Kleinfeld’s Sample Sale

An Experience To Treasure

By Nancy K. Crevier

Standing outside of a high fashion bridal salon in the wee hours of a January morning, with hundreds of anxious twenty- and thirty-something year olds, is not where Newtown resident Claudia Kraich ever expected to find herself. But when her daughter-in-law to-be, Caroline Grier, texted her from Virginia to ask if she would like to go wedding dress shopping at Kleinfeld’s in New York City, during their sample sale, she jumped on it.

Nick, Cliff and Claudia Kraich’s son, proposed to Caroline over Christmas. The couple has been dating for about three years, Ms Kraich said, but outside of four or five holidays and vacations together, she had not had the chance to visit much with Caroline, especially one on one.

“I was honored to be asked, and looked at it as an adventure and an opportunity to get to know Caroline better,” said Ms Kraich.

The appeal of Kleinfeld’s has reached across the nation, thanks to the popular television show “Say Yes To The Dress,” which is why Caroline was eager to visit the iconic bridal salon.

“I had never even seen ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ until my daughter-in-law to-be invited me to go with her to look for a wedding dress at their sample sale,” admitted Ms Kraich. “Then I watched about six reruns, I think, so I’d have an idea what we were doing!”

When Kleinfeld’s, famous for its selection of European and American designed wedding gowns, holds a sample sale, dresses become available at prices up to 70 percent off of the regular retail price. Naturally this attracts a large crowd, so numbers are assigned hours beforehand to determine entrance into the sale, held this year on Tuesday, January 31, from 3 to 7 pm.

Ms Kraich and Caroline, who will become her daughter-in-law next January 12, booked a hotel room in the City for the night before the sale.

“It was a real girls’ night. We were up until 1:30 am, talking and catching up,” she said, “and then we got up at 4:30 am to get ready and head downtown to the store.” It was still dark at 6:30 am when they arrived at the West 20th Street shop.

“This was just to get in line to get a number for the sale at 3 pm,” Ms Kraich said. The women were pleased to find themselves fourth in line — and that meant only four or five more hours of waiting until a Kleinfeld’s employee would hand out the coveted numbers.

What do hundreds of women waiting in the predawn hours do to pass the time?

“We started chatting with the other brides. They were from all over, and a lot of them had driven for hours or taken trains to get there,” said Ms Kraich. “I was really surprised that no one seemed to be from New York.”

Most of the brides were there with a member of the wedding party, so Ms Kraich felt particularly honored that Caroline had asked her, “a mom,” to be the one person allowed to accompany the bride in the store.

“I got such a kick out of all the girls and it was so fun watching them show each other their rings and talk about where they were getting married, and all of their plans with each other. There was such a sense of anticipation and excitement,” she said.

Four hours is a long time to stand on the sidewalk, but Ms Kraich had thought to bring along a blanket that they laid out. “Then I went with one of my new 20-year-old ‘best friends’ to buy bagels and tea at Murray’s, a few blocks away,” she said.

Finally, at 10 am, an hour earlier than predicted, the numbers were distributed. That left the middle of the day to be filled with window shopping and lunch, before the sale event.

Back in line that afternoon, a Kleinfeld’s consultant came out promptly at 3 pm and called in the first 20 ticket holders.

“They assigned us a consultant, and Caroline was all business. She told the consultant what she wanted, and then we were allowed to get three dresses at a time to try on,” said Ms Kraich. Unlike a private bridal salon consultation, with lots of personal attention, the women were left to get in and out of the samples on their own, for the most part. “We did have some professional advice from the seamstress about what could and couldn’t be done with a dress, for instance,” she said.

Because Caroline had a definite idea of the dress style she was seeking, it turned out that the selection of styles in her price range — even with 70 percent off — was limited.

“She thought she wanted a dress with long sleeves, and there really don’t seem to be that many styles out there with long sleeves,” said Ms Kraich.

While they never felt hurried, and had been told they would have at least an hour to make selections, there was the pressure that other women were coming in and selecting dresses off of the rows of racks set up in the store, too.

Within the hour, though, Caroline knew that she was not going to be saying Yes to any dress that afternoon.

“I think she went into this with the idea that it might not work out. There really wasn’t a sense of disappointment, more of an ‘onward and upward’ attitude. We actually went to another nearby bridal salon afterward and she tried on more dresses there. So now, I think she has a better idea of what she might want to get, and will know when she finds the right one,” said Ms Kraich.

There is no doubt in her mind that standing on the chilly streets of downtown Manhattan for hours, surrounded by exuberant young women, was a splendid idea.

“I was super flattered that Caroline asked me. It was a chance to get to know her better, and that,” said Ms Kraich “was the best part of the whole experience for me. I really treasured that time.”

Plus, there is still the chance that Claudia may be in on the final gown selection.

“Caroline has asked me to visit Charlottesville in March. If she hasn’t found a dress yet, we may go gown shopping again,” she said.