Sometimes, you get a bargain. Sometimes, you don't. Today's trip to Universal Standard's sample sale was mostly a waste of time.
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My plan for today was to get up and out of the house early, so that I could meet RQS at Universal Standard's sample sale. I got showered and dressed, and out the door by noon to make it to the store by 2:00 pm. However, my usual tardiness meant that I would not be able to pick up a snack on the way to the station, and I was lucky to know of a soda vending machine on the platform to get a soda. This was a wise choice, as the weather was warm and sticky, and not conducive to me wearing my wig. But I soldiered on anyway.
I made it into Grand Central around 1:30, and could have picked up something to eat downstairs. Instead, I ended up deciding to see if there was a deli near the store, and got on the subway. Although this was risky, I knew that I could hold out for a while. And soon, I was in front of the store with 45 minutes to spare. Now, it was time to find a deli, bodega, fast food outlet, or promising halal food cart. None of the nearby food carts had people waiting to order, so I took them off of my list. There were no fast food outlets in my path, so I drew a line through that option. Luckily, I was close enough to some of NYU's buildings that I stumbled into a small deli - and it was there I picked up a sandwich. But I still had a problem. Where do I eat? There was nowhere to sit in the place, and it wasn't air conditioned. Luckily, there was a bench outside, and it was dry enough to sit on it's edge and enjoy the sandwich I had just ordered.
When done with the sandwich, I walked over to the store. To describe this place as a store leaves something to be desired. Universal Standard hasn't had a traditional storefront since before Covid. Instead, it occasionally opens a pop-up store in the back room of its offices, where a freight elevator brings people up to that back room. RQS had gotten a little lost getting out of the subway, and I waited for her to arrive at the ground floor of the building, sitting inside near the freight elevator.
RQS arrived, and we went up to the showroom. It wasn't as crowded as the last time we were there, but it was still a sea of femininity there. If it weren't as warm as it was, I'd have done what one woman did, and wore a bodysuit/unitard under her clothes to allow her to strip and not show her underwear while trying on clothes. (I may do that next time.) Unfortunately, there was nothing special that caught my interest, although I did buy something small that I may talk about at a future date. RQS found nothing, and we ended up going back to my place, enjoying the trip together for a change....
