Shopping Parties - The New Way To Shop?
by Wendy Lerman
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| Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale with Champagne and Cookies. |
| I adore the thrill and excitement of sample sales, and have been to some of the strangest warehouses, showrooms, and hotels in the garment district and around town to get coveted pieces for my wardrobe. When I hear Sample Sale, I expect a few shoulders and fists to fly my way, a very long line, bad lighting and terrible mirrors. But I have a skill at always finding the best stuff, and being the “sample size” I tend to get pretty lucky too. Call it my sport. So when I scored an invite to Rebecca Minkoff’s VIP Sample Sale Night, which read: Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale with Champagne and Cookies, I was intrigued. Sure, I’ve seen snacks and champs at shopping parties, trunk shows, friends and family events, store openings, etc. |
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| It’s certainly a great incentive to get people into your store, relax over cocktails and hopefully leave with a few more shopping bags than they would have otherwise. But at a Sample Sale? And no, this is not even one of those super exclusive invites that you sometimes read about on these pages ... apparently all of my girlfriends got the same one! So a civil Sample Sale? I had to check it out for myself. OK, who am I kidding? I would have gone with sneakers and boxing gloves to score a Morning After Bag at a ridiculously low price. |
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| When I arrived, there were lines, long lines. But there were also tons and tons of bags (no pushing, no fighting) and lots of folks there to help out and keep things organized – people who worked for the company who actually understood the products! Best of all, Rebecca Minkoff herself was there, looking fabulous and greeting her adoring fans/customers. But, Rebecca Minkoff: when your bags are on sale ... you don’t need any more incentive than that! I think the scores of adoring women would have waited outside just to meet you. But we certainly appreciated the homemade cookies and champagne and do hope this trend catches on! Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale Wed Nov 18, 2009, 10:00 AM to Sun Nov 22, 2009, 8:00 PM Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale. Location: 17 West 17th Street (Between 5th and 6th avenues). All Sales Final. |
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| And speaking of Shopping Parties… Jenna Lyons, Creative Director at J. Crew, and Tyler Brule, Editor in Chief of Monocle, hosted Cocktails, Canapes, & Holidy Shopping at the J.Crew Men’s Shop in Soho. This was my first time at this fairly new establishment, and I was impressed. It looks nothing like the J.Crew stores you find in the suburbs. This men’s only shop carries an edited collection of J. Crew favorites combined with limited edition product, designer collaborations and rare vintage finds. It was a fun night, but too crowded to really shop, so I’ll have to go back another day for my holiday shopping. |
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| The serious crowd at J.Crew Men’s Shop in Soho. |
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| Clockwise from top left: Selima Salaun, Jenna Lyons, Tom Folsom, and Andy Spade; Tremaine Romeo, Brad Andrews, Charlie Phillips, and Kurt Hoffman; Tom Daly and Max Vallot; Whitney Lenoce, Li Wang, Chris Krautler, Danielle Culmone, and Katherine Cartwright; Neil Nisbet and Cas Zdanius. |
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| Clockwise from top left: Tyler Brule, Jenna Lyons, and Frank Muytjens; Andrew Tuck and Tyler Brule; Robert Bound; Andrew Tuck, Alex Mills, Luke Crisell, and Jonathan Frolich; Dwight Fenton and Brice Pattison. |
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| Clockwise from top left: Mickey Drexler and Tom Sachs; Byron Peart, Dexter Peart, Brent Gray, and Kandice Jones; Aire Thomas and Jonathan Lagrasso; Barbara Constantine, Joshua Greene, Micah Johnson, Frank Muytjens, and Matthew Hranek. |
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| Clockwise from top left: Jane Aiello and Rebecca Jordan; Jonathan Gray and Trixie Ferguson Gray; James and Kate Grohsgal; Graham Pollack and Aaron Holm; Andrew Kirk. |
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| Clockwise from top left: Marc Honaker and Todd Weatherford; Lucien Etory and Karen Jeffords; Kyle Ward and Zeph Colombatto; Meighan Dobson and Amy Fitzgibbons; Jenna Lyons, Smitty, and Ella Smithie. |
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| Clockwise from top left: Mordechae Rubenstein and Randy Goldberg; Michael Williams and Chris Bray; Mickey Drexler and Jenna Lyons; Nick Luter and Sean Egelhardt; Michael Pierson and Tiffany Plater; Natalie Centeno and Lea Hinderling. |
| Photographs courtesy of Gavin Bellour (Minkoff); Patrick McMullan (J. Crew). |
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