Sample sale scrums

It's rare that anyone in fashion pays full price for anything. Aside from the freebie whoring and gifting that goes on, pretty much every high end and high street store gives out discount cards (GAP and Topshop's are most coveted) and, over time, most editors will develop a 'special relationship' with a designer who'll give them key pieces each season. So you'd think sample sales would be oh-so serene; almost an afterthought. Not a chance! WWD has a report today of New Yorkers literally trampling over women (pregnant and otherwise) to get their hands on half-price Manolo Blahnik at the press sale and I've been in many a similar scrum this side of the ocean. 

By far the jewel in the crown of UK sample sales is Chanel's. It's the only way you'll ever get your hands on discounted Chanel as the fashion house is so protective of it's brand it would rather burn unsold goods than allow them to be sold to the likes of TK Maxx. (Tragic, non?) Invites are limited strictly to those who've heavily 'supported' the brand in the past six months, they're non transferable and you're expected to bring your passport with you to verify identification when paying. I'm entirely serious. Fashion assistants luckily enough to have made the list arrive at Claridges from 6am, dressed down in flats, jeans and as few layers as possible - essential when you're going to be trying on jackets in between cramped rails. Fashion editors and a few stylists get there at 9am to see the queue snaking around the block. No one dares queue jump such is the competition to pick up two-piece Chanel suits for £100, shoes for £50, jewellery starting at £20 and bags that would retail for thousands of pounds for a fraction of the price. When the doors open promptly at 9.30am, the first girls in the queue run - literally run - across the marble floors of the hotel's lobby. Bags disappear first, swept up by the first 10 people in the door, and jewellery's not far behind (it's not there every season so considered a luxury). Then you inevitably go on to buy at least three times more than you'd budgeted for - not necessarily because you love it, but just because it's Chanel. The majority will sit in your wardrobe unworn for years, but at least you'll have something to show and tell when you get back to the office that's been deserted for the morning.

Not all sample sales are as crazy as Chanel. Christian Louboutin - where you can get the famous red-soled shoes from about £100 - almost competes in terms of the queueing system. Stella McCartney always draws a crowd but is mostly famous for the hideous lack of anywhere to change. You're literally forced to strip down in the middle of a warehouse and fight your way through ten people to get a corner of a mirror if you want to purchase that £40 silk playsuit. Burberry only ever put the most obvious pieces from last season in their sample sale and it's not that cheap. By far my favourite, is the Prada/Miu Miu one. It's calm enough that you can get there at 2pm, have a cup of tea with the PRs, and still manage to get your hands on serious bargains. We're talking shoes from £40 and bags from £80. There's only one sacrosanct rule of sample sales: never admit that's where your amazing new purchases came from in the outside world...