*** Paris Jan 2012 SALE! ***
- Thread starter chicinthecity777
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Hi all, does anyone know what time the sale is from and to tomorrow (Friday)? It is still on tomorrow right?
So are we both here in Paris and not in London this week?
I gave the London sale a miss this year--already had done too much damage on Bond Street with Gucci and Alexander McQueen.
Did you go to the London VIP evening event? How was it?
I went to Palais Congrais (Porte Maillot) both today (Friday) and Thursday for the VIP day and now I am exhausted and quite frankly disappointed.
A very nice man is the new organizer but to me it was more chaotic than the last few past years. The lines for the classic 90 Cm carres (squares) and the separate line for the twillys, vintage "surteint", jersey and pouchettes and shawls were simply too long. Then when you finally made it to the front of either line you had the "15 minutes of fame" to look, search, grab, decide, and have the scarves put in the envelope with your name and number. That is if you could survive the pushing, shoving, and blunt force traumas (elbows, feet, etc).
My friend and I both felt exhausted and truly brutalised by the time we got to the RTW! I was so much looking forward to buying something wonderful in RTW or whatever for the last collection designed by Jean Paul Gaultier and even tried on both the black suede and the cognac leather hats which the horseback riders and models wore during the show. I loved the leather hat but no matter what size I tried the handband was just too tight and the amount of scratched leather on the hat was too significant to splurge.
There were definitely some great pieces of RTW and boots too and an excellent selection of mens shirts.
However, there were no slg, no belts, no jewellry, no leather gloves which was quite disappointing. One of the saleswomen whom I have known for years told me that she doubted that Hermes would bother with slg, belts, clic clac and other jewellry in the sales in the future because they cannot keep them in stock at full price in the boutiques. IF this is so it is rather sad---yes I know all about supply and demand---but Paris sales are a kind of sporting event for many of us and at Hermes and Chanel it feels as if it is your "reward" for buying almost everything at full price and for some people waiting ages for coveted handbags.
I bought only one scarf today and when I got home in the more natural (although rainy) light at my flat, I definitely made a mistake. The black sheer silk overblouse is great but now I have to throw a dinner party at my flat in order to wear it! The scarves I bought on Thursday are wonderful---I actually wound up at the cash registe with two of the same scarf which I did not mean to do--but that might give you an idea of the intensity of the shopping frenzy because I am usually most careful and experienced shopper.
How did everyone else do? How about a reveal for Paris? And one for London too?
Good luck tomorrow (Saturday) because it is the last day.
I went today as well, next time definitely bring a book or a friend as the queues for the carrés were very long. Expect to wait at least half an hour to get to the top of the queue and then it is a frenzy as other shoppers snatch things out of your hands! As expertess mentioned, there was quite limited stock, with only some shoes, lots of pret à porter, and some carrés available. In the pret a porter there was a lot of leather and suede and a few nice white shirts as well as a couple of silk patterned blouses. There were only a couple of bags that I saw, ostrich Trims (I think - didn't get a close look). Also a few large suitcases/small trunks. I saw a number of gavroches in the fairy tale design, one or two cashmere shawls, and in the carrés there were some brides rebelles, a fairy tale design, and a lot of this design (don't known the name) that looked like a colourful African tribal cartoon. I managed to pick up a jersey in the Cheval Sur Mon Carre design in orange (it was also available in green and red) and a camouflage horse carré in brown/khaki. It seems from shoppers who attended previous years that the stock is a lot more depleted, but it was still a fun experience and a bit of a rite of passage I think, just don't expect to leave weighed down with shopping bags unless you really like ready to wear!
As a regular attendee and customer at these sales and even with my VIP invitation and status, I think that the word is not "depleted", maybe the correct words are that the selection was not as broad/wide a range of Hermes products as in previous years.
And there were also lots of rumours flying around, including that on Saturday, 21 Jan there would be an additional markdown-----this is NOT true and did not happen nor has it happened in many years. There may be another small markdown on Sunday 22 January but that is NOT for the public---it is the ONLY day open for the Hermes staff to shop at sale prices. And they definitely deserve it!
And then the rumour that these sales would not be held again because it is such a security and logistics nightmare for Hermes. I DO NOT Know if this is true or not!!! So please don't panic and just say a little prayer for those of us crazy enough to battle the lines in NYC, London, and Paris---I would probably have withdrawals if they stop the sale because it is such great lesson in crowd behaviour.
Sadly, on both Thursday and Friday there were major--as in really big--attempts at theft (shop lifting)---as for me, I could not be tempted to spend time in jail not even for a Birkin in orange alligator!!! But most shoppers were in such a frenzy that these went un noticed.
So reveal please?
Oops, I knew I would forget to post something very VERY IMPORTANT for all fans of HERMES!
Please note: almost every single item from the SALE in Paris will have a relatively discreet stamp on it that is a capital S in a circle. This is a warning to consumers and to other Hermes boutiques that an item was bought at a SALE price!!!
There has NOT been since the little black circles in 2006 any marks (indelible) to show that items were bought on SALE. Perhaps this is an attempt by HERMES to stop the re-sale of items bought at HERMES slaes---or just a way of doing inventory. The good news is that the S stamp does not show even through my mouselline scarf!
But just buyer beware caution because I would think that there will be more people who picked up not so complimenting colours during the carre frenzy, etc.
Yes, SF has a sale, but the stock is extremely limited - RTW and shoes mostly. Never any scarves or bags or jewelry. I live in SF and don't even bother with it (but would reconsider if they would make shoes in narrow sizes!!)
This is simply not true. Some items have the sale mark, others don't. I've bought things from both the Paris 2009 and 2010 winter sales and most had the S.
Really not worth having an argument about this. I wanted my peers to know about the "S" mark so they do not get taken in by a seller who does not tell them it is from an Hermes sale.
All I can say is that this year 2012, every single items that my friends and I looked at, tried on and or bought has a "S" on it and we bought scarves, shawls, hats, twillys, RTW, gloves, men's shirts, shoes, sweaters, and towels. Nothing from June 2011 which I bought had any mark nor did the scarves and slg from 2010 and 2009---I can only speak from my experience.