Lineblogging: The View from the Botkier Queue

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The corner of Lafayette and Broome has turned into a Botkier convention this morning, as hundreds of ladies carrying Botkier bags and wearing Botkier shoes wait to enter the Botkier sale. The line inspires fierce devotion, but all the label love comes from a more practical place: Anyone in Botkier gets an additional 10% off. Our own Botkier-carrying correspondent Fawnia Soo Hoo is embedded in the line—follow along below for updates on the wait, and head over here for the early reviews.

11:54am: Well, I'm still in line. I've moved about 30 feet in the past twenty minutes. At least it's a nice day out. Took a quick peek inside the store: It's pretty spacious with tables full of bags. They're really limiting the number of shoppers in at one time.

11:57am: Oh! Now I'm next to a side window and I can see that there is a line for checkout. No wonder this line isn't moving. Women are buying like three bags at a time.

11:58am: Observations from behind me: "Wow, she is rackin' up!"

12:00pm: I can see a sign inside telling shoppers that they can only hold up to three bags at one time. No hoarding!

12:02pm: I can see some price lists from this vantage points. Wallets and pouches are $75 to $95. Small bags start at $50, medium-sized bags are $125 to $175 and large handbags are $225 to $295. The bulk of large ones seem to be $250 and $275.

12:05pm: They're passing around a clipboard to collect email addresses and also select from what source we heard about the sale (e.g. DailyCandy, BagSnob, NYPost.)

12:07pm: There's a couple behind me. The boyfriend has been super-sweet to his girlfriend the whole time, bringing her juice and offering to go to Starbucks. I just heard him say to his friend on the phone that he's "spending some quality time" with his gf.

12:10pm: OK! Finally made it onto Lafayette. Some ladies just walked out carrying six large shopping bags total. The guy behind me stares in disbelief. Clearly he's an amateur.

12:15pm: Shoppers are slowly trickling out, carrying stuffed brown paper shopping bags. Haven't seen one walk out empty-handed yet.

12:19pm: Ha! A guy talking on his cell just slowed down to gawk at us as he was walking by, yelling "What the fuck is going on?" to his friend.

1:22pm: There are about 15 people in front of me, and I'm pushing an hour wait now. I can hear excited conversation from inside. It looks like most women are here on their own, though. Extended lunch break?

12:24pm: Quality-time boyfriend just left. Guess there's only so much one can take.

12:27pm: A staffer just walked by and gave everyone's bag a slow, drawn-out once-over. Only one person has exited in the past five minutes.

12:29pm: So close. Five people in front of me.

12:30pm: Ack! He let in those five and I'm still outside.

12:32pm: In! Stay tuned for photos and the full report.