Madness at the Manolo Blahnik Sample Sale

It was nothing but sheer madness and mayhem at the Bi-annual Manolo Blahnik sample sale today. An unprecedented amount of die-hard Manolo lovers and shoe fanatics filled the entire 2^nd floor of The Warwick Hotel. Many eager die-hard Manolo fans came as early as 6 AM to wait in the “waiting” conference room to get their chance at snagging a pair of these long time beloved coveted shoes. By 8 AM they were about 300 people waiting in and around the waiting room on the 2^nd floor.  An unofficial sign in sheet had been started by a fellow shoe lover to keep order since the crack of dawn. Usually the Manolo Blahnik corporate staff would have been in since 6 AM to hand out tickets, but this year they came in at 8:20 AM; which further delayed the process of checking people in and giving out tickets (pictures below are from Racked NY).

I have to say the unofficial sign in sheet did help a little bit, but it did not ease the growing confusion and the frustration of the die-hard Manolo veterans and hopeful newbies. Shortly after the Manolo Blahnik corporate staff arrived; groups were broken down into groups of a hundred at a time based on the sign in sheet. Numbers were called out, and if you signed in and remembered what number you were on the list; you were then allowed to proceed to wait in another waiting room. Thankfully, once people’s numbers were being called from the list the chaos started to subside. Outside was entirely a different story. There was a long line of late comers waiting outside The Warwick Hotel. At one point security was not letting anyone into the hotel for the sample sale. If your name was not on the list from this morning; then there was a pretty good chance that you were not going to get in. The Warwick Hotel was on lock down for about an hour. Some unfazed shoe fanatics avoided security by taking the elevator to the  2^nd Floor as though they were a guest at the hotel. Once security got a wind of that; management demanded that all guests show their room key before boarding an elevator.

Once inside the actually Manolo Blahnik sample sale there were hardly any size 38’s, 38.5’s, 39’s, or 39.5 left (see picture below). The lucky ones were women who’s shoe size was either very small (35-37.5) or a bit a larger (40-42). Basic styles were priced $96 while elaborate designs were $125-$350. However on the day of the public sale; basic styles were $100; while elaborate designs were still $125-$350; boots were $200-$500.

Credit: Image from Racked NY

As the day pressed on; there were fewer and fewer shoes to choose from. Some women were stalking other women who had shoes they wanted like hungry vultures waiting for their prey to perish before making a move. Those who left and thought they would be able to come back to shop balked when they were told that tickets were no longer being given out and that the sale would be closing earlier then it had in previous sales due to the depleting inventory. In comparison to last year’s Manolo Blahnik sample sale; this year had fewer inventory and closed at 3 PM instead of it regular time of 4 PM.

Despite this year’s madness and mayhem; the Manolo Blahnik sample sale is a shoe lover’s paradise and it is a sample sale that a shoe fanatic should not miss.