Sky High Mark-ups...Gilt-y or Not?

As you probably have gathered I love shopping and finding great deals on beautiful clothing. I mean, I don't mind getting down and dirty with the elbow flailing at an in-house sample sale but leading a busy life, I'm not always able to make it to a sale. Online sample sale shopping has now made this easier than ever and you can shop with the touch of a finger while sitting at your desk job during lunch. There are downsides though...you can't always know what the fit is like, you can't feel the fabrics, you pay for shipping and I always suspected there was a bit of a mark-up for the convenience. But how much are you willing to pay for convenience?

Gilt Groupe has always been one of my favorite online sample sale websites, they have great pictures, great service and super fast shipping (sometimes it only takes a day!) and I always thought some pretty great deals. I mean I did get a pair of Habituals for a mere $34 once!

In January after buying a Cacharel Eiffel Tower Sweater for $25 at an in-house sale and then seeing it on Gilt for well over $200 (I wish I could remember the exact price and had a screen shot) shortly after I began to question if buying items on Gilt was really that great of a deal. I shrugged it off that with in person, perhaps you are just cutting out the middle man. Lately there has been a lot of controversy with Gilt's pricing over Sofia Cashmere aka "Scarfgate". And I understand that they work off the manufacturer's suggested retail price in most cases but today I had another revelation.

I was so excited that Gilt was selling Bensoni today as Bensoni is a young design team I love love love, but I was shocked when I saw they price that they were selling the Betty Flapper Dress for, $198. Why? Because last December at the Gen Art event they were selling the same dress for about $170, and this past March I picked up the same dress on theSavvy.com's online sample sale for a $70. The reason the comparison is so jarring to me is that both are online sample sales! I am not comparing in-house to online but online to online!

The Savvy is not as user friendly, the photography not as thorough and shipping took quite a while but overall the savings were significant. Also to note, as time passes fashion clothing does not usually go up in value from the previous season, I will have already had 6 months of wear out of my dress before any of those who ordered from Gilt today will get their shipment.

I am assuming The Savvy Co made some form of profit selling the merch to me at $70, so that leads me to believe that Gilt made an additional $128 in mark-up. Is convenience and fast shipping really worth double the cost compared to another sample sale website? I work in the fashion industry too so I understand that mark-up is important but at what point does making mark-up become greed? Interestingly enough though the manufacturer's suggested price differed on the websites being $646 on Savvy's site and $561 on Gilt. What is the real MSRP?

Will I shop again on Gilt? Of this I am sure, but I also know that I'll be wary and proceed with caution. In the meantime I'll be watching you Gilt. Anyone else have any experiences to share?

Bensoni Online Sample Sale

Bensoni, Betty Flapper Dress, $70 (compared to retail $646.00)
You may remember Erin gushing about Bensoni in our Gen Art NY recap. Well guess what? They're having an online sample sale right now at thesavvy.com. No login required!

Who: Bensoni
What: Dress $49-73, tops $28-46, jumpers $66(retail $253-646)
Where: Online at thesavvy.com
When: Now through Saturday, March 28 12:00AM midnight EST

Gen Art Shop NYC Event

Erin's Take
I was really excited to have a chance to go to Gen Art Shop NYC. I've never attended any Gen Art events before and I thought it would be a great chance to see a wide variety of products from young designers on the rise. There were some slightly more established brands showcased as well including Rebecca Minkoff, Bliss Lau, Hayden-Harnett and Bijules. When we got there the crowd was just beginning to pick up and soon some of the booths were swarming. We would definitely recommend coat check and a complimentary drink before digging in to shopping.
Interestingly enough, I found that the designers that were immediately adjacent to to doors had the strongest impact on me. The first half of the hall contained the best of the emerging talent, so after circling through all the booths I had to return to get a better view.

One of the best deals I saw was on shoes by DRU New York as soon as you walked in. I'd only seen these shoes in photo's before and I was excited for the chance to put them on. The shoes have unique proportions and were designed with comfort and day-to-night transition in mind.
They had samples for $20, Shoes for $40 and Boots for $85. Unfortunatley they didn't have any shoes to fit my size 5 feet. Peep some of our favourite looks below.

Bensoni's collection of feminine yet tailored dresses and separates were definitely one of our favorites. The design duo Ben Channing Clyburn and Sonia Yoon's managed to combine color blocking, layered fabrics of differing textures, subtle prints and bold stripes in a very tight collection. The look is refined and lady-like but also fun and not at all stuffy. Quirky, cute and not overly sexy, these are clothes that girl's wear for the sake of clothes. To be perfectly honest, this collection screams me. I'm not sure I've seen a collection that feels so completely me, right down to the color palatte in a really long time.
Cloak & Dagger's Collection by Brookelynn Starnes was flirty and chic but with a raw edge. The perfect balance of femininity and masculinity. I thought the double layer vest was alot of fun. I also liked the tiny gold buttons on the pants and the play on textures and opacity on the blouse. These are stylish but practical clothes that I can see making great additions to any girl's closet.

As for accessories, I liked Digby & Iona's collection of whimiscal jewelry. While some themes were based on nature like the stag ring and feather earrings, others pieces like the moustache just make me smile. And shouldn't fashion be fun? Especially accessories!

Lani's Take

The two of us has a similar list of favorites. In addition to the collections Erin mentioned above, I was a fan of Michelle Vale's collection of sophisticated and polished handbags. Each bag was designed and made with extreme attention to detail - lots of pleating, stitching and little pockets. The most unique thing about Michelle Vale's handbags were the interchangeable hardware components. Each handbag comes with silver and gold pieces that can be switched out. Pretty clever if you ask me!
Overall, I was a little disappointed with the event because I didn't like as many collections as I would have hoped and the discounts weren't that impressive. That said, I love to support young designers and see what's up and coming, so I'll be there next season.