Some of you might have heard that a Christian Louboutin Outlet has just opened up a store here stateside. Well, you heard right! This is the very first Christian Louboutin Outlet in the United States and it is located at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon, California. It’s a short drive from Palm Springs or about an hour and a half drive from Los Angeles with no traffic. There is plenty of shopping to do out there so we usually make a whole day of it. Otherwise, if you’re from out-of-town, I suggest you stay in Palm Springs for more city-life activities or Joshua Tree if you’re more into nature. Morongo Hotel and Casino is right next to the outlets as well if you don’t feel like straying too far.

My friend told me about the Christian Louboutin Outlet opening a couple of weeks ago and we were planning to go that day except it was a big fail. So, we decided to try a second time this past weekend. I decided to chronicle everything so anyone who reads this blog will know exactly what to do and not be disappointed like we were the first time.

TIMELINE FROM LOS ANGELES TO THE CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN OUTLET

Before we decided to head out to the Christian Louboutin Outlet this time around, we did a little research and read that some people have waited almost three hours in line. We had a whole day planned for shopping, so we decided to leave early in the morning to get in line before it got too crowded. Hopefully, the below will give you an idea of how to plan your day and of what to expect.

8:25 a.m.: Left Los Angeles (Takes approximately 1.5 hours with no traffic to get there).

9:57 a.m.: Arrived at the outlets. It almost looked like there was no one there, but as we walked closer, there were already two groups in line and another group in front of us. The first group consisted of two ladies, the second group was a single lady, and the third group was three ladies. My friend and I were the fourth group in line.

10:05 a.m.: There are employees already in the store cleaning and prepping for the opening. One of the employees comes out to set the stanchions for the line.

10:18 a.m.: Two more groups have joined the line. Three friends and a couple.

10:24 a.m.: Two more groups have joined. A single lady and one couple.

10:26 a.m.: A group of two ladies joins.

10:41 a.m.: A group of two guys joins.

10:44 a.m.: Two more groups have joined. One lady and one couple.

10:57 a.m.: A group of three guys joins.

11:00 a.m.: A group of two ladies joins.

11:03 a.m.: Doors finally open. They let the first three groups in.

11:05 a.m.: We were lucky and got let in a couple of minutes after. We must have been the last of the first round since the next group behind us didn’t get let in until 30 mins later.

11:45 a.m.: My friend and I left the store.

By the time the doors opened, there were 28 people (14 groups) already in line. My friend and I were probably there a solid 40 mins, but unfortunately, I left with nothing. I have two black heels already and I wanted a pair of nude heels so bad, but the styles they had hurt my feet. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by what they had in stock and the available sizes I had. Out of the nine styles that I wanted to try, only two of them weren’t in stock in my size.

CUSTOMER SERVICE AT CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN OUTLET

In my experience, I feel like you usually get a different type of service when you go to an outlet store.  In a regular high-end retail store, employees are rushing to get your business and are literally throwing their business cards at you in the hopes that you become their repeat customer. When I visit the outlet version of these stores, I feel like don’t give you a lot of attention and no one is giving out their contact information or business cards. They probably don’t want people bothering them about inventory all the time, but hey, a sale is a sale, and don’t you want to make that commission?

Regardless, the gentleman who helped us was actually super helpful and extremely fast. He worked at the Christian Louboutin in Waikiki and had to switch to California to work at the outlet location because COVID is hitting Hawaii pretty hard. They didn’t have business cards so I couldn’t get/remember his name, but if you get him, you’re in good hands. Overall, I would say each employee helps at least one to two groups at a time, but they are efficient and check on you often.

Lastly, COVID precautions are in place. Face masks are required and there’s hand sanitizer once you enter the door. There were plenty of seats and room for everyone to walk around. Not sure if that was because of COVD or more so if that’s their typical standard. Either way, I felt safe being in there even with it being a smaller size store.

PRICES AT THE CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN OUTLET

So, you’re probably wondering what the discounts on the shoes are! Well, after almost flipping over every shoe in the store, I can confidently say that they are 40% off the retail price. Most of the heels I looked at were around $500 with the original price somewhere near $800. I did not check the purses so I can’t confirm how much of a discount it was for those.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRIP TO THE CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN OUTLET

1. Get in line by 10:00 a.m. The doors open at 11:00 a.m. so waiting an hour sounds a lot better than waiting three hours. Also, if you come early enough, there are these red Adirondack chairs that people were moving around so they can sit while they wait. We were not lucky enough to get a chair, but the planter curb was a good alternative.
2. Don’t Come After 1:00 p.m.: They close the line super early. I mentioned earlier that we tried to go to this store a couple of weeks ago and the reason we couldn’t was that they closed the line at 1:00 p.m.! I probably got there around 1:30 p.m. and the security guard had to turn a bunch of us away. The store hours say they are open until 6 or 7 p.m. depending on the day, but it seems they cut the line early so everyone has time inside.
3. Do Not Wear Black. I wore a black tank top and I instantly regretted it. It was so hot and the line eventually will be in the sun.
4. Bring Water. You are going to wait no matter what so come prepared. Freeze a water bottle the night before or bring a hydro flask. You don’t want to pay $3/bottle like I did.
5. Bring Sunglasses/Sunscreen. Again, you will be in the sun at one point and it gets extremely hot in the desert.
6. Location: There are two parts to the Desert Hills Premium Outlets. The west property has all the regular outlet stores that you typically see. The east property is almost twice the size and it’s where all the designer brands live. The Christian Louboutin Outlet is located on the very east side of the east property right across from Calvin Klein.
7. Parking: If you take Millard Pass (not Millard Pass Rd. – that’s a different street) off of Seminole Dr., there are a couple of uncovered parking spots. These stops are the closest to the store, but there are very few. We like to drive up a little bit farther and park in the structure since we don’t want to come back to a burning car. 

All in all, even though I didn’t find anything I liked, I’m happy that I at least went to see firsthand what they had to offer. Hopefully, this blog post will help a bunch of you out if you decide to go or not. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to put them in the comment box below. I do read all of them and would love to know if you plan on going and what you want to buy!

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