StyleSpy with Katrina Szish

It's sample sale season!

Yet ever since the Chanel sample sale went the way of the cassette tape, my heart just hasn't been in it.  How can you top $200 iconic bags and runway shoes for $50?   (Never mind sitting on the floor next to Kevin Aucoin at 7:30am waiting for the doors to open).

But alas, many years have passed since the golden days of sample sales (I still wear wares I scored at Fendi, Prada, Hermes and Chloe in the Stella days), and my wardrobe is in need of some sprucing.  So, I decided to indulge a bit this season. 

Just a bit, mind you.  Recession, duh.  So far I have missed more sales (Catherine Malandrino, Jimmy Choo, Chloe and Rebecca Taylor) than I have attended.  That said, I have purchased a $500 Diane von Furstenberg skirt for $80 and a 3.1 Phillip Lim belt -- that I happen to be wearing right now --- for $50 (originally $200). 

And today I actually stood outside in 98-degree heat for two and a half hours to get into the Tory Burch sample sale.***

Yup.  Two and a half hours.  By the time I finally entered, 300+ serious shoppers had beaten me inside.  I'm still debating whether it's better to be one of the first ones (or hundreds in this case) in the door and deal with the chaos, or if it's preferable to meander in after the crowds and miss the best selection.   

Anyway, the doors opened at 10am, and Mr. Husband and I drove up at 9:50am (already sweating -- we rode the Vespa; helmets are hot!).  The line was already nearly a city block long.   We figured that once the doors opened, we'd sail right on inside.  At 10:30, when sample security (no joke) warned hundreds of sweaty shoppers that they would be in line for at least two hours, we stayed (and even chuckled a bit).  We thought it would be like waiting for a table at The Spotted Pig -- they tell you it'll be two hours, and you're seated within 30.  We did not have the last laugh.

Today's sample sale-ers were on a mission.  People carried empty Louis Vuitton duffles and extra-large LL Bean tote bags.  They brought bottled water and then bought more from an entrepreneurial gentleman who walked the block with cold bottles in plastic bags.  They kept a keen eye on the queue...if anyone sidled up and tried to cut, they instantly called her out and scolded her (although one entertainment show producer managed to slide by unnoticed by everyone but Style Spy).  Now that's what I call the Fashion Police.  The shoppers uniform of choice was a cotton jersey sundress, flip-flops, hair pulled up with a clip, and oversized sunglasses (I had a long time to be observant).

In the end, I walked away with $900 of merchandise for $290 (including this kaftan).

My question to you, fair fashion friends, is:  Are sample sales worth the hassle?

PS
So far the best sample sale of the season was the Jonathan Adler warehouse sale in Jersey City -- it was almost reminiscent of the Chanel deal days.  Except, of course, I didn't buy anything to wear...

***The Tory Burch sample sale is being held at 261 West 36th Street and continues through Saturday, June 14th.   Call 212.947.8748 for more info.