April Cornell Clearence Center

Flagship location.
Worth a stop. Bargain basement always has a good deal happening. Every summer they throw a huge tent sale! Great time to stock up on linens.

This store used to be on Church St and I was worried it wouldn’t do so well when it moved to Battery St as it lost lots of pedestrian traffic. However, I have to say that I love this store even more.
First, there is actual parking now. Huge plus.
Second, it transformed an old dumpy video rental building into a beautiful, colorful attractive store. The waterfront area is on the up and up, and there are lots more people venturing there now than before. It’s in a prime location for the tourists staying at the fancy hotels across the street.
Third, this shop is actually composed of two separate stores: The April Cornell Flagship Store and the Bargain Basement Outlet. While the new in-​season selection is gorgeous it is pricey. There is usually a section upstairs with 50% off or so, of older designs, that are still gorgeous and well-​made. The basement sometimes paradoxically has less of a markdown than the upstairs! But it is filled with beautiful goodies and you can easily get lost in there. Table linens, bedding, etc. The clothes for little girls are very sweet and my daughters received lots of compliments when they wore the dresses to a wedding.
Overall, definitely a must-​see if you love fabric and/​or decorating.

I had no idea April Cornells flagship store was located in Burlington… My loss for sure! I have two 20 + yr old April Cornell dresses, her designs are timeless and made for women with figures. This will always be a stop when I am in Burlington from here on out. After being dazzled upstairs I/​we spent 2 hours downstairs! Most helpful and curtious staff! Tried on a dozen dresses at least ~ bought one, two shirts and a nightgown. I will faithfully revisit when I return to VT!

I was so excited about this place before I actually went inside. The merchandise was definitely the bottom of the barrel. The stuff that absolutely did not sell. The thing is, it was still expensive! I didn’t feel like there was a single deal in the place, and I really WANTED to buy something. Oh well. A tourist waste I guess.

This is where the clearence center is for April Cornell beneath their main office. The Pink sign noting SALE and Clearence center drew this shopoholic to venture inside! I was so excited because this is first time I have heard of this fashion designer. I work in fashion so I was excited to learn more about this French and local designer.
There were racks of flowly dresses outside the gargage like entrance. Bright and Neon Colors, patterns of flowers galore, and paisleys and eylet fabrics. Fashion for her and for the home. Lovely! There are fitting rooms — the flowery fabrics are use as the fitting room curtain. Her fabrics are similar to the designs of Vera Bradley.
I was attracted to the fabric bags but the biggest disappointment of this sale was the PRICES. Here are the prices I came accross: 22.99 for a fabric handbag. $ 39.99 for a cotton knee lenght dress and blazers. There was an additional 20% but I still wasn’t sold. I love a sale but I did not believe the mark down prices were worth the fashions. There were lots of inventory here and do not see how they are going to sell all of it. Also, it is the end of the season, and most fashion businesses need to sell out their summer stock.
They need to advertise better that this is a clearence center. I found this place by accident when I visited the boat dock. The Pink sign signaled me from the back of their building, but I have to wonder if the locals even know about this place. Other people wandered in here like me because they just happen to be visiting the boat dock.
From a fashion business perspective, this clearence center needs to advertise to in order to attract more customers. This place is conveniently located by the Hilton and Courtyard Hotels. Attracting out of towners like to me to shop here is one way. Another way is to mark down those prices some more.