Tell anyone who loves fashion or home decor that they can get designer labels at a reduced price, and help a charitable cause at the same time, and they’ll quickly ask where and when. The St. Louis section of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) will offer St. Louisans exactly that for the 51st year in a row at its annual Couturier event, which features high-end labels in fashion and housewares at a huge discount.
The national organization supports women, children and families through various outreach efforts in each community it serves. Locally, that mission is honored through support of programs like: the Back 2 School Store, which provides under-served children with clothes and supplies; Kids Community Closet, a food pantry and an emergency clothing closet available in 15 local schools; and the Healing Hearts Bank, which offers loans to victims of domestic violence for down payments, business start-ups and other needs.
The Resale Shop in Creve Coeur, where the Couturier event takes place, is the largest source of revenue. All proceeds from its donated items benefit the community outreach programs. The Couturier event, Nov. 5 through 7, showcases the shop’s most exclusive merchandise, much of which has never been out in the shop before. “The sale is our largest fundraiser every year,” says store manager Jessica Means.
Hillary Friedman and Carolyn Satz will serve as co-chairs for the fifth year in a row. “People are accustomed to the idea that this sale features our most special items,” Friedman notes. “We get lots of very interesting vintage custom jewelry, one-of-a-kind works of art and highly collectible housewares.”
Means says it’s an exclusive level of merchandise, with many designer labels. “Our regular merchandise is expanded with the addition of higher-end labels for the sale,” she notes. Some notable brands featured this year include Eileen Fisher, BCBG, St. John, UGG, Kate Spade and Theory.
The event originally started as a sale in a member’s home 51 years ago. “When you ask people what they know about NCJW, often they just say the Couturier event,” Satz says. The event has built up a large clientele over the years, and she points out that some customers even come in from out of town. It’s grown in both turnout and money raised each year, Means notes.
The sale is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 6 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 7. There are two opportunities to shop before the crowds. Fifty tickets are being sold for the VIP Preview Nov. 5, which lasts for only 50 minutes from 3:10 to 4 p.m (a concept launched at the 50th anniversary last year). These tickets must be purchased online in advance. Immediately following, from 4 to 8 p.m., guests can make a $10 donation at the door to shop before the sale opens to the public. “We have people in line who say they remember standing in line with their mothers as a little girl, and now they are doing it with their daughters,” Means says. “It’s really cool!”
Pictured: Hillary Friedman and Jessica Means
Photo: Bill Barrett
[The Couturier event takes place Nov. 5 through 7 at The Resale Shop, 295 N. Lindbergh Blvd. in creve coeur. Pictured on the cover, from left: NCJW members and longtime Couturier supporters Phyllis Langsdorf, Diane Katzman and Fran Zamler. For more information, visit ncjwstl.org or call 314.692.8141.]
