I went to the Gilt City DC warehouse sale over the weekend. It's a bi-annual event held in multiple cities across the country. My sister-in-law had an extra ticket for Sat. at 11am and asked if I wanted to go. Of course! Sleep can be caught up another day. Also, I've never been to these sample/warehouse-type sales before, so if anything, it'd be a fun experience.

We arrived about 45 mins early and there were already ~20 people ahead of us. While waiting in line, we saw most people from the 9am time slot leave with a white shopping bag containing their goodies. I was just thinking, I hope there's some good stuff left! Time to put on my big girl pants, roll my sleeves, and ready to be aggressive if need be. At 11am, we were promptly let inside. Coats and large bags were checked at the door.

Before going in, a security guard gave us a heads up that shoes have been pretty much picked over. Even with that knowledge in mind, my game plan was: shoes, bags, then clothes in that order. Sure enough, there was one sad table with less than 15 pairs of shoes left. I was disappointed, but the feeling didn't compare to when I realized there were no bags at this sale. Nor were there accessories or jewelry. Cue mental tears. Oh well, off to the clothes section I go.

Clothes racks were marked sizes XS-XL, but of course there were put backs placed in the wrong section. As expected, the selection was better for larger sizes. Regardless of size, I thought there were way too many pieces not worth the price tag (due to item condition). Gilt advertised this sale as up to 90% off retail, but I felt the dollar prices in general were only a tad lower than their online prices. Factor in damages (I saw ripped embroidery, missing buttons, stains -- makeup and unknown), and I think most people would gladly pay a bit more for pristine items while shopping from the comfort of their own home.

The one item I did bring home was a jacket by RED Valentino, as featured in today's outfit below. It retailed for $595 and I paid $110. One could say I got a "steal" at 80% off, but monetary-wise, it is still a hundred dollars. Out of the few items that I grabbed and tried on, this jacket was the one that I didn't expect much of. Lo and behold, I actually liked the cropped style on me. I'm wearing a US 6/EU 44 and probably could've gone down one size (had I been able to find one). But since my shoulders are broader relative to my torso, I don't think the bagginess is too noticeable and works as a cute topper -- or perhaps that's just my sale-addled brain talking.

Some final parting thoughts on the sale...

- Gilt charges a price for admission. From what I gathered, the first time slot on Fri. night was reserved for VIPs (7-9pm). Tickets weren't sold so I don't even know how one gets on the VIP list. I would imagine many of the good items were picked over during this time slot. The next time slot (9-11pm) and first that's open to the public costs $20 to enter. All other time slots were held the next day from 9am-5pm in two-hour intervals. All tickets on Sat. cost $10 with the exception of the last time slot, which went for $5. For the Sat. time slots, Gilt marked down the prices another 30%. I'm assuming the prices on Fri. did not include this additional markdown. So it's worth weighing the pros/cons to see if an extra $10 up front on Fri. night is worth it for potentially better selection vs. smaller selection on Sat. but with an additional 30% markdown.

- Manage expectations. I think upon hearing "sample and warehouse sale!" most people are expecting amazing deals. Not always true. The items being sold are still designer, so even when marked down a good percentage, the price being sold at is probably only considered "reasonable" to the average person.

- It must've been nice to be a guy at this sale. Their shoe selection was 5x larger compared to the women's, though their clothes section was probably 1/3 the size of the women's. But given the much smaller population of males at the sale, odds were definitely in their favor. There was also a small section for baby/kids clothes.

- After hearing stories from friends who have been to Barneys warehouse sales and the like, I was ready for a no holds barred-type of atmosphere. Instead, everyone was so civilized! I heard multiple "Oh I'm sorry" when two girls reached for the same item. When a girl realized she was cutting in front of me, she apologized and moved behind me. I shot her a befuddled look because I'm not sure I would've done the same. Afterwards, I talked to SIL about this and she said it's probably a DC thing because in NY, there are no apologies to be heard. Or perhaps this is just a non-NY thing? Regardless, it was quite interesting.

- Would I go to another Gilt warehouse sale? Sure, if I somehow become an overnight VIP. Otherwise, I don't know. $10 isn't horrible in the grand scheme of things because Gilt provides alcoholic refreshments/water, snacks, and a DJ, so it's something fun to do with friends for a couple of hours.