Alec Tabak“I’ve never been up this early in SoHo,” someone says. “I’m so tired; I can’t get my head around boots in summer, but when else will I find a pair at this price?”
“Vintage shopping?” her friend offers.
“Yeah, after three weeks wasted surfing eBay.” She seems more exhausted at the thought than by the hour.
Rule No. 1: Go early — and do use sports terminology to explain your quest. You are the intrepid sample sailor.
Quarter past 8 at the Alexander Wang sale on Greene Street and girls are already stripping while you pillage cardboard boxes of wispy, thin T-shirts. (“Can you throw me a small?”)
Rule No. 2: Wear a jumpsuit or another quick-change ensemble, preferably with pockets. Leave your bag at the office; you’ll have to check it at the door anyway. Excavation requires two hands.
Rule No. 3: Rationalize. Standard sample sale logic goes something like: I didn’t need or want this before I saw it, but it’s 80 percent off. Which may add up to buyer’s remorse — or a present. The record executive and eco-clothing line founder Hannah Bronfman is in favor of sharing finds: “If you’re unsure, get it anyway; chances are your best friend will love it.” The same goes for men’s clothes. When I bought an XL mountain man toggle sweater at the Jil Sander sample sale, I insisted it was for my husband. It’s been either on my back or that of my desk chair ever since.
Rule No. 4: Go for the unfamiliar or unlikely choices for specific occasions. Ignore the urge to select the current season’s print. “My favorites are runway pieces that were dropped,” says Eugenia Gonzalez-Ruiz Olloqui, public relations director at Michael Bastian. The best finds are looks that never made the final cut for the show or were sent out but not produced. Olloqui’s sister found a strapless white column dress for her civil ceremony at the same Thakoon sale where one of Eugenia’s editor friends purchased her wedding dress. Thakoon’s sales are legendary for bridal, right up there with Wang’s for model-off-duty style.
Rule No. 5: Buy in multiples. Lisa Benson, Aaron Newbill and Jessica Lillemon Monster Beats Studio Lebron Jame, IMG managers of development Nike Air Max 2011 Mens, always hit Wang’s sample sale to stock up on pieces like tanks and leather shorts. They’ll be waiting for new girls when they arrive in town for fashion week go-sees. “We like to buy in bulk, then the girls make it their own,” Newbill says. The team also goes to Staff International’s annual sale for Margiela shoes and Rag and Bone for sportswear. “It’s about helping the young talent adapt their personal style for New York.” Established models also love Wang. That morning in SoHo, you could spy Arlenis Sosa waiting on line, T-shirts in hand.
Rule No. 6: Budget accordingly. Stella McCartney’s sale took place nearly a week after Wang’s. Spring’s citrus-covered looks, simple denim pieces and horse-printed sweatshirts were among the signatures available from last season. There were whispers of debate on whether or not to wait for the next day’s Bottega Veneta sale (both were memos sent throughout Gucci Group). Vegan shoes or woven leather bag? Turns out it wasn’t much of decision — there was nothing left at Bottega after the 10 a.m. stampede. (See Rule No. 1)
Rule No. 7: Go archive. Among the epic sales was the Comme des Garcons “event” in Midtown earlier this year coach outlet stores, complete with food trucks outside. “Half the time, you wear the clothes every day or they’re so beautiful, you never wear them,” says the pastry chef Arden Wohl. “But, it’s a piece of art.” Her special finds were a little black jacket with puffy sleeves of metallic polka dot tulle and a gold bolero. “I feel I didn’t get enough,” she says. “I have regrets.”
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