The Sample Room NY

This review is long overdue but it’s never too late to return to rate an awesome bridal vendor. I got married in 2014 and recently remembered this vendor when an acquaintance became engaged and referred her to go there.
The Sample Room has an array of designers and bridal gowns to chose from as well as veils and accessories for your big moment. From the moment you walk in you are greeted by knowledgeable staff and the owners (Ivan and Mindy). I was helped by Stacie who made sure to ask me important questions about my day and what I had in mind to help narrow my selection (because as I mentioned before, they have so many beautiful gowns). At the time, they carried an international bridal designer, Francesca Miranda, who now many may know about because of her red carpet debut and is becoming recognized in the bridal market industry. Aside from this designer, they look for unique dresses and designers worth you time to go in and check out. I fell in love with one of their dresses (Lazaro) but unfortunately my body structure and petiteness couldn’t handle the grandeur of that dress — the bride basically would get lost in the dress because of the long train and material — so I did decided not to purchase it (times like these I wish I were much taller). Now although I did not find «the right dress» I did find my veil (the lace trimming with beading and the softness was absolutely stunning and looked great in all the pictures) and after I found my dress elsewhere, I returned and I purchased the Francesca Miranda Cathedral veil. In addition they carry HALO accessories which is a London based jewelry company which I too purchased with the Sample Room. The prices were just right and you can and will find what you need within your set budget (be warned… you will want to go a little above after seeing some of the higher end things they carry but the quality is worth it for the price they offer).
The staff are helpful, courteous, friendly, and they do not have a pushy sales attitude. You go and meet, consult with them, see, try on, and if you like you buy — they were patient and the sense of them wanting you to be happy with your special dress came through. It’s bridal stores like these that make you return or refer your friends/​family to. They’re small enough to actually provide service excellence and actually give a damn in helping you find the right dress/​accessories.

Found this location through Unilocal since it was near my job. I scheduled an appointment for a day I was off. I originally walked past the building because I was looking for a store front. FYI its a building and you have to go to the second floor. When you get out of the elevator, you go to the left and knock on the door in front of you.
I was greeted warmly and was told to look around to find what I like. This is a sample store so the dresses and accessories are essentially one style in one size. Sometimes someone can get a huge savings at sample stores because the items are usually discontinued styles marked like 50% off. I had called and told them the sizes I was fitting in bridal dresses, which is bigger than your normal size. Unfortunately for me I only pulled like 4 dresses in size 10 or 12. Most of the dresses here were 2, 4, and 6 sigh. I didn’t end up getting any dresses because I wasn’t in love with the ones I did fit.
If you wear 2,4,or 6 in bridal dresses then you should try this place as they do have nice dresses at decent price range depending what you want.

I came here as my last stop and bought a dress! It was much too big, and it was only a couple hundred dollars off the ticket price, but it was in pristine condition and very easy to tailor… so I’m pretty happy with how it worked out. They charged $ 50 to ship it and were VERY flexible — I had some back-​and-​forth about the shipping date and they couldn’t have been more gracious about it.
They had a wider selection than I thought they would. I think this sort of place is just inevitably going to come down to the luck of the draw — you either find a dress you love there, or you don’t. Or you do, but it’s the wrong size and can’t be altered, etc.
I worked mostly with Yolanda, who was great! She really helped me make up my mind, especially if I didn’t like something and was just trying to «talk myself into it». I recommend her wholeheartedly. The dress I ended up buying was one she found and pulled off the rack for me. She has a great eye!

If I could give ZERO stars I would… ZERO!
I emailed for an appointment date (open on their calendar) filled out the questionnaire and was expecting to have no issues. This is what the «director» responded with:
«Thank you for reaching out to us regarding making an appointment. I noticed that your wedding date is set for Fall of 2016 and that you haven’t been dress shopping for yourself yet. Please note that we recommend that our brides make us one of their last stops in the bridal gown hunt for several reasons. Firstly because we are not a traditional bridal store but a bridal showroom that sales samples directly off the floor we can’t guarantee that any dress you find on your first visit will still be available upon your return. Also we recommend that you visit a few traditional bridal salon to narrow down the options of what’s available to you and then come to us to find a great deal. «
Thanks for telling me what I already know and assuming this would be my first stop (I have two appointments the morning before I wanted to see you). This is called The Sample Room, obviously a dress I find there wouldn’t be available later on because its a SAMPLE ROOM. I guess you felt I wouldn’t be purchasing at that time resulting in wasted time for your team without a commission… WRONG.
Sad too because the group of girls I would have came in with includes 3 girls who are getting married in 2015– all without dresses. We appreciate you letting us know in advanced that you wouldn’t be helpful and that it would be better not to waste our own time…
STAY AWAY — The fish stinks from the head here…

