Written by Melissa Cassutt
January 5, 2008
Danielle Chrysogelos stands with her back to a full-length mirror, holds her black sweat shirt above her waist and twists her chin around to examine her bum.
Behind a brown velvet curtain, her friend Kristi Gates pulls on a pair of Jelessy Jeans embellished with a dramatic golden stitch.
Gates pulls back her dressing room curtain, looks at her friend, and says: “They’re so cute on you — look at your butt!”
“I like those on you,” responds Chrysogelos, twirling around to face her friend.
Glasses of wine sit on a table in the center of the dressing room. In the front of the store, a handful of women munch on plates of veggies and chips and salsa.
Besides this handful of shoppers and the Gloss staff, the boutique at The Promenade Shops at Briargate is empty. A sign on the door asks the public to come back in the morning: Tonight the store is open only to those with an invitation to a private jeans party.
Private shopping parties have been going on in big cities for years, and the trend has spread from coast to coast. Think of it as a Chuck E. Cheese’s birthday party for grown-ups: One person — the host — invites a group of her friends, where they have the run of the store for an evening of shopping, wine, gabbing and more shopping. The host has to bring a certain number of friends to shut the place down, and most stores have a purchase minimum.
“It’s really a way to personally connect with consumers,” said Margaret Campbell, associate professor in the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “You’re really getting to experience the brand in its best light — that maximizes the chance that you’re going to say, ‘Yeah, this is the product for me. This works for me.’”
Personalized attention is exactly what the party host, 31-year-old Whitney Cather, wanted, because she knows that finding the right jeans can be a nightmare. Her problem: finding a pair that fits her hips and her waist.
Gates’ problem: the same.
Chrysogelos needs a short inseam. Jodi Phelps needs a long. “Buying jeans for a woman is almost as hard as buying a bathing suit,” says Maggie Garcia-Nook, manager at Gloss.
But, she says, “It’s one piece you must have in your closet — one good pair of jeans that you love.”
Which is where the Gloss staff members, known as bartenders, come in — listening to body gripes and suggesting styles that will vanish or vamp the proper body part from among Gloss’ impressive array of high-end denim: about 2,000 pairs representing more than 20 brands and ranging in price from $60 to $319.
“Now I know why celebrities look so good in jeans — because they spend so much money,” says Phelps, 31, taking a break from trying on a handful of jeans.
The price tag doesn’t stop her, though (“it might be worth it,” she justifies) — and at private parties, a certain amount of shopping is expected.
Gloss party hosts are asked to bring at least five women and spend at least $100 per person, though store owner Lisa Borden isn’t a strict enforcer of the policy.
Granted, this was the store’s first private party — with hopes of more to come. If nothing else, Campbell says, a private in-store party can make customers feel so special and connected to the store that they’ll become regulars.
But, besides closing her chocolate and bubble gum-pink store to the public, private partygoers receive the same treatment as Borden’s day-to-day shoppers. Chilled wine is freely offered to of-age guests. Hungry? Borden will order something from Ted’s Montana Grill, just down the strip. Need a hand massage? Another pair of jeans to try?
“Everyone who walks through this door, I want them to feel special,” Borden says.
And comfortable, since finding the right pair can be a harrowing process.
“I haven’t bought jeans in the last two or three years,” says the 26-year-old Chrysogelos, who tried on about eight pairs of jeans at the party before settling on a pair of iT jeans for $75.
Gates bought a pair of People’s Liberation and a pair of True Religion — a purchase of nearly $500.
“Usually (jeans are) too tight on my waist but they fit my butt and vice versa,” Gates said. “If I can find something that I can wear every day, and they fit really well, it’s definitely worth it.” Gloss is at 1845 Briargate Parkway, Suite 429. More info: 623-1652.
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