Shop Gotham is offering a one time only deal for tours the week of March 8th – 14, 2010.  Individual tickets for both our Soho & Nolita shopping tours and Garment Center “insider” tours are 50% off. That is correct. Half price! Maximum of 2 tickets per guest. Tickets can only be purchased directly by calling Shop Gotham at 917-599-6650. Mention: March Deal. Tickets are VERY limited (max of 12 person per tour)

Get a jump on your spring wardrobe! we look forward to showing you our city.  For details on tours and tour times, please see: www.shopgotham.com

__________________________________________________________

Occasionally, its worth noting what we uncovered on a shopping tour. On last week’s Garment Center tour, we hit the bi-annual gargantuan Shoe-In Sample Sale. Even though it was Day 3, our 10 guests walked out with 25 pairs of boots/shoes. Timberland, Tory Burch and Michael Kors were the big scores  mostly in the $49 range. NYC Sample Sales rock! even in the winter. Come on aboard with us.  www.shopgotham.com/daily-new-york-shopping-

________________________________________________________

If you are coming to NYC and want to shop these sample sales, Shop Gotham’s Garment Center tour will take you to a small choice selection and provide you with a list of all the others. Its NYC, its fun, it shopping! www.shopgotham.com 

____________________________________________________

We like to give a heads-up about the Sample Sale “high” season. Typically, it commences mid-november, but our recession radar claims we can expect an early onslaught.    By early november, the designer for much less options will make your head swirl. As always, Shop Gotham will vet out the worthwhile from the junk-

See Shop Gotham Garment Center “insider” tours.

www.shopgotham.com

Dont have tickets to the Bryant Park shows but going to be in NYC  Wed. Sept 16th? Being a bystander can be almost as much fun. Milly, Tory Burch & Anna Sui are among the hot designers showing tomorrow. Stand outside to see not just the designers arrive, but the oh so cool guest lists. Bryant Park, NYC. Fifth and Sixth Avenues between 40th & 42nd streets

www.shopgotham.com

August Shopping Tours

August in NYC is a little tricky. It’s hot and muggy. We are wearing our whites and flip flops and yet the stores are dying to show off their new winter wools.

Retail: A FABULOUS time to get amazing sales on summer wear! Remember that there is always next summer to wear it too! The indie boutiques in particular are where you want to shop. See: www.shopgotham.com/daily-new-york-shopping-tours.php for what’s doing in Soho/Nolita

Wholesalers : Sample Sales are pretty much on hiatus in August. Which is why Shop Gotham’s Garment Center Insider tour is especially valuable at this time. We got the insider to wholesalers all year round. See: www.shopgotham.com/daily-new-york-shopping-tours.php

Shopping Tours for Specialty Groups

Happen to be Coming to NYC with a Student group in need of education and entertainment. Or a finicky Corporate Spouse group? Did you know that Shop Gotham hosts dozens of these type of programs each year, catering to the whims of young, discerning, and everything in-between. Let us give your peeps an insider shopping experience as only NYC can afford. Meet designers, shop like a VIP, enjoy discounts, special access and all kinds of other booty. For more info: http://www.shopgotham.com/custom-group-tours.php

Today we went to see the cast of Hair play softball against the cast of Billy Elliot at Heckscher ball fields in Central Park. What a fun thing to do, even for long-time New Yorkers. If you are coming to NYC this summer, love to shop and also want to do some of the truly “cool” NYC stuff, here is a suggestion for a great 5 hours. 

Start out with a Shop Gotham 3-hour Garment Center “Insider” Tour commencing at 10am, Wed’s & Fri’s. Wholesale showrooms and sample sales – only in NYC. www.shopgotham.com 

Follow this with a stroll to the Heckscher field in Central Park, at 63rd street, just off Central Park West

Grab a sandwhich or burger at the Ballpark Cafe adjacent to the field.

Watch the world-class broadway stars compete against each other in the Broadway Show League. Again, only in NYC!   http://www.broadwayshowleague.com.

Subscribe to Shop Gotham New York Shopping News:(1 issue per month) and we will send you our semi-annual NYC Resource List of the best fashion odds & ends (such as the VERY best stores for bras, special size shoes, plus size fashion) –www.shopgotham.com)

WHAT EXACTLY IS A SAMPLE SALE? Once upon a time, Sample Sales were the place to buy one-of-a kind items created by a designer for the purpose of selling his/her line each season to retailers. Some items never even went to production, making them oh-so-coveted. Typically these sample items were size 4-8, depending on what the designer determined as his/her “model” size.

Today (circa 2009) Sample Sales are synomous with OVERSTOCK – the goods left over after all the stores have made their purchases.  Which means that real people can shop these sales too, as ALL the sizes a designer produces can typically be found. Often, but not always, there are also those coveted sample pieces which were never produced (and sometimes past seasons’ items as well). Expect savings of 50-70% below retail.

WHY CAN WE BUY ITEMS “In Season” WHEN THEY ARE STILL IN THE STORES? The fashion industry sells their items 2 seasons ahead to the retailers.  When spring arrives (for instance) and you are ready to buy your wardrobe,  designers are busy selling their goods to the stores for the Fall.  Hence, if they have overstock, there is nowhere for it to go except to off-price stores, outlets and into the consumer’s hands directly via Sample Sales.  Although Sample Sales have become more and more abundant in recent years,(they are especially good in a failing economy) they are still frequented primarily by those who live and work in their respective areas, not the masses of shoppers. This is why the stores selling the same items at full price do not publicly object to their existence.

WHAT TO EXPECT? Some sample sales are truly amazing: abundant stock, well organized, ample dressing rooms and huge discounts. Some have none of these good qualities. Some will be designers with great name recognition and cache (in NYC this week one can find Tory Burch, Diane Von Furstenberg and Lauren Moffet). Some for lesser known names, but for those” in-the-know”, these can offer the most unique and valuable finds.  These days, one can patch together a list online of  many sample sales (but certainly not all) .  But how does one vet out which sales are worthwhile? How to know if the sale restocks every day or if everything “good” will be gone after the 1st day.  What if you don’t know your way around NYC and its plethora of neighborhoods? This folks is one of the many reasons to take one of Shop Gotham’s shopping tours (forgive the blatant self-promotion). You are paying for our knowledge as well as an awfully good time.

check out: www. shopgotham.com to see what’s doing in the New York City shopping scene