The Shopping Kingdom
After much thought and research, I’ve come up with a new taxonomy for shopping. It’s like the food pyramid, only upside down, more bottom-heavy (no pun intended). Though in my case it’s more like a really wide rectangle. I’ve got a similar taxonomy for movies: what you’d go see the first weekend; later in the run; on DVD; at a screening; on demand; on regular cable… But anyhow, without further ado:
At the top there are some things you just know you have to have, at the beginning of each season (or even before, as the case may be): that Louboutin espadrille you just know will be sold out forever, the Chloe handbag you’ll wear all season, that “it” item that everyone will want, like the white eyelet Nanette Lepore top you had your eye on ages ago but then disappeared from the racks once it had the misfortune (for you anyway) of being featured in Lucky. For those items, it’s you snooze, you lose.
Next, there’s the second tier of items that you know you can wait til the first 40% markdown to buy: generally Prada shoes (except for that one variation of a signature style that’s only sold at Bergdorf’s, say, which would put it in the category above), maybe Missoni pieces (especially in small sizes, which get snapped up quickly). N.B. there is a subcategory (or should it be supercategory?) here: the stuff that forces you to go to the one-night-only private sales, which are usually about a month before the first sales. Some Marc Jacobs bags fall in this area.
And then at the bottom there are the pieces that you may not have even thought you liked, much less have paid full price, but during Last Call you just can’t pass up. Never mind a second look — try a third or fourth. The purchase of said goods is usually also encouraged by the massive peer pressure felt on the day after Christmas, early in the morning, when you are surrounded by hundreds of other shoppers grabbing everything in sight.
In this final category I place Tory Burch, because let’s be honest, after a while one tunic looks like all the rest (though I do like the new dresses in the pre-fall collection). On the other hand, also in this category are Manolos, because except for the rare item that you buy immediately, (1) you can never have too many Manolos, (2) Manolos never go out of style, and (3) no matter how odd the color, a sale Manolo is a great Manolo. Okay, maybe there are some exceptions…
Technorati Tags: shopping, sales, Last Call, Neiman Marcus, Manolo Blahnik
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