner parties, to party parties — all of the Prairie dresses sitting in my closet do this and more. I received a special invite for a press preview and was thrilled to take some photos and divulge the details of the sale to our readers. Ok, ok, I was most excited to shop for myself, but that is besides the point. Yes, I was expecting a solid sample sale. What I didn’t expect was to leave with a sense of patriotism and the desire to share Prairie New York's story of how they are single-handedly trying to save the Garment District. |
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| Inspiration and design boards. |
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| Sketches. |
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| Risa Kostis hand-cutting fabric for custom order bridesmaids dresses for a wedding she will be in this June. |
| There is no shortage of designers whom we love here in New York. Plenty of them design here and still have showrooms in the Garment District. The difference is that most of these designers actually mass-produce their collections in overseas factories. Don’t worry, this can actually be a good thing for the consumer, because it is often cheaper and faster to produce. But, in a time when our economy is in a downward spiral and our domestic production is way down, Prairie New York is actually creating jobs in our city and our beloved Garment Center. |
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| L. to r.: Inventory of precious stones and embellishments; The head seamstress sewing a summer garment-to-be shipped next week. |
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| Cutting the white eyelet. Everything is handcut at Prairie New York. |
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| The final product, Coin Peasant Top, $174. |
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| From the Prairie New York Lookbook. |
| And by truly being “Made In America,” means owner and designer, Danielle Shriber, can oversee every aspect of production from start to finish. “It’s our space, our sewers, our thing. We’re doing it all, we’re doing it ourselves, and we’re ready for people to start realizing that.” Prairie New York’s brand new 5000-sq ft space houses not only their beautiful showroom, but also their factory, making them one of the few brands that are 100% domestically made from design to pattern making, straight through to production and distribution. So besides the obvious reason to go down to Prairie New York’s sample sale ... stocking up on some fabulous pieces at ridiculously low prices (50% off wholesale) ... go and see what “Made In America” really means. Check out the space and begin to understand why the disintegration of New York’s Garment Center is a sad story. One that Prairie New York, along with organizations like “Save the Garment Center,” will adamantly resist. I’ll shop to that! |
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| Risa Kostis and Lindsay Kleep setting up the sale ... |
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| Sample Sale galore! |
| What: Prairie New York Sample Sale When: May 18 – May 21 (Noon to 7pm daily) Where: 306 West 38th Street (Between 8th and 9th Avenue) Note: Cash Only |
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