I came to the sample room as my last stop on the bridal tour, as recommended. Looking for a short, unique dress at a price that would leave me plenty left over for some great shoes and accessories.
I was really surprised at the huge selection of short dresses, many more than I’d seen at the bigger bridal boutiques. I found a great dress, at a great price. Though what really stood out about the sample room was the way I was helped. I went to plenty of small bridal shops that gave customers close attention, but this was the first time I felt like a salesperson actually listened to what I was looking for. I don’t think that your dress is the «be all end all of your wedding day», there’s much more important things like family (and booze & cake of course!). Don’t stress about your wedding dress, just go to the Sample Room.

LOVE. This is where I found my wedding dress! People say you try «The one» on and you have that moment, it’s really true– and I’m so not the type. I found a couple I liked and tried them on, I was looking for something different and sort of specific. The lovely young woman who helped me was so sweet, and suggested other gowns for me. They received a shipment while I was there and she said she would open up the box and see if anything came in. Well I’m SO GLAD she did because thats where my wedding dress was! Arrived in a box just for me =] I put it on and all the employees came over to check it out and accessorized me and were so nice… I was like, holy crap this is it! I kept it on for a while and called my mom and sister… they didn’t mind and were very accommodating. I said Yes to that damn dress and I’m so happy I did. There is no hold policy or anything so it definitely puts the pressure on, but its a smaller store if I were them I wouldn’t want to allow holds either… well maybe at least until the end of the day. The dress I picked is gorgeous– and I forgot the designer’s name and sent an e-​mail when I got home, they responded to me right away with the designer & style name, and also wrote a nice message and that the dress was «meant for me» hee. It’s just so nice. They understand how special it is.
The best thing about this place is that it’s not one of those gigantic wedding dress outlets with a ton of dresses and the same amount of brides running around. It’s very intimate and enjoyable– and you’ll find lots of different dresses that aren’t so cookie cutter like at David’s Bridal or something.
The staff rules, the dresses rule, you gotta go.

Visit Date: July 2013
Allows Pictures: Yes
Pros:
* Lots of high-​end designer gowns
* «Cool» NYC experience
* Some jewelry available
* Enthusiastic (but not fake) sales associates who are eager to help you take photos from multiple angles and suggestions for alterations
* Prices are labeled on all dresses (including original retail price)
* Can ship the dress to you if you want via UPS (useful if you live out of state, because you can save tax)
* Free to browse through all the racks of dresses
* Jenny Packham dresses!
Cons:
* Some gowns are in poor condition
* No private fitting rooms, just an area for you to get changed in
I had a very fun experience even though I was trying on dresses by myself. Tried on a lot of expensive designer samples, and fell madly in love with one, but it was just a bit too small and still on the high end of my budget.
At the time, I was a street size 4 and felt the samples I tried on were too small. If you are a larger size than that, your options may be limited here.
Highly recommended! Go with an open mind, it is a very interesting experience. I still wish that dress fit…

Nice, knowledgeable staff. They were not pushy at all and provided helpful suggestions. Great selection. I said yes to a dress here! And they sent us off with champagne. Highly recommend — they were nice to let me up without an appointment and then scheduled one for the same day.

By far the highlight of my quest for a wedding gown! The owners and staff of this store are focused on what really matters most – helping you find the dress of your dreams. They are so knowledgeable about the designers and the construction of the dresses – very helpful when trying on samples.
Wish I could do it all over again!

As a sample sale shopper who loves quality but not the cost of it, this place was a must.
I have been to the full array of gown stores, super high end giant shops and SoHo boutiques.
I do warn you though — the quality and beauty of these dresses, the lace and beadwork — has totally ruined me for budget dresses.
The place was as expected, the woman who helped me very nice and knowledgeable, she knew what I was looking for, as a street size 8 – 10 there were plenty of dresses for me to try, yes, half of them are smaller (6 or below) but that is to be expected.
The salesperson, Mindy, was knowledgeable about what alteration could and could not be done and honest about what the cost of them would be. She also gave me the info so I could call and make sure it was here if I wanted to try it again and that they would pull it from the floor if I called and said I wanted it.
I was eager to see the Jenny Packham dresses in person as I have lusted over them online. I am really glad to have seen them, none of the ones there, and there were quite a few, really blew me away and certainly did not justify the price point.
One dress that I really like, a Jim Hjelm, was amazing, I mean really amazing. I do not want to spend a ton of cash on a dress (after 4 years of being engaged I have other priorities) but the lace on this dress had me rethinking everything. It was gorgeous. Blew away any of the other dresses I had seen, as I was not looked at $ 5,000 dresses before. It totally ruined me for any other less expensive lace dresses. Full gown of french lace for ½ price.
I don’t think I am going to get it though because I am nervous about the alterations it would require (it is ½ a size too small)
If you need a designer gown but don’t have or want to drop 5k this place is a definite.

