photo cred: Gilt GroupeWe Bay Area shoppers have heard of the very elusive and exclusive sample sales high end designers and retailers have, unfortunately they almost always require the Bay Area shopper to travel. Now there is Gilt Groupe for the upscale fashion savvy shopper which only requires you to have access to a computer. Gilt Groupe is an invitation-only site that carries luxury labels from the current season such as: Zac Posen; Ernest Sewn; Valentino; Dolce and Gabbana etc. at dramatically discounted prices. This very chic company was founded in November 2007 by Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis (a.k.a A+A). Both women bring extraordinary experience to the table with Alexis (whom I met personally) being one of the founding members of ebay and Alexandra formerly working at Bulgari and Louis Vuitton equalling the perfect mix of tech ingenuity and luxury brilliance. Gilt Groupe stands head and shoulders above other so called sample sale sites for many reason one is they work directly with fashion houses and hand pick the merchandise we see on each of the 36 hour sample sales. Another quality that sets Gilt Groupe a part is the personalized approach to the entire production of each sample sale for instance all photography seen on the site is done in house allowing them to show details of the clothing that other online stores can’t but the luxury shopper really wants. Best yet Gilt Groupe has also managed to include fashion websites forgotten, men which they launched in April 2008. Alexis also tells me there is much more to come including kids, and décor. Remember Gilt Group is referral/invite only if you would like a membership please contact Gilt Groupe's customer services department or check out one of the up coming exclusive links on Bay Area Style File for future sample sale invites.
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