This Weekend: Gilt City Warehouse Sale Chicago

The Gilt City Warehouse sale is coming to Chicago this weekend, and I’m so excited!  I often miss being able to shop the designer sample sales of New York City, but Gilt Warehouse Sale helps ease the pain.

The merch is what you would expect to see at a warehouse sale, an assortment of pieces from various designers and seasons at deeply discounted prices like 75+% off retail. I’ve been to a couple Gilt Warehouse sales, one in Chicago and one in New York, and had great shopping success both times.

 Haul from a Gilt warehouse sale back in October 2011: Alice Ritter dress, Adam dress, Kai Aakmann vest, and Marni heels

 

Haul from Gilt Warehouse sale in NY last May: Cynthia Vincent top, Super sunglasses & Surface to Air Wedges

Having been to a couple sales, I have a couple tips. The fitting room is communal and sometimes mirrors are limited, so leggings and friends to shop with are recommended.

There’s no guarantee you’ll find something you’ll like, but there’s always music and refreshments to make it a fun experience regardless of whether or not you take home a shopping bag.

Who: Gilt City
What: Discounted designer goods, apparel, accessories, footwear and home
When: Saturday, April 13th
Where: MCA Warehouse @ 1747 W Hubbard, Chicago. Tickets are $10 and available at giltcity.com.

Gilt Holiday Preview

I stopped by the Gilt Groupe offices a few weeks ago and to be perfectly honest, I stopped by because I've always been curious what the insides of the Gilt offices looked like. Right now it looks rather festive. They have transformed their showroom into a idyllic family home for the holidays - complete with fireplace, Christmas tree, bedroom, stockings and living room.

Each of the different scenes showcased product that will be on sale on Gilt Groupe in the coming months to fit your lifestyle - from Children's toys/books and even a bicycle to Jamon Ham, macarons and deluxe truffles, to sequin dresses, statement jewelry and nail polish. Gilt has man, woman, child and home covered from top to bottom.

Click after the jump to see more of what to expect or wish for this Holiday season.



For the ladies I spotted an abundance of gold lame, jewels from Kenneth Jay Lane, the Botkier Eden satchel,  amongst other things. My personal favorite piece was the regal looking necklace with green stones below.



For Men you could choose from things like cuff links, Swedish designed Happy Socks, patterned ties galore and even leather jackets.

Although I can't eat a lot of the things that will be on sale on Gilt Taste I enjoyed perusing the Fresh Truffles, Millecrepe cake, spices and more. Plus one can only dream of the counter space in NYC to own a Kitchenaid mixer.

Many gifts are prices in categories of under $50, $100 and $200 making it easier to check things off your list. Anyways now for a limited time Gilt is running an offer on Free Shipping during the Holidays after you place your first order now through November 26, 2012. Also score an extra 20% off with the promo code 20NOW through November and 20EXTRA through December.

Introducing: Gilt Live

No one could ever accuse Gilt Groupe of lacking in innovation.  They changed the way the world shopped online for designer merchandise by giving shopping a sense of urgency.  


Now Gilt takes things a step further with the launch of Gilt Live on Gilt.com.  The new photo stream format reminds me a little bit of Pinterest but now instead of aspirational images you're seeing what other members are buying in real time.  If you hold your mouse over an image you can see a quick overview of the product - the brand, the price, the cost and when it was purchased.  There are also options to share with your friends through Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.  Items that have five or less remaining will show a countdown in the corner showing that how many are left. 


While I'm not sure what I think of the new format it's fun to quickly browse through multiple categories to see what other people are buying and what you have to move quickly on simultaneously.  While I don't think this will be a shopping game changer by any means it's good to keep pushing forward and try new ways to shop.

Coming Soon: Park & Bond Pop Up Shop

WWD announced that Park and Bond will be collaborating with GQ and hosting a pop up shop in the Meatpacking District.  The store is set to open on December 7-18, 2011 at 414 W 14th St and will offer menswear pieces, footwear, watches and gadgets for shoppers.  The store will also house some items hailed as the "best stuff" of the year which is featured in the December edition of GQ.

The pop up shop is set to have different events running each day including a special promo by Amex for its cardholders.

According to John Auerbach - President of Park and Bond, "we have no plans to add bricks-and-mortar".  To me, not to set up permanent shop makes perfect sense since it goes against the online empire Gilt has built up.  Nonetheless, its always nice to see things in person before you buy. 

If you really can't wait until the shop opens up, head over to Park and Bond (they're currently having a sale online with select items up to 50%).

Midwest Finds: Gilt Groupe Warehouse Sale

Nothing can compare to the shopping in New York, the mecca of flagship stores, sample sales and tax exemption for clothing and footwear under $110. The sales tax in Chicago is 9.75%, the second highest in the country, but there's still some great shopping.

I've already got a few favorite boutiques and consignment shops.  And the sale and clearance racks at mass market stores in Chicago (ex: Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Ann Taylor) tend to have a better selection than the ones in New York just because they're not as picked over. I always have a hard time finding my size in New York, but in Chicago I haven't had a problem.

A couple weeks ago, thanks to a friend I had a ticket to Gilt City Chicago's warehouse sale. It was a great shopping event - cocktails, DJ, and deeply discounted merch! Apparel and shoes were all organized by size, and there was a lot of staff on the floor restocking with goods from the fitting room.  I don't know how often Gilt does these sales, but I will definitely go to the next one.

I left the sale with four pieces - a Alice Ritter dress, a Adam dress, a Kai Aakmann vest, and Marni heels, all for 75-85% off retail.

Here's how I've worn my Gilt finds.

Hand-painted crepe dress - Adam
Donna clutch - courtesy of Katherine Kwei
Flower hair clips - Forever 21
Black pumps - Sergio Rossi

Black silk dress - Alice Ritter

Skinny belt - Urban Outfitters

Green satin clutch - vintage

Blue print heels - Christian Siriano for Payless

Charcoal gray vest - Kai Aakmann
Light gray long sleeve - Uniqlo
Floral jeans - Urban Outfitters
Black bag - Hayden-Harnett
Gray boots - 80%20

My new favorite heels - Marni