This establishment has gorgeous gowns at a fraction of the price. I was looking for Jenny Packham dresses and they had a huge selection of them. They are all samples and there is only one of each dress. So it’s a hit or a miss, however they always have new selections. I ended up buying my dress from Angel Sanchez, but I was very close to picking the selections at the Sample Room. I would recommend to all bridess! The salespeople are also really nice and helpful.

This shop is an excellent option for brides who want a designer gown at a discount. The staff was incredibly helpful and patient. I went on a weekday and therefore received a lot of personal attention because the shop was not very busy.
Their inventory seems to change a lot throughout the year, so this might be a good place for someone who has a lot of time to invest in finding the perfect dress. When I went, they did not have a lot of selection in what I was looking for (lace dress). While I did try on some beautiful dresses, since they are samples that only come in one size, each dress needed some sort of alteration that made me anxious about how the final version would look.
Ultimately, I decided to buy a budget new dress at RK Bridal as opposed to buying a designer sample dress at The Sample Room. I would still recommend this shop to friends, though, as it was a very positive experience.

The Sample Room has a wide selection of dresses and designers. They have just about every style when it comes to classy wedding dresses. The entire place was bright and clean. Just perfect. Their staff were super helpful. They made great suggestions and were very patient.
I tried on about 15 dresses and narrowed it down to 4 and finally picked the ONE. It’s a strapless satin ivory dress made by Lazaro. It was in excellent condition. I only had to go for one minor alteration. Simple.
Overall I had a fantastic experience. I recommend that you take a visit and check them out!

I read the poor reviews and it’s fair enough; the Sample Room may not be for everyone, but I’m thrilled by the entire experience. The dresses are generally organized by style, not size. As with any sample dress shopping, some of the dresses are in better condition than others, and some won’t be in the right size — that’s sample dress shopping.
I had gone to 7 or so other salons before coming to the Sample Room. However, the Sample Room had a great wide selection and didn’t seem to have any cookie cutter types of gowns (there’s always something interesting, even the dresses that weren’t what I was looking for), all the staff was attentive and easy to worth with, and there was no pressure or attitude. The space is lovely with lots of natural light and open as well.
The price range is wide, though most seemed to be around the $ 2K range. The discount seems reasonable as well; I ended up getting 55% off of the original retail price for a dress that looks as if no one has ever touched it with a fabulous uncompromising design.

I went to the Sample Room with high hopes after seeing 4.5 stars on Unilocal.How they have 4.5 stars, I do not know! On a positive note, the staff is very sweet and friendly and the space is light and bright and nice.
Sample Room is at max 20−30% discount off retail prices for dresses that are just terrible condition. I saw dresses that were ripped, stained, dirty, yellowed, sweated-​in, had makeup stains on them, lipsticked, inked, missing buttons, had pulls in the lace, busted zippers, stretched seams, I could go on. NOT ONE dress I tried on didn’t need a major repair or stain removal. It was really quite gross, actually.
If you do want to give them a try, buyer beware: Factor in $ 350 for alterations and another $ 300 – 400 for cleaning. So take that «discounted» price and take on another 700 bucks and see how much of a deal you think it is.
The wedding dress game is disheartening for anyone with solid values. $ 3000 for a dress you wear once is crazy. But $ 2200 for a ripped, stained version of that dress that you then have to alter and clean, well that is the definition of insanity.
Oh, and as a warning: I wear a size 2 to 4 in regular clothes. I couldn’t even zip up several of the dresses in there! Anyone bigger than a size 4, forget about it.

I got my dress here!
Having visited quite a few other bridal boutiques in the city, (Wedding Atelier, Birnbaum & Bullock, etc.), I feel that I can honestly say that The Sample Room was the not only the best value, they were also some of the most knowledgeable and helpful people I worked with.
It all depends on your luck whether you’ll find your dress here (of course, that could be said for any place…), and prices run from 500 — 4K (an enormous poofy designer dress). I wear a size ⁶⁄₈ and there were plenty of dresses that fit me and many larger or smaller than my size.
Nobody rushed me and I appreciate that they were as courteous and welcoming the second time as they were the first.
Bottom line, highly recc’d

