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Hike to the Hudson River this weekend to check out the Gilt City Warehouse Sale, taking place at Metropolitan West (across the street from the Intrepid) through tomorrow evening. You'll need a $10 ticket to enter (they're still available for after 1pm), but that fee is pretty paltry when considering that you're basically entering a conglomerate of every single sample sale rolled into one (with free champagne and Pop Chips, to boot.)
Head straight to the second floor and pass by the overwhelming amount of clothing racks organized by size—we'll come back to that later—and start with the shoes, where the real bounty lies. The first rack we saw had Giuseppe Zanotti next to Isabel Marant next to Tabitha Simmons, with LK Bennett ($75) and Jimmy Choo ($395) not far away. Everything here was on the dressy side, with some casual sandals from local favorite Matt Bernson ($39) thrown in.
There's plenty of styles ranging from sizes 6 to 11 (half sizes included) and a table in the back with taller boots, with brands ranging from Steven by Steve Madden to Sorel to Barbara Bui ($285). Men had a healthy selection of both work-appropriate and casual shoes from the likes of John Varvatos and Gordon Rush, plus a shiny orange pair of DSquared2 patent leather loafers for $275.
Once you've gotten your fill of footwear, go back to apparel. When you enter the second floor, racks with large sizes are to your right, and get smaller as you go to the left. Extra-smalls have the biggest selection here, which might actually be more of a curse rather than a blessing because there is just so. much. stuff. here. These racks are packed.
The front of each rack is labeled with a super general category, like dresses, tops (which includes jackets, airy blouses, and tanks) and bottoms (jeans, silk pants, skirts, shorts, etc., etc., etc.) And within each of those categories, you could literally find something for every season and every occasion. Plenty of designer names are buried in here—you can find Dolce & Gabbana skinny white jeans for $95 (from $305), an Oscar de la Renta sweater for $329, an Ohne Titel dress for $165, and even a legit wedding gown (that could use a good steam, but couldn't we all) for $615 (from $1,750). Be sure to take your time to hunt through for the big names, but don't pass over the unheard-of brands, either: We really liked a fake-leather jacket going for a mere $15.
The men have the same incredibly broad range of merchandise options as well, starting with Brazilian soccer jerseys for $5. We spotted Hudson jeans for $65 (from $205), a $78 tee that was reduced to just $9, and even a three-piece suit from Tiger of London for just $155 (from $1,034). The outerwear selection seemed to be the most robust, with plenty of weather jackets and cold-weather styles from the likes of Andrew Marc for much, much less than retail.
Once you've had your fill upstairs, you can browse the tables of purses and miscellany on the lower level, which weren't all too thrilling. A decent purse from Kate Spade, Rebecca Minkoff, Joy Gryson, or even Furla could be found on one of the two handbag tables near the entrance for under $200 (and for much less, in some cases), but the pickings were slim and sometimes damaged, too.
Speaking of damage, you could do just that on the table spilling over with lingerie from the likes of Elle Macpherson Intimates, Hanky Panky, Free People, and Splendid, with many of the panties going for $9. There's also a selection of brightly colored swimwear here, but you might have trouble finding the matching pieces for bikinis among the jumbled bins.
Elsewhere on this level you'll find bedding; kid's items like clothing, games, and shoes; a small selection of beauty from names like Laura Mercier; $20 jewelry; and scarves. You won't be missing out if you skip over these tables and stick around for the fun extras, like hanging out on the couches in front of the bar serving La Marca Prosecco and Darkhorse wines and makeup looks courtesy of Zyrtec, so that you'll still look cute while you're sneezing your way through the season. In case you haven't gotten your tickets yet, click the link up above to guarantee your two-hour shopping slot.