in the waiting line
Sample sales bring me so much joy, I just can’t explain it. Wait, actually yes I can.
Real talk, I’ve been going to sample sales ever since I got my drivers license and my first email that a sample sale was happening the following weekend.
When IG was still in its toddler phase, brands I followed would post that they were selling their super expensive clothes, for super discounted prices. Though I absolutely hated getting up early, I’d always set my alarm for 4am to get there by 5am and wait in line till they opened at 10/11am. As Ricky Bobby says, if you’re not first, you’re last.
If you’re just going there for fun, sure getting there an hour before it opens will land you very far away from the door but if you get up early and wait in line hours before it opens, you’ll usually be one of the first 10 people they let in and you’ll score so much more. I always get to serious sample sales at 5 but definitely not at 4 because even I have standards.
PRE PANDEMIC
Pre pandemic, the lines would be long and you’d wait in line for hours sitting maybe a foot away from someone. You could talk to everyone who was in the mood too. I don’t talk before I’ve finished my coffee and really woken up yet, but if I’m extra excited to be there I’ll chat with anyone. Like I stated above, getting there early is almost always worth it. So be prepared to wait. That means eat something, bring water & coffee, have a fully charger phone, scope out a Starbucks for bathroom breaks nearby, and park close so you can dump you big bag of whatever you brought to keep you company back in your car. Some people camp out which even to me is a little extreme but I’ve brought layers of clothing to keep me warm and quickly dropped it off back at my car as the sun was coming out and temps were reaching 80!
HERE’S WHAT NOT TO DO! Security will have you leave your big bags outside because thats an easy way to keep people from concealing and stealing merchandise in their Ikea bags hidden underneath snacks and sweatshirts. Don’t be this girl. If you do bring a big bag, make sure you have time to drop it off at your car because they will absolutely not watch it for you and they wont let you in. Trust.
Speaking of which, they only let in 30 or so people in at a time depending on the room size. At a For Love and Lemons sample sale, they let in 30 people at once, including me and my friend that I had made from another one of their sample sales years ago. For the security guards who let us all into this warehouse, it must have looked hilarious to see a bunch of girls running toward racks filled with sequined, lace and silk garments at 11am. Sample sales are my Superbowl and I always come to play.
I’ve made so many friends at sample sales too. Making friends in line is important because after spending 4 hours sitting there, quietly waiting and talking and stalking the brands Instagram for any sneak peeks into what awaits you inside, will help you in the long run. Somehow, I’ve always been lucky enough to meet people who offer to help you look for things you’ve been searching for, or help you take pictures of the garment you’re wearing to help you see what it looks like on you, because almost always there are no mirrors inside. It sounds dumb but the seasoned brands who’ve thrown many a sample sale, will take mirrors away so people wont crowd or spend hours in front of it trying on LITERALLY everything. I normally go in with a game plan of things I want and what sizes to look for, and most importantly a budget! I can get a little too excited and end the sample sale with a pile of clothes that even I can’t carry. When the pile gets too big, you edit things down based on if you like it or love it, if its in your budget to buy it, and if you’re on the fence about certain items, you ask your new friends their thoughts!
The best strategy (if you’re new at this) is to stick with the crew you waited in line with and ask their opinion on the pieces you’ve managed to snag before anyone else if you’re easily swayed into buying your whole pile of clothes. This was always my favorite part. We’d all be hopped up on adrenaline, caffeine and little sleep, and end up talking and trying on the pieces we’d all managed to find in our little corner. The people you wait in line with are amazing sounding boards for when you’re not quite sure that silk mini dress is really worth $200 or if you can sew the hem of a damaged gown or if a print of a dress you loved online washes you out in real life. Sometimes if you find a really nice set of people that help you look for things on your wish list and grab them for you before another girl snags them. I miss these moments so much!
ON THE NOTE OF HUMAN HANGER BOYFRIENDS: Oh this is something I wont miss seeing at sample sales now. There are a few girls who normally get there at 4am with their boyfriends and make them wait in line with them till it opens. I get the safety reasoning behind this because waiting alone in an alley in the arts district at 4am, is definitely not safe!!! but when they bring their dudes in there it really blows my mind. These guys always stand around awkwardly holding their girlfriend’s many finds, in the middle of a warehouse filled with girls getting basically naked and running around frantically trying on garments in a thong and maybe a bra. Don’t do this to your boyfriends. Leave them at home. Make new girl friends at the sample sale to help you instead.
TLDR: Before a sample sale, go in with a game plan. Leave your man at home. Get there early. Be safe. Park close by. Be nice and make friends in line. Have a budget in mind. Be familiar with the brands sizing so you have options if your true size is already gone. Edit down your finds. Stick to your budget. Go home happy!
VS POST PANDEMIC
My only IRL sample sale I’ve attended as of recently was the Cult Gaia one in early January 2021. I got there an hour before it started because I was expecting their prices to be higher than I was used to spending at these things, and I didn’t have an item in mind I was DYING to have. I just wanted to take the temperature of sample sale post pandemic and see if I could score a malachite Eos box clutch (I did!). The line was spaced out because of social distancing obvi but it wasn’t that long. I waited maybe an hour and made a few friends in the check out line. Read this in a Larry David voice, It was pretty pretty good
I ended up scoring a pair of earrings, a wired headband, and two purses I had been liking on Poshmark and The Real Real. Most importantly, I ended up staying within my budget of $220. The prices were definitely on the steeper side for their clothes but they retail for $$$$ so it wasn’t unbelievable to me that they were discounted by only a few hundred dollars. To date, I’ve never spend close to $1k at a sample sale. I think the most I ever spent was $600 and that was for a few dresses and a Kate Spade bag at the first Rent The Runway sample sale. I still have an ombre Herve Leger dress I have yet to wear.
But in my honest opinion, I still 10000% think sample sales are worth it, especially if you’re putting a good amount of effort into it. If you can wait a whole three seasons to buy a piece you were deeply in love with and still are, you can wait a few hours in line to buy it at a discount. Happy shopping!
