The Burberry madness!

December 1, 2007, 9am, my alarm goes off and Jez started dancing to the alarm music and tells me to get my lazy bum up...why are we so freaking early on a Saturday? Burberry sample sale! Jez's sister has been working at the HQ and gave us the tip that Burberry is having a private sample sale to Friends and Family for a week and asked if we wanted to go. Since I haven't bought anything in ages, I thought it would be fun. Surprisingly Jez went with me! But I guess it was long overdue.

We finally got to Haymarket at about quarter past 10, (door opens at 10) and there was a huge line! Jez gave me a "I've made a mistake" look and sighed as I ran to the end of the line to greet his sister Amanda and his brother Des. It was a breezy windy London morning and I just wanted to get inside for some warmth. Amanda informed me on the layout of the shopping area since she's already been to the sale the day before. She also told me about the Gucci and Prada sample sale...I nearly died..i didn't know they had sample sales of their own!!! So I made her promise to give me top notice when she finds out about those.

45 minutes later, we finally get in and paid our £1 entry fee and told Jez "see ya later! Keep your phone on" and ran off! First stop was upstairs, clothes, shoes, scarves, everything, just everywhere! Women were stripping right there on the spot, fighting for the one mirror on the floor. I ran through the two rail racks there and found a really nice light jacket. It was a dark military green with a tailored waist, for $40. Not so bad, it fit me perfectly so I grabbed it instantly. I looked through the shoes, all too big, moving on then.

I went downstairs and really saw just how many people and how much stuff they have! £15 for jeans, £30 for knitwear, £35 for dress, £100 for classic raincoats, £150 for trench, and so on. Amanda said we have to go see the bags which is all the way in the back of the warehouse. A girl overheard us and said "good luck, I don't think there's any left." So Amanda grabbed my hand and head for the back. This is where the madness began..I saw a bunch of women all swarmed over several crates and there were some bags but most crates were all empty. So I turned around and tried to find Amanda to tell her that I think we're too late. As I turned, a man in suit had about 7 bags in his hands and he was walking towards my direction. I didn't realize he was actually the "bag delivery man" and he was going to put the bags in the crate. The man didn't even make it that far! The women saw him coming and mobbed him! Everyone screaming, I was stuck in the middle, not knowing what's going on. He got as close to the crate as he possibly could and tried to drop the bags in the crate but the second he lets go, the women went for it! I mean it was ridiculous and vicious and every woman for themselves! I saw two men fighting over one bag screaming at each other as to who got it first, I needed to get out of there! I struggled to get out of the circle and went to the nearest corner I could find and just hid! I called Jez and asked him to come and rescue me, I couldn't believe these people were fighting for bags!!! They weren't even that cheap! I mean still around £100 to £200! Amanda wanted to see what she could find so she went back into the battleground. I decided to do some people watching. That's when I realized you have to come to these things with some kind of a strategy. The smart ones came in groups, they've got people standing in all four corners of the bags area and when they see someone delivery the bags, they inform each other and stand in position. Then they have others keep a fort somewhere else holding the goods. Amanda was caught in one of the madness moment: When a salesclerk brought out a box of bags and she didn't even bother to take it to the crates, she just threw it in the air and hands everywhere! I heard two Chinese women yelling at each other in Chinese..(figures) and the rest just screaming for more. It was like feeding time at an alligator pond! I laughed so hard just watching these women, glad that I love bags but not enough to lose an eye!

We shopped for about two hours, I came out okay. I got a classic Burberry trench in lilac, I think it was a little long for me but I couldn't resist. Got an ivory tweed coat that Amanda found for me and the little green jacket. Jez got himself a nice burgundy top and a Burberry purse that Amanda wrestled off some women and will give it to her for Christmas. Amanda bought a nice luxurious ivory coat and Des got a black jacket and some tops. At least we all came out with no cuts and scratches.

We left the sample sale and I was still in shock as to what happened in there. I know I'm studying fashion but I cannot shop this way; it was mean, vicious, full of headache, and you have to be ready to fight!

It was such a nice day, we had a great lunch in Chinatown and went for a walk in the West End. That's when we realized that today was VIP shopping day, meaning all the busy shopping streets of the West End (Oxford street, Regent street) were closed for pedestrians only! There were lots of activities, musicians, artists, and many more. We said our good byes to Amanda and Des and decided to walk some more and all in all it really was a wonderful day. I finally felt the Christmas spirit and even though jez and I do hate crowds, we were happy to be out but happier to be home!

Next up..i'm waiting on my Guccis and Pradas....I guess I better start saving up!