Shop & Give in Style: Pregaming the District Sample Sale

I’m wallowing (sort of) in a after-Labor-Day summer cold, flying solo for the weekend whilst H reclaims our place Down Tha Shore from our last summer renters. We made, as some of you may have seen, a Tar-ZHAY run Saturday, and had fun wandering the aisles of Whole Foods while the heavens opened up and released their furor.

By the time we got home from that trip, I was feelin’ pretty poopy, as we say in this house. I handed The Bean off for a planned overnight with my MIL, and deployed Megamind (one of the funniest movies ever), pizza, and Dolci Gelati chocolate to manage Bean No.2 until bedtime.

We awoke Sunday morning to two of us now down to this cold (The Bean, too), so we’re watching Sprout TV, drinking linden tea with honey, and working on our hamster houses.

I, on the other hand, got on the computer, started pinning, of course, and unlike most of the time, I started pinning with a purpose. Tomorrow is the District Sample Sale. As this is possibly the 537th DSS I’ve attended, I do have it down to a bit of a science. But given #healthyme, for the first time ever, I’m able to look beyond my staple shoe and accessories finds to actual, you know, clothes. I can now - and this is, quite frankly, momentous for me - scour the racks of the DSS boutiques for something other than the largest sizes. So I will.

To prep, then, and make the best use of that single, oh-so-worth-it VIP hour before the venue reverts to its crowded but vibrant self, I’m making a bit of a game plan. It looks a little bit like this:

1) Double-check the list of stores. I know my favorites well, but my favorites have been Simply Soles and Queen Bee. Both have great deals, and I won’t skip them, but I will also check out some more clothing purveyors.

2) Decide whether I’m going to look for certain items for my New Closet, or shop with relative abandon. The variety of shops is broad enough that I can probably identify a couple of key pieces (dressy shorts, trousers, perhaps?), and target my search. Or I can just keep my eyes out for things that catch my eye, and go for it. The latter, obviously, is a bit more dangerous.

3) Map it out. There isn’t a map online yet, but there will be in line (or at least there has been in previous years). So once I’ve clarified my strategy (and yes, it is actually important to have a strategy if you’re spending the $100 to shop the VIP hour vice socialize), I’ll figure out where to go first, and figure out especially where to go before the hoardes hit. Urban Chic, for example, is always swamped by the masses after VIP, so it’s a good place to start, if there’s anything there I think I want.

4) Limit. I suppose this should have been the first item. H and I haven’t discussed it yet, but it’s key to have a budgeted amount to spend. I do, in this case, need some new clothes, and this is a great place to get deals on high quality pieces, but I can’t spend with abandon. So set one.

5) Check out the boutiques online. Like I said, I’m pinning with a purpose. I won’t have a list or anything that fancy, but I will have, by the time we get to Tuesday night, have looked at a couple of my likely stops and identified a couple of things I’ll look for in my rounds. Most of the stores treat the DSS like an extended clearance sale, so if you look at the clearance or sale areas of their websites, you’re more likely to see those pieces on the racks at the DSS. A few places also bring fall or winter pieces, but those are either at full price or at only a small discount. Still, if you love a piece, why not?

Clockwise, from top left: A Dolman-sleeve blouse that might go well with a lot, but in particular the Union Jack-covered Religion Clothing skinnies H bought me this weekend (Luna); Flying Tomato embroidered short to feed my newfound dressy shorts addiction (Imagine, a Fashion Apothecary); Frye riding boots (Simply Soles); Frye studded motorcycle boots, which I haven't found at any of the boutiques, but I would absolutely splurge on if I found them; Lillybee snakeskin wedges that would just be a dainty little addition to my shoe closet (Simply Soles); the Proportion Of Blue Cirque trouser jean, because I need a new pair (Imagine)

6) Lastly, but also probably first, if you’re seriously shopping, like I will be, forgo the drinks and appetizers, as yummy as they might be, until after you’re done shopping. You might have to wait a little longer before you snag a cocktail, but you won’t have to juggle your champers whilst balancing on one foot putting the other into the proverbial glass slipper.

Trust me. I’ve tried.