Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Rejoice scarfies: This morning brings the opening of the legendary Hermès sample sale, where lovers of luxury accessories typically wait for up to four hours for a crack at fancy adornments at cut-rate prices. Will the "R" word thin the crowds a bit this time? A Racked correspondent is on the scene; stay tuned to find out.
8:55am: I just got here (traffic!). It's insane. At least, at least, a few hundred people. The first woman in line got here at 6am.
9:03am: Mostly women waiting out here, but I have seen the occasional dapper man. Line doesn't appear to be wrapped around the block yet—definitely a smaller turnout than last time. Line just began moving!
9:04am: False alarm: Line has stopped moving. Someone's here handing out fliers for the Stark carpet sale. Yes, moving again. The wait might not be that bad this time.
9:08am: My neighbors in line all appear to be Japanese. People behind me are speaking it, and woman in front of me is reading a book in either Chinese or Japanese.
9:11am: See at least one older businessman-looking type in a suit. Immediately start imagining that he's a laid-off banker who pretends to his family that he's going to work every day, only to scour sample sales.
9:13am: The line is actually moving pretty swiftly.
9:20am: The queue behind me is now like 50 people and seems to be growing. Don't see anyone coming out yet with bags.
9:24am: I'm in! And waiting in the lobby. This has to be a record.
9:26am: They're letting in 10 people at a time. Once you're in, you wait in the lobby, then apparently wait upstairs, and it sounds like there might be one more wait after it. At least it's warmer this way.
9:28am: In a new line upstairs. They're getting everyone to throw out their coffee, then letting us in five at a time. This is a well-oiled machine.
9:32am: I'm finally, finally in. They've got the tie and scarf bar set up, as usual. Ties, normally $170, are $98. Of course, limit ten per customer. Twill and print scarves, normally $375, are $225. They're also enforcing the 10-per-customer limit on the scarves.
Check back for more pricing information, and photos from inside the sale.
Loading comments...