I’ve previously shared how I recently became of a fan of Boden. Having purchased a few items from the company earlier this fall, they deemed me worthy of receiving notification for their upcoming Sample Sale in Boston.
Unfortunately, Boden has yet to set up stores in America. So, to meet the needs of their U.S. customers, they hold sample sales in various locations around the country. Fortunately, one of their regular spots is near me, and fortunately, I also was able to get my friend, Kelly, to go along.
Not having been to the Boden Sample Sale before, Kelly and I weren’t exactly sure what to expect. Here are a few things we learned:
1. Get there early…really early!
The sale was supposed to begin at 10am and run until 4pm. Kelly and I had decided to arrive at 9 o’clock – one hour early. When I arrived at the venue, I asked one of the guards at the front door where to go. I knew the event would be interesting he chuckled and replied, “Follow the chatter of women.” Well, I did just that, and soon stumbled upon this….
If you can’t see the end of the hall, it’s ’cause you can’t! The line was so incredibly long and this photo doesn’t show it all. As you can see from the photo, the line curved towards the right. Then, what you can’t see is that it continued, wrapping around the corner and then all the way around a rotunda adjacent to the hallway. We happened to end up in that rotunda right in front of the bathrooms…awesome.
That being said, once the doors did open, we got into the sale room rather quickly. But, if you want first crack at the clothes arriving super early is key!
2. Bring a large shopping bag and a smartphone.
As Kelly and I were waiting for the doors to open, we lucked out, sitting next to a couple of women who had been to the Sample Sale before. As we were peppering them with questions, one of them exclaimed, “Wait! You don’t have a shopping bag!?” Turns out, when entering a Sample Sale, a HUGE bag, such as this one from Landsend, is necessary.
The clothes are piled high in stacks atop of tables, and while they are organized by size, most of the clothes are in plastic bags. Therefore, the preferred shopping method is grabbing anything that looks remotely attractive and stuffing it into your giant bag so that no one else has an opportunity to grab it. Women fill their bags to the brim, often overflowing, and then drag them into the far corners of the room to hide their stash as they try on each item. Then, their friends take pictures of them in each item because there are no real dressing rooms, which means no mirrors.
3. Wear a spandex suit.
I ended up buying a dress that I really liked at the sale. Sorry for the low quality picture.
Because there were no dressing rooms, however, I made the mistake of wearing “normal” clothes – corduroy pants and a flowy tank top – when trying it on. So, when I got home and actually tried the dress on sans pants and top, it turned out to be a little too big! Hopefully, some alterations will help. Nonetheless, many women were more adventurous than I was , and simply stripped naked in the middle of the big room. While I’m not a complete prude, let me just say, “Ladies, there is such a thing as spandex. Please wear it!”
