Fashion : Sample Day at the Mart: It’s a Shopper’s Bonanza

Bargain hunters who get even more of a thrill when they have to dig for the deals say the California Mart is a shoppers’ nirvana. Even the size of the place suggests heavenly proportions. It’s a rambling, three-wing, 13-story structure at 110 E. 9th St., with 2,000 showrooms and more than 10,000 collections of clothing, shoes and accessories to paw through--all at wholesale prices.

Most days the building is only open to retailers, and the items they inspect are one-of-a-kind samples of next season’s merchandise that will be delivered to their stores for fall.

Open to the Public

But then there is sample day, a once-a-month, wild and woolly free-for-all open to the public. It’s a somewhat erratic event, scheduled on the last Friday of many, but not all, months. Today’s is the last one of the summer, because there is no sample day in August.

From the time the doors open at 9 a.m. until they close at 5 p.m., showroom owners will be selling off last season’s goods. But because they work so far ahead, last season by their definition is this season for everybody else. Today’s sale is filled with summer clothes.

The bargains are impressive, especially considering that most of the merchandise is better quality and often carries a familiar label. And everything is right in style. At last month’s sale, there were soft, colorful children’s leather shoes from Australia for $5 a pair. Psychedelic-colored cotton T-shirts for teen-agers were $15. Textured suede purses were $60. One showroom offered cotton print camisoles and tap pants for $15 a set and slips for $8.

It’s easy to find things because this isn’t a messy madhouse. But there are no dressing rooms for trying on clothes.

Preview of Fall

Summertime sales also offer a glimpse at what will be in stores after Labor Day, because that new merchandise now fills the showroom windows. On display are suede and leather suits by Vakko, the well-known New York label, which will be available in September. Shapely and tailored, they are shown in plum and crimson, among other colors. Look for plenty of animal-skin prints and Southwest motifs too, hinting at other trends to come. Hat lovers will get a preview of some ornately feathered creations by George Zamau’l in brilliant blue, raspberry and yellow that won’t be in stores for several months.

More than bargains and previews of future fashion looks, sample day is unusual for its ambiance. From the moment shoppers enter the expansive lobby crowned by a canopy of stained glass, they’re in for a different experience. The ground floor could pass for a bustling business hotel. The jam-packed escalators carry shoppers up and down from the center of the lobby, and people watchers can catch the action while relaxing in deep, comfortable chairs. The snack shops around the lobby include bakeries, salad bars and pizzerias, but food and drink are priced at retail, even on sample day.

You can spot the veteran shoppers right away. They’re at the door before 9 a.m., shopping bags in hand (because the showrooms don’t supply bags), cash practically burning a hole in their purses. And cash is required. Checks and credit cards are not accepted.

Well before noon, they are already pouring out of the elevators onto the building’s upper levels, heading straight for their favorite showrooms and attacking the sale racks with gusto. One realtor from Hacienda Heights said she spends about $200 on clothes for herself and her two young daughters at every outing to the Mart. She flicked quickly through a rack of children’s clothes as she spoke, found nothing of interest, and raced off to another showroom.

Doris Deitering, a seasoned sample-day shopper and a physical education teacher from Diamond Bar, confessed: “I am hooked. I hardly ever buy anything in the stores anymore.”

Deitering and others with her considerable expertise know that every floor has its specialty. The third, for example, is for women’s wear, the fourth and fifth are for boys and men, the sixth floor is for children’s fashions. It’s most efficient to plan your shopping tour to include what you most want to see, because it is virtually impossible to get to more than about two dozen showrooms without risking absolute exhaustion.

Not all the showrooms have samples for sale each month, but most carry a sign in the window telling whether there are items available that day. Where there are sales, the selection is wide, but the range of sizes is sharply limited. Most women’s clothes and shoes are Size 6. Men’s sizes are usually 30 to 34, with shoes in Size 8. The children’s wear selection is broader, from infant sizes to Size 14, with shoe sizes from 1 to 3.

There is just a sprinkling of other sizes.

While plenty of shoppers adore sample day, the Mart owners and tenants say they approach it with some trepidation. To them, it can be a day of security problems, unruly crowds and a lack of understanding by shoppers about how the bargain day works.

“Sample sales are a real thorn in our side,” said Susan Morse-Lebow, a general partner and director of operations for the Mart. She said tenants have a clause in their leases prohibiting sales to the public, but “they all violate it.” She said Mart management allows it because the event is a longstanding tradition. Occasionally, however, when the halls get too crowded or the public becomes too disruptive, she asks the Mart’s security guards to gradually and politely clear the building.

Nearly a dozen tenants interviewed agreed that sample day presents its problems. They find that some shoppers expect to find the same color and size selections they find at the local mall. Some ignore window signs stating that there is nothing for sale in a particular showroom and barge in where other business is being conducted. Other trials and tribulations the reps associate with the day include customers’ failure to carry cash and their indignation upon discovering that shopping bags are not supplied. But reps said it was still worth the effort, because it allows them a way to clear out merchandise and generate cash.

If sample day is a version of nirvana, it’s an imperfect one. Yet the place always seems to be filled with smiling shoppers.

Mart Smarts

If you want to try sample-day shopping, here are some tips to make it more pleasant.

It costs $7.50 a day for parking underneath or across the street from the Mart. There are less expensive lots nearby, but metered parking won’t give you enough time to explore.

Do not bring children 13 or under or infants, in or out of strollers. Mart security guards will not let you in.

Wear comfortable shoes. The Mart has three interconnected, 13-story buildings, and you will be walking for miles.

Check the directory in the lobby of the Mart or near the elevators on each floor if you are looking for a specific brand.

Observe the signs on the showroom doors. Showroom sales reps post a notice saying whether they have samples for sale.

Bring only cash. The reps do not accept checks or credit cards.

Bring your own shopping bags. Showrooms do not have them.

Don’t try to bargain. The prices marked are final.