Gilt City Warehouse Sale

Thank GOD I scored free tickets to this via Unilocal or I would have been so pissed off to have paid $ 10 – 20 to get into this sub-​par nordstrom rack.
First off, there was supposed to be a line for «press» — but this was such a mess and the line was more or less single line, that there was no way to even look for the line and not come off as a jerk.
After finally getting into the warehouse, I walked up to a bunch of racks of returned-​items, defective cookware, and dusty pillows. Wow. People paid $ 10 – 20 for entry? Come oN! Even the hair straighteners, etc. were a disappointment — pricing and packaging wise. I thought for a brief second to grab a back-​up hair straightener (despite the broken box packaging), grabbed my phone to scan the barcode and found the same thing on Amazon prime for $ 20 cheaper.
The one thing I even thought to buy was a zourishi rice cooker/​steamer that was $ 10 cheaper than Amazon charged. I asked an employee if I could hook it into a wall outlet, and he kind of rolled his eyes «why?» …UM TO CHECK IF AN ELECTRONIC WORKED BEFORE I BOUGHT IT? …considering the no return policy, you’d think this were obvious. He strugged his shoulders and said «if you can find an outlet, go for it.»
I plugged the rice cooker in, and to no avail, the button did not light up in color. I wasn’t giving up. I went to the checkout line and told the guy, «hey, I really want to buy this but the outlet I tried either wasn’t exerting power or this thing is broken. Can i try it somewhere else?» Thankfully, this guy was a little er, quicker than the guy I had asked before and led me to another wall outlet. The rice cooker did not spring to life. Lost cause.
The only thing that made this trip out to the boonies even remotely worth it was the free booze.

An ominously dim entrance into the warehouse opens up to an expansive shopping floor with dim but sufficient lighting (except in the changing rooms) except they could have had more food options.
Cucumber vodka served at the open bar, amongst other flavors, was a great touch, and added a nice buzz to the evening.
There were racks upon racks of stuff, mens shoes and sweaters in general were the bargains. Dress shirts were generally ugly, unfashionable, and poorly sized (think mostly XL).
I would go again if they had a repeat.

This was my first Gilt Warehouse Sale, so I had no idea what to expect. The location makes for easy parking if you come early, ie, before 7pm. But not at 9pm when the event is open to the public!
The entire second floor is where the magic (and stress) happens. The first room you walk into contains the shoe racks, purses and scattered all over the round tables (I did see one girl snag a cute Rebecca Minkoff crossbody– jealous!!), and the communal fitting rooms. The fittings room did not bother me that much, just make sure you’re comfortable with your body and wear a tank & slip on shoes to make for quick in & out. It’s literally just some drapes and poles, held down by sandbags with 3 mirrors. Some ladies will invade your hanging rack, so try not to take it personally.
The next room is huge, full of racks after racks of clothes. They did a good job of the size signage, where are the tops/​jackets and the dresses and bottoms/​skirts. I found it very irritating when I was looking on one side of the rack while some other bat sh-​t crazy women on the other side would push all the clothes around and completely forget her manners. Then she had the nerve to come around to the other side and like SKIP over me cause I was perusing too slow for her. It’s not like these clothes are free, lady, take a chill pill! Some items have tears or stains on them, so you are allowed to ask for an additional discount at checkout! The men’s stuff were slim pickings, nothing you can’t find at Nordstrom Rack or TJ Maxx (as other reviewers have mentioned). Without my husband physically there and no return policy, I did not buy a single item.
The last room is home furnishings, appliances, rugs, jewelry, and children’s clothing. Some of the kitchen appliances were great deals, if that’s what you’re in the market for. If you’re shopping for a mom-​to-​be, this is also a good area to shop.
I love the free booze while you shop idea, but as previously mentioned, some folks leave all their manners at home, so I’d recommend getting your elbows out and quenching your thirst after you’ve tried on a few pieces. The lines for the women’s fitting room is long, so I do recommend wearing a tank you can try things over and slip on shoes like ballet flats or Toms. I highly recommend you double fist as you make your way downstairs to the checkout line because it is long, however, the cashiers do move rather quickly. It’s all about the plastic here, no cash makes for faster service– so Gilt’s nailed that down!
So the grand question, what did I walk out with? I did find a $ 400+ cashmere cowl neck sweater for $ 59. I had one dress in my bag that wasn’t tagged, so I don’t know if she just tossed it in my bag or what, but I wasn’t about to say anything. I did find this cute black floral shirt that had a tear in the seam, so I was given an additional 10% off at checkout. Lastly, a pair real calf hair heels (sorry PETA) for $ 19, which were originally $ 129. I would come again next year as part of the Media Preview group, but not as the general public group because the racks were picked clean when I came back for larger sizes after my fitting room session.

