Long Waits But Lots of Leather at the Hermès Sale

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• The Pochette scarves
• We apologize for the blurriness of some photos, because alas, photos are also not allowed in the sale.
• The bag display
• The lone Garden totes
• Leather ties and a couple skinnies - fancy!
• Hermes goes Hipster with leather chauffeur's caps and fedoras

Upon entering the Hermès sale after a two-hour wait, there was one question burning in our minds (aside from "Are there Garden Totes left?!" and "What about the bracelets?" of course. Don't worry, we have you covered.) So what's the deal with the babies: Bring them or find a sitter? Well, turns out, Soiffer Haskin usually does not allow them, but makes a special exception specifically for the Hermès sale. Which makes this a very special sale indeed.

Once you've waited in the monster line and checked your bag, jacket, scarf (designer or not), hat and will to take photos at the door, the sale begins. Let's start with the bags and small leather goods to the immediate left of the room.

There are a smattering of Garden Totes left, mainly in brown and magenta. The Garden File Tote is marked down to $937.50 and the rectangular version is $1125. We also saw different prints of the SilkyPop fold-up silk scarf bags built into the zip-up leather case and colors for $537—sustainability has never been so luxurious or expensive! Also spotted: The suitcase-like Omnibus bag in white for $4360, a medium size maroon canvas and leather shoulder bag (sorry, we didn't get the name) for $1750 and a plethora of Onimaitou pochettes priced at $330 for leather. There was also a lone orange croc version for $2540. Just in case you're thinking of stocking up, there is a five-bag limit.

A look through the small leather goods (there was a wall of determined ladies at this counter) turned up a small Bearn wallet for $1050, a really cute cell phone case in bold colors for $510 and a three-fold wallet for $1215.

Of course, we must discuss the scarves. Ladies were seriously stocking up on these, probably up to the ten-scarf limit. As usual, they are neatly displayed on tables in the middle of the sale. Twill scarves are $225 each, marked down from $375, and Pochette scarves are $78 each (both for the "H" pattern and prints). We also found a shelf of men's scarves (but it was all ladies buying them and they did look kinda femme) which are a relative bargain at around $144 each. True, there's a little less material, but you're tying it around your neck anyway. There are also fancier Spanish lace style scarves for $540 in black and orange.

The jewelry is located in or on glass display cases on the right. The enamel bracelets are priced at $276 for the thin, $306 for medium width and $396 for the widest (tons of patterns—stripes, polkadots, floral). We also saw the double band bracelets with the "H" charm in black and brown leather for $282. There were also the leather rings with "H" charms for $382.50 (from $1275) and a simple Hermes round logo ring for $140.

Belt pricing ranges from $198 for non-leather seatbelt-material belt to $408 for a thin strap leather "H" buckle number to $855 for an obi-style wide one. Also in this section: Dog collars starting around $227.

The guys are probably dying to know about the ties at this point. The silk ties are $225 (from $375) and twill ties are $102 (from $170). Sadly, most of the skinny ties are sold out, but there are a couple twill ones left in stripe and chevron stripe patterns (as of this morning, that is). We were also admiring the leather ties (Hermès, we didn't realize you could be so sexy) in camel, black, neon pink and orange, plus a couple with raised diagonal texture. Yummy, but they come at a price: $438 to be exact. There is also a ten-tie limit.

So what else did we see? There were hats in the back, complete with the ubiquitous fedora, but in this case in red corduroy and priced at $264. The leather Parisienne chauffeur's cap seemed to be popular, too, at $248. We glanced through ladies' shoes and found black suede Talisman ankle boots for $490, Sunlight patent color-block platform sandals for $338 (from $970), and gold woven Seville wedges for $590. There was apparel, ignored as usual and oh—random item of the day: Suede and leather chaps (in brown and black) for $450.

We have to say, we're kind of loving Soiffer Haskin as the new home of the Hermès sale. Sure, they have what may seem like Draconian shopping laws, but sometimes people need distinct rules to create a happy and prosperous society. (It's like Singapore! OK, maybe we're going out on a limb here.) So all that policing of the line, escorting guests to the bathroom and banning scarves and strollers made the inside of the sale a pleasant and orderly experience.

The staffers couldn't have been nicer, either. Without us even asking, the nice helpful gentleman staffing the ties actually looked in the back for extra skinny ties and then tracked us down at the back of the sale to show us what he found. That's amazing customer service, especially for a sample sale, although it scared the crap out of us because we were trying to covertly snap a photo of the hats (and made us feel really guilty because we weren't going to buy a tie anyway).

Only personal credit cards are accepted (no debit cards, either) and as mentioned in the lineblog, the checkout may take up to 1.5 hours. The line was still at Ninth Avenue when we left around 11am and the courteous staffer outside said that he expected the line to last until at least 3pm. They aren't replenishing, though, so how badly do you want that tote or skinny tie?
· Hordes Mass on 33rd Street for the Infamous Hermès Sale [Racked]
· Dealfeed: Hermès [Racked]