The Birth of the Online Designer Fashion Sample Sale: Gilt.Com

I've often longed for the chance to be in Manhattan for one of those great, really popular designer 'sample' or close out sales, the ones that include high-end fashion, shoes, accessories and even jewelry. (Judith Ripka recently held her twice-yearly sale at a midtown hotel, with sale prices of at least - at least! - 50% off. A bitter tear or two was shed over missing that sale.) Often, many of us don't even have access to some of the designers we like - not every high-end department store carries every brand name.

I like to think that from every unpleasant experience, a burst of something good does grow. Mired as we are in the current economic recession, designers sitting around with a LOT of unsold inventory married the concept of online merchandising, giving birth to the web site www.gilt.com.

Here's the concept in a nutshell: You log into the web site and REQUEST an invitation to become a member. (Membership is free, and does not require that you provide credit card/payment information.) In a day or so, you'll receive a return email with your membership acceptance. While you're waiting to receive your membership - and apparently, everyone is accepted - browse through the day's offerings, even though you can't purchase at the time.

Every day at noon EST, Gilt 'unveils' a batch of deeply discounted, high end fashion. The sale on each day's group of offerings lasts only 36 hours. Often, an item will sell out within an hour, literally. Sales are heavily on the side of womens' clothing, but children's and men's clothing is also offered. (Gilt also has a special 'division' for its VIP/Platinum customers, those who have spent X amount of dollars within a certain time period. Those members are 'rewarded' with notifications on specific upcoming designers whose offerings will be on sale, as well as select, very high end fashion discounts not made available to the 'regular' Gilt customer.) There's also a section on discounted travel programs as well.

Since membership is free, you literally have nothing to lose. You'll receive an email to your membership address daily AFTER the noon start, telling you what specific brands are being offered each day. Some of the designers you will recognize; others, you won't. Nearly all of them range from the mid-price point level and up. Following the site for the past ten weeks, I've noticed that their best sellers appear to be womens' dresses and jewelry. Of course, it helps if you know the designer if you're unfamiliar with the name. If that's the case, troll through the online sites of high-end department stores - Nordstroms, Lord & Taylor, Saks, Bergdorf, etc. - to see if you can get additional information about the designer, or google the designer's web site itself.

A number of payment options are available, as are customer returns. But, like at any sale, don't just jump at an item because it may SEEM to be a great deal. Remember, the fashion industry is constantly in a state of flux now, with the recession taking constant hits on what had been, to them, fair market pricing. While a lot of Gilt's offerings are recent-season overstocks and unsold items, a number of designers are actually producing a line of lesser-quality clothing just for sale on Gilt (a la Target and H&M).

Do your homework, stick to what you want/need/can afford, and you, too, can snag an incredible bargain at this daily online 'sample' sale. Just be sure to log in at noon each day!