Shopping becomes a cover event?

Lucky wasn't quite the word
I was thinking of...

I love shopping as much as the next gal. I'm cool with spending my weekends window shopping when I don't have cash just to get a fix -- to see the styles, trends and what my shopinistas are wearing. Before I lived here my galpals and I would plan shopping trips into the city during school breaks.

But there are those who take shopping to an entirely new level. Cue Lucky Magazine. Full disclosure: I actually really enjoy Lucky. They don't pretend to be some highbrow women's magazine. Their cover says it all: the magazine about shopping. Ladies, you are about to purchase 200 pages of ads sandwiched between 150 of content that are really also ads. Sign me up! Most of their clothing is too expensive for me but I enjoy picking out the styles I like and then recreating them for less. Also, they host some pretty cool events in major cities around the country. A couple of years ago I went to an Aveda/Lucky co-sponsored event and walked out with some excellent beauty products.

So I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the mag created an event called Lucky Shops. It's a two-day event right here in New York City where you can shop designer clothing really cheap blah blah admission price.

Whoa...back up? Admission price? Really? Isn't this event basically a dressed up version of what Century 21 already does delivered on a shorter timetable? Isn't this a bunch of sample sales thrown together? Isn't this the rich ladies' T.J. Maxx??!? Wait, no, there is a difference! At Lucky Shops you get a gift bag! Filled with...Tic Tacs...and...Nexus...and a candle...and...something in a Chinese food takeout container. And if you're a VIP you get a nicer bag with more crap. Except the tickets page offers no info on how you become a VIP.

I kind of waffled as I cruised the site. My cynicism gave way to disregard for a moment -- maybe the admission price didn't matter. The idea of the event is cool. But then my snark returned. I would have to pay just to get in to see what's there? Lame!

How much does the honor of shopping Lucky Shops cost you? $75 in advance to shop the 'First Dibs Friday' ($85 at the door) or $40 in advance for Saturday. Nice cover charges. And what happens if you go in but don't find anything? What if they don't carry your size? Wouldn't you feel kinda dirty, like you got taken advantage of somehow?

I looked at the pictures from 2006. They showed very few of the actual items for sale, just smiling faces of the women there. The media page boasted that last year's event attracted people from 37 states. Really? I can't justify driving from across the Mississippi just for this. Maybe I'm missing something here. I just can't see the appeal.