Beyond words the worst sample sale or even sale I have ever been to. Not good quality or selection. Save your money and go to Nordstrom rack. Totally bummed this is what gilt calls a warehouse sale.

This sucks. It’s a broke ass Nordstrom rack. The lines for dressing room are 15 mins and it has been picked over. Don’t really care about the $ 10 but seriously give me $ 10 and I will open the door to nordys rack for you. One plus free drinks and water.

Racks on racks on racks.
As a disclosure: I’m so unbelievably cheap it almost hurts. My closet is full of last-​chance markdowns from Amazon, TJMaxx, and Nordstrom Rack. But on the bright side I can proudly say I own some beautiful $ 500+ designer pieces that I’ve spent less than $ 50 for. I’ll never spend upwards of even $ 75 on anything unless I’m absolutely in love with it — even then I’m hesitant. I walked into the Gilt City Warehouse Sale with my $ 25 Media Preview ticket with this mentality.
The event was reminiscent of tacky Black Friday madness, but with a slightly more refined clientele and some Valentino, Marni, and Isabel Marant splashed in here and there. People weren’t super rude or pushy but it certainly was not a stroll in the park. The DJ’s high-​tempo fist pumping music only encouraged the intensity of shoppers.
Were the prices good? Worth the chaos? Yes, but not cheap enough for me. I managed to score a $ 200 beaded blouse for $ 15 and a $ 299 striped frock for $ 15, but those were by far the best deals I could find. I found some Sam Edelman sandals that I already owned and paid less for on Amazon six months ago (yes, I’m that good). If I was willing to drop more than $ 75 on a designer silk blouse I would have left with a whole new wardrobe, but alas, this girl’s got college debt.
This event is worth a visit, but you have to be patient. The vodka cocktails were a nice touch as well.

checked out Chicago’s first Gilt City Warehouse sale last weekend w/​some friends – to those who aren’t familiar (i wasn’t until recently), Gilt CIty is kind of an upscale variation on the members-​only online lifestyle/​shopping a la Groupon business in most of the big US cities
. in the last 1 – 2 years they’ve started rolling out these 24hr warehouse sales in NYC and other places, where unsold merchandise for a particularly season is unloaded via 2hr blocks at these 21-​and-​up, ticket-​only, «dramatically discounted» no-​returns-​allowed rates, usually in huge and/​or abandoned buildings people would never otherwise visit. some of these deals are great, others are ripoffs, and the merchandise can be pristine or completely trashed. tickets for the opening session are always a little more expensive b/​c the goods haven’t been picked over yet, but there is free booze/​food/​makeup and music at each one and they can be fun to go to even if you don’t buy anything.
we bought $ 10 tickets to the 11am-​1pm Saturday morning venue. a line had started to form around 10:30am, and no one was let through the door until right at 11:00am, apparently so the staff had a chance to replete the merchandise from the 9am-​11am session. it wasn’t mass chaos like you see on Black Friday, but i was glad we got there early – accessories were definitely gone first, followed by shoes and then clothing. New Amsterdam kept the vodka flowing w/​a red and white wine alternative PRN, next to hightops w/​Perrier sparkling water, KIND energy bars, chilled Illy espresso-​in-​a-​can, and a DJ who actually did a pretty good rotation of all my favorite high-​school-​era (damn writing that makes me feel old!) hits from the early 2000’s [think Nelly Ride wit Me.] they had personal shoppers to help scour the aisles as well. i loved and had a lot of fun w/​it; only saw one fool get completely sloppy and spill her glass on a box of men’s scarves, but it was my friend on merchandise i had just bought and she kind of does this even when we’re at Mariano’s~
both mens and womens shoes were pretty worse for the wear from the start, as were a lot of the t-​shirts and jackets – whether b/​c of people like my beloved shopping companion or simply b/​c that’s why they were being discounted, who knows. i walked away w/​about $ 100 of merchandise that would probably have been about $ 500 on their website, but also came into it w/​tempered expectations. will definitely check out some their future warehouse sales, and try to get an earlier slot.