While fashion is an ever-changing game of trends, there is definitely a prominent one that is developing. This trend is that people flock to line up outside of certain shops as they are releasing brand new collections. This has been dubbed ‘the drop’, and is currently the number one way to determiner how successful a particular brand is going to be. This is due to the amount of hype that is generated, which far outweighs any other type of traditional marketing.
While many companies are starting to do drops, there is one in particular that is standing out above the rest. In fact, this particular brand will normally have a line of people around the corner waiting for their chance to get inside the store. That brand you ask? That brand just happens to be none other than the popular Supreme clothing brand.
To paint the picture of just how big Supreme is becoming, trying to go into the store and buy a Supreme hoodie that is hanging on the rack is like going and trying to walk into the most popular restaurant in all of New York without a reservations and getting sat immediately. The point is, it’s going to be extremely difficult.
What is Supreme?
Founded back in 1994 by James Jebbia, Supreme is a skate brand which had humble beginnings, but has since evolved into some of the most coveted brands on the streets, having enough of its own social cache to have partnered with the likes of Louis Vuitton for a collaboration just last year. With a new drop happening every week on Thursdays, the fans of the Supreme brand are willing to take on any type of weather for the opportunity to try and purchase one of their extremely exclusive pieces.
As with anything in high demand and limited supply, there are going to be numerous secondary marketplaces that will began to emerge. This has led to some other New York City based stores selling the Supreme brand, but at a huge markup. Some of these shops include Unique Hype Collection and CopVsDrop. Supreme is thought after that many of the buyers have been able to make such an enormous amount of profits, that they can create a retirement plan if they wanted too.
Are Your Ready to Experience The Drop?
If you are ready to get your hands on some authentic Supreme gear, you are going to need to get ready to wait in line for it. Unfortunately, just because you are in the queue line does not mean that you are going to be guaranteed that you get what you want. In fact, since most of the releases are limited edition, it is very difficult to get exactly what it is you wanted.
But just because you aren’t fortunate enough to get your hands on the piece you wanted in the store, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are all out of luck. In fact, many of the people who wait in line to get their hands on Supreme gear are doing so with the sole intention of reselling it. What they do is to buy it for one price, and then turnaround and sell for a better price, keeping the markup for themselves as profit.
While many people do try to flip their Supreme gear for a quick profit that is not the only thing that you’ll see at one oft heir drops. Something else that is commonplace at these drops is to see people trying to buy the merchandise off of those who are just leaving the store with their purchase. It’s no secret that kids love watching YouTube and copying their favorite YouTubers. When these YouTubers wear Supreme, this makes the kids want to wear it as well. Because of this, you will see dads and moms trying to buy Supreme merchandise for their kids.
If you are going to be attending one of the drops in Soho, you can make it much easier for yourself if you follow a few guidelines. Here is a quick guide for attending your very first Supreme drop that will help keep you from making a complete fool out of yourself.
Now keep in mind that these are simply some guidelines that most people are going to be following while at the drop. While these are not rules by any means, they are a great way to experience your first Supreme drop in Soho, and will ensure that you have the best time possible. Just do your best to be yourself and you should have no problem having a great time, as well as getting some of the Supreme merchandise that you are planning to purchase.
#1. Try to Arrive Early
Think of going to a Supreme drop like a diehard religious person going to church. The lines for the drop can start to form as early as Wednesday night, sometime getting started as early as Tuesday evening if there is a really hyped product that is going to be released. If you are not going to try and get an object, such as a bike or skateboard, you can always skip the campout and show up on Friday, at least two hours earlier than they open so that you can get into line. However, even by getting their early, you should still plan to be waiting in line for about four hours or so.
#2. Bring Some Snacks
Unless you are planning to get to the store at least an hour or two before they open, you are more than likely going to want to have a snack while you are waiting in line. So do your best to plan ahead and grab something on the way there, or even bring something from home. You’ll be glad that you did when hunger strikes and you have everything you need to satisfy it.
#3. Make Some New Friends
Since you are just going to be standing in line anyways, it is only going to help you if you go out of your way to get to know the other people who are waiting in line with you. Now of course there are going to be some people who have no interest in starting up a conversation with you, but this is the exact way that you are going to get to know the Supreme community on a first hand basis. Just a quick tip, when you do get into a conversation with someone, it is better to be yourself and be honest about what your real intentions are with why you are going into the store. This will get you much more respect than if you were pretending to try and be a hardcore Supreme fan.
#4. Fake Supreme Wear is a Big No-No
Since Supreme is definitely one of he hottest brands on the streets right now, there are a lot of people trying to take advantage and sell Supreme knock-offs. No matter what you do, stay clear of these. The true fans of Supreme will know that your gear is not authentic and the judgment that comes along with it can be severe.
#5. Be Careful With Your Shopping
One of the rules of Supreme is that you are only able to purchase one item (SKU) per piece. So for example, say that you are looking to purchase a red hoodie, as well as the same hoodie in the black version. Nope, that is not going to happen. You will only be able to purchase one of those. Supreme does this to help reduce the amount of resell that is going on, as well as keep it as fair as possible for all of their real, genuine fans.
If you are looking to try and flip your products to make some quick profits, you can always do a quick Google or eBay check to figure out how much that particular piece is selling for, and then gauge whether or not you feel that the profits would be worth selling it or not.
#6. Be Sure to Have Fun!
No matte what your actual intentions are with your Supreme merchandise, shopping is all about the experience you have while you are doing it. Have you ever wanted to not have a great time? That is exactly why you should try to make the best of the entire experience and have as good a time as possible.
With streetwear starting to gain more and more popularity, brands such as Supreme are setting the tone when they have their drops. With the influence of luxury fashion being partnered with mass media, Supreme is able to continually come out with limited quantities of new merchandise that people simply can’t get enough of. Just keep in mind that it is very important that you can appreciate Supreme, but without fetishizing the brand or its history.
Hopefully this guide will help you have a great time waiting in line, as well as purchasing your Supreme merchandise!
