It was elbow-to-elbow after hours last night at Nanette Lepore in Chevy Chase, where they held a party for the opening of the new boutique. Yes, I was there! And newsflash, so was Nanette herself, glowing amid the pink recessed lighting of the shop. (Everyone looked so rosy.)

Champagne, teeny noshes, three-piece band popping out Euro jazz, but unfortch, most of the clothes were moved away to make room for party space. Sad! However, I ogled the off-the-rack goodies around the edges, including a single soft-tastic purple coat, size 0 and $525. Le sigh. (Avail in blue at Bloomie's. And Stella McCartney also has a great fuzzy purple coat this season.)

Goodie bag: Nanette Lepore perfume, logo umbrella and a copy of Capitol File. I gave the mag to my boyfriend. He reads it for the pictures.

K Street Kate (who I haven't met, btw) has piccies.

Store:
5449 Wisconsin Ave.
Chevy Chase, MD (just across the DC line opposite from Mazza Gallerie)

Here's my um-brella-ella-ella-ella:

The District Sample Sale opens its doors on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and I am rarin' to go! General admission tix are $40; VIP tix get you in an hour earlier, at $250. I'm getting in for free thanks to my jobby-job.

In case you've never been to a sample sale, a bunch of local boutiques offer up their unsold, end-of-season merch for deeply discounted prices. In the past, sample sales used to be limited to actual "samples" -- the size 0s and 2s that usually end up on the mannquins -- but these days things are fortunately a bit more democratic.

DC Shops participating in 2008:
Caramel
Daisy Too
Green & Blue
Ginger
Harriet Kassman
Hysteria
Lettie Gooch
The Little Shoebox
Periwinkle
Proper Topper
Sangaree
Simply Soles
Sugar
Sherman Pickey
Terra
Urban Chic
We One You Too
Wink

Want tix to this twice-a-year event? (Uh, YEAH, who wouldn't?)

Visit www.districtsamplesale.com.
General admission: $40
VIP admission: $250 (early entrance + sweet goodie bag)

I am psyched about the new Madewell 1937 store that's now open in Tysons Corner. It's the funkier, cheaper version of J. Crew, who I have come to dislike for its proto-First Lady wear and soaring prices. Really, who does J. Crew think it is? If you can afford to buy their clothes these days, you're actually probably NOT shopping there.

But seriously? If the model above were blonde, I would have taken this shot for a rejected cover of Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth.

And I prefer my Youth to be more Sonic than Electric.


My other issue with Madewell? Their models all look like seven-foot tall cowboys who have pursued freelance work as World War I flying aces. I love to look at these clothes, but I think I would actually mock myself for wearing them.

... That might not be enough to prevent me from buying that mango-colored cardi, though.