Hone those hunting skills
Shopping for clothes offline, men are the weaker sex. The average woman can complete a seasonal circuit of the Glendale Galleria and emerge with credit cards maxed and bags overflowing in the time it takes us to find a parking spot. Our hunting and gathering skills may be great for running down a gazelle but are lousy for sniffing out a 75% off sample sale.
But recent studies have shown that when it comes to clothing and accessories, men are spending more online (especially on luxury items) and returning less than their female counterparts do, which makes the move into menswear Wednesday by the Gilt Groupe a smart move.
Launched in November with just women’s wear, Gilt bills itself as an “online sample sale” and works directly with designers to blow out end-of-the-season merchandise at prices up to 75% off retail. Sales are open only to members (membership is free but requires a referral, which you can get by e-mailing membership@gilt.com, or by creating an account at www.gilt.com/gilty. Then you have to move fast: All sales are 36 hours long (running from 9 a.m. PDT to 9 p.m. the following day).
The men’s debut is 9 a.m. Wednesday, when pieces of John Varvatos’ collection go on sale, including an asymmetric zip leather jacket ($498 compared with the $1,995 original retail price), a long-sleeve button-front knit shirt ($98 instead of $295) and a three-button cotton blazer ($228 instead of $795). Other sales this month will be Hickey on Friday, Dolce & Gabbana on April 22 and Lambertson Truex on April 24. Other labels in the pipeline include Earnest Sewn, Trovata and Charles Tyrwhitt.
Gilt isn’t the only online sample sale site getting into the men’s business. Look for the L.A.-based website HauteLook (hautelook.com) to go man-friendly in the not-too-distant future.
And, guys, these websites might think they’re merely offering deeply discounted designer duds, but after a few clicks you’ll realize it’s actually a killer MMOG (massively multiplayer online game). Think about it: Combatants of the same shape and size from all across the Internet coming together at the same time in a battle of speed and dexterity for scarce resources from which only a few will emerge victorious.
So measure that inseam and let the games begin!
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adam.tschorn@latimes.com