My parents and I had made a much anticipated trip into NYC to try on dresses at the J. Crew bridal salon, and after being thoroughly disappointed in a number of ways, we found The Sample Room on Unilocal!and decided to roll the dice. Mindy (the owner) let us in without an appointment and told us, «I don’t take appointments on Monday, but I’m here now so let’s try on some dresses.» We had the whole studio to ourselves and were very grateful that she agreed to see us without an appointment
.
I wear a street size 12 – 14, and was tired of dress consultants at places like David’s and J. Crew making me feel like a sausage, strapping me into dresses two sizes too small. Mindy however, had an incredible selection of beautiful dresses in sizes that actually fit me. Sure, MOST of the dresses were geared towards slender ladies, but compared to the other salons I’d been to, she had a lot of really nice options.
The other cool thing about The Sample Room is that the almost all of the dresses are 30−50% off retail. The vast majority of the samples Mindy has are in great shape, barely showing that they’ve been tried on at all. She also carries a lot of brand new dresses from previous seasons.
Our dress purchase was absolutely the best I could’ve possibly imagined. Mindy took her time with our questions and made me feel beautiful and bridal throughout the entire experience. The dress we fell in love with was a Francesca Miranda and we paid 50% off the retail price.
I can’t recommend this place enough. Mindy is the best and a true professional.

It’s a great space with beautiful, fashion forward dresses. The staff was fairly helpful, but now I know why they weren’t giving the service I was used to at other bridal salons like Lovely Bride. If you aren’t super skinny there aren’t many dresses that will fit you there. I am not plus-​sized, medium but with hips and there weren’t many choices for me.
Also, I ran into the owner when I was coming into the building behind her (I didn’t know it was the owner) because when I told her I was going to the store, she just shrugged and didn’t engage with me in the elevator. I didn’t even know she potentially worked there until we got off on the same floor and she used her key to get into the showroom. Another woman told me she was the owner!
I will recommend my slim friends to the place because the dresses are gorgeous! But it would be nice if they said on the site that most dresses are for the petite.

Based on the number of Unilocal reviews, this salon seems to be a well kept secret in NY. It’s a great little salon with a nice space and tons of dresses at big markdowns. There are no dressing rooms; you stand behind a little wall thing and a woman will help you in and out of the dresses you try on. There’s some famous designers and some you’ve maybe not heard of – Ugo Zaldi anyone? Apparently the owner does a lot of wholesaling for european designers who are not as strong in the US market.
I almost bought a dress from here. I came back a few days later to try it on again. They stayed a little bit late for me, too, to get there from work. I hemmed and hawed, and they were cool and patient with me. I decided not to buy it quite yet, and asked them to call me if anyone seemed like they might buy the dress. I felt bad, but they were very nice and flexible, and I got absolutely zero attitude. Thanks!
I ended up going a different route, but think all brides should check out the selection here!

This is a fabulous little wedding salon, with designer sample dresses at huge markdowns. The dresses are all in pretty good condition. I visited here twice, as I love Jenny Packham dresses, and the Sample Room has masses of them. They have other great labels too like Oscar de la Renta, Jim Hjelm, Badgley Mischka etc.
The only caveat is they do not have current season gowns as they are not allowed to sell current seasons. Also you buy off the rack here (so full price upfront) and you need to be prepared to do your own alterations with a separate store/​seamstress. The staff is super friendly and helpful.

When it comes to wedding dress shopping, I’ve covered the gamut in the city.
Early in my search, I found what I thought was THE DRESS (a gorgeous Ines Di Santo at Bergdorf’s). After seriously considering it for a day, my «game the multi-​million dollar bridal system» sensibilities took over. I needed to see if I could find a similar, if not better dress for less.
So off I went to Pronovias, Kleinfelds, the Bridal Garden and other boutiques in the city. I even checked out David’s Bridal (hey, I needed to see the entire range of options).
Enter The Sample Room. The salon is by appointment only and occupies an airy, light filled loft near Union Square. After browsing through their racks of gorgeous dresses I found the dress to conquer all dresses.
And the following information, ladies, is why I ended up buying it at a fraction of the retail cost:
The owner is a former buyer and manager at Bergdorf’s. The Sample Room is actually a side business of hers. She’s the middle man between the european designers and all the high end boutiques in the city. And when a designer has an overstock of dresses, etc, those lovely frocks make their way to her floor. Why? because they’re too expensive to ship back to their fancy places of birth. Which means we New York girls can score deals of a lifetime. Consider it Bergdorf quality dresses at TJ Maxx prices.
(Also, If you’re in the market for a Jenny Packham dress, without paying full Jenny Packham prices, The Sample Room has the biggest selection of overstock dresses in North America.)
I can’t promise that you’ll find the dress of your dreams here. But if you’re lucky, and if you know exactly what style you’re looking for, you might be able to save some of your wedding budget for more Pinterest-​worthy details on your big day.
God speed and good luck girls.