Lineblogging

A Surprisingly Small Crowd Gathers Early for Christian Louboutin

By Fawnia Soo Hoo Nov 17, 2010, 7:12am EST

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Yesterday, the highly-anticipated Christian Louboutin sale opened its doors early for very VIPS like Blake Lively. This morning, the first official "press" day of the sale is upon us. For the lucky few that secured the invitation and official RSVP confirmation, their sheer joy is probably on par with receiving an ivy league acceptance letter or winning the lottery. Esteemed Racked New York editor Izzy Grinspan is on-site to document the madness. Stay tuned for more?.

7:05am: Morning! I'm waiting with about 20 ladies outside the sale.

7:11am: Maybe it's more like 30, but it's not a giant crowd yet. People are sitting on the floor in the lobby, but then the line spills into the street.

7:14am: A staffer just asked us to move the line up against the wall under a dripping awning. So now we're all getting dripped on.

7:16am: Blond woman walks by and commiserates with all of us: "Why did we get up this early again?"

7:26am: Girls in front of me just asked if they needed an invitation to get in. Oh boy.

7:27am: Now they're talking about finding people who will let them in as their plus-ones.

7:31am: The line is like 50 people now.

7:36am: A man has been spotted! So that makes like 65 to 70 women now and one man.

7:38am: This is a well-dressed group. Wonder if anyone's trying the Fashion Week strategy of just looking good so they let you in, even if you're not on the list.

7:39am: First pair of Loubs spotted! That's commitment.

7:48am: It's not a bad day for waiting in line. The awning has even stopped dripping.

7:49am: There are four guys in all black hanging out by a van in front of the entrance. Assuming that they're security.

The arch is the main entrance. Note the muscle on the right.

7:53am: Or maybe they're just guys with a van—one of them just asked, "What are they waiting for?"

7:56am: The staffer who rearranged the line earlier is wearing a really great pair of red-and-navy striped wedge Loubs. That makes two pairs spotted.

7:57am: I see a former Street Scenes subject! She's a stylist, so that makes sense.

7:59am: The line has officially hit the corner.

8:07am: The guy from the dripping awning store just arrived to open up shop. He's being very sheepish about disturbing the line.

8:11am: Two tiny kids are shouting, "Hi baby birdy" at a little bird. The entire line goes "awww" in unison.

8:17am: They've definitely let in the first group. The whole crowd in the lobby is gone.

8:20am: Three girls just got to cut the line. Does that make them the VIPs of the post-VIP press day? The hierarchy here is so complex.

8:26am: They just let in five more people. I'm towards the front, so hopefully I'll be in the next group.

8:28am: The bouncer is explaining to the girls in front of us, "There is no public sale. Everyone who comes in has been invited, they've RSVP'd, and they're on our list."

8:30am: So far lots of people have gone in, but barely anyone has come out.

8:31am: The bouncer just told our crasher friends that they really can't get in. "Maybe Friday afternoon, but that's it."

8:42am: I'm next in line. Any minute now...

8:53am: Ladies just came out with some bags. "The selection is dim. Minimal." Apparently there's not much in popular sizes, but 40s and 41s should have better luck.

8:57am: OK, now another shopper is saying that the selection is pretty good. She says that they're letting in 30 people at a time and giving them a 20 minute limit.

8:59am: Big rush just came out, all with bags.

9:00am: Random observation: There is a lot of leopard print on this line.

9:03am: In! Well, in the lobby. Ten of us are waiting to be checked in.

9:08am: They've been going down a list of RSVP'd people. Everyone has a plus one. A random woman just walked in and said she was here for Louboutin. The publicist asked if she'd waited in line and she replies, "Wait, that whole line is for the sale?"

9:09am: In!!!