Cheryl Shops

I've been missing New York a bit lately--it's easy to gloat during the winter, but now that it's spring (almost summer), Instagram is reminding me about all the good things I left behind. Like sample sale season. Oh, how I miss sample sales. They are few and far between on the West Coast, but when they come along, it's like Christmas. Here's what's on my calendar.

At the Gilt City Warehouse Sale in New York one year, a fellow shopper snatched a pair of knee-high Rag & Bone boots a millisecond ahead of me, resulting in a slo-mo "nooooooo" escaping my lips. I still think about those boots to this day. Will I find a better pair at this season's San Francisco sale? There's only one way to find out. This time around, prices are up to 90% off retail on clothes and accessories from designers like Helmut Lang, Prada, and John Varvatos; there will also be free cocktails, snacks, makeovers, and a DJ, because who wants to shop in silence, hungry and sober? The event runs Friday & Saturday; Friday is sold out, but Saturday is almost wide open; get your tickets here. (And if you aren't a Gilt City member, by all means, join here.)

For my friends down south in Los Angeles (hi, ladies!), there's a sale happening next weekend that I'm so excited about, I'm contemplating a weekend trip. It's Clare Vivier's first-ever sample sale, and I have no other details except that there will be clutches (favored by every fashion blogger known to mankind), messenger bags, duffels (my current bag of choice), and "more." It's June 7-8 from noon-5 at 3249 Casitas Avenue in Los Angeles. Think I can take an Uber?

When people ask me what I miss about New York, I say my friends, followed by restaurants that deliver. (Ok, you can order a pizza or Chinese food here, but that's about it.) But a flurry of recent emails hitting my inbox reminded me of a third thing I miss: sample sales. Will I ever again experience the thrill of finding a runway sample that fits me perfectly for 80% off? Maybe...Gilt City's Warehouse Sale is coming to San Francisco this weekend and promises Helmut Lang, Paul Smith, and other top designers for women, men, kids, and the home, with prices at up to 90% off retail. The one (tiny) drawback is that tickets are $10--Friday night and Saturday morning are sold out, but Saturday afternoon is still available--but, let's be honest, I'd gladly pay that much for the opportunity to claw my way through the racks and dig my way through the bins, all in search of some buried treasure. Plus there will be refreshments, snacks, and mini spa treatments from Exhale (oh, Exhale, I miss you too!). I've got my ticket; now if only we can convince Thakoon, Rag & Bone, and Alexander Wang to come out West...