New York is a city of sample sales. And though I’ve lived in NYC for over eleven years, it’s only been within the past few that I’ve become acquainted with how decent some of them can be. The reasons for that are many and varied:

1) I hate shopping. Nay, loathe it. With every fiber of my being. For that reason the internet is my friend, and I try to do as much online as possible. And since sample sales, by definition, require showing up somewhere in person, well, that’s one major strike against them as far as I’m concerned.

2) I hate crowds. And pandemonium. Major strike number two. At least, that’s how I’d always assumed they would be.

3) I’d also assumed that sample sales, like most retail, are female-focused. (And many are, but there’s plenty of men’s stuff out there.)

4) I guess I’d also always assumed that sample sales require an interest in “fashion” and the world that that word conjures–something I have no interest in and zero patience for.

But despite all of those drawbacks, I recognize that I do need to wear clothes, and that no matter how far I may stretch the boundaries of acceptability, new clothes do need to be bought from time to time. (And washed–the other bane of my existence–but that’s a subject for another day…) And if there’s one thing I really hate, it’s spending a lot of money (or any, really) on clothing. That’s where sample sales come in!

You can get some really nice crap dirt cheap. And if you’re like me and don’t know the first thing about designers and whatnot, you can always run the names/sales/clothing lines by your female co-workers first, who, if they’re like mine, will fall all over themselves to help the poor, lost, helpless man who has trouble dressing himself. In many cases, they’ll even agree to go to the sale BEFORE you (hell, they’ll be thrilled) and report back on their findings. Just be sure to ask them to take note not just of selection, but of other key details:

*crowd level
*credit cards vs. cash
*quantity of men’s items
*whether or not they, seeing how you dress every day, could actually see you in the stuff
*etc.

Follow these tips, and you really could have a decent sample-sale experience. And don’t forget, price is the reason to give any of this a shot. I’ve scored some nice stuff in the past that has fit nicely into my decidedly H&M and Old Navy budget, and has even been an improvement on the hellaciousness of the experience that shopping in those places often is. Let’s face it, as much as I’d rather be clicking my mouse and staring at my computer screen, sometimes you just need to hold the stuff in your hands or try it on where clothing is concerned.

Any other tips? Opinions?