Stores you'd want to like but hate - Page 3

I have had this experience as well. I felt distinctly as if "my kind" wasn't welcome there, though I have yet to determine for sure which of the "kinds" I belong to was so objectionable. One of the most standofish shopping experiences in memory.

I don't dress to impress salespeople.

you mean you dont scope out the salestaff in the morning so you can change into appropriate gear in order to go back later that afternoon????

I don't either but then I don't really wear casual clothing.

I love Neiman Marcus but I think it depends very much on the local store. The store here is like extended family and is always going the extra mile for clients. Sales people are warm, have high levels of menswear knowledge, and will actively influence some of the buying for what the local consumer wants.

Bergdorf's in NYC and Louis Boston have always provided great service as well.

Barney in NYC has always seemed rude to me to be perfectly honest. Wilkes seems hit or miss. Lobbs has been great the half dozen times I have been there. Saks in NYC has been rude to me at times.

Stanley Korshak in Dallas is superb. Beautiful store and very good people. Nice editing as well.

I would say the service I receive in London has been uniformly excellent. Jermyn Street and Savile Row are especially great experiences. Tokyo was also terrific. Not a bad store in either country from a service standpoint. Tokyo can be quite expensive in places however.

I know a bit about this since I am a regular customer. Louis consistently has some of the lowest prices in Kiton and Incotex in the country year in, year out. The reason, I am told, has to do with the relationship they have with the factory and a sophisticated buying strategy that manages the exchange rates well. The prices are still high as you would expect for this level of merchandise but I've gotten some great deals there over the years. Louis Boston seems to have classic merchandise that hold through more seasons. The selection is superbly edited, in my opinion the best in the country. They have such a tradition that their events are often the best in the country. They tend to attract a lot of folks from other cities like NYC so their pricing strategy may also factor into that. They also tend to have exclusives on most of their fabrics and some styles.

One of my business partners lives in Cambridge and besides being a tremendous asset to our small software company, his location is a pleasantly dangerous place for me to shop.

Another vote for Paul Stuart here. I particularly remember one time when I went in there, having first bought something at Charles Tyrwhitt up the street. Although there is clearly a big difference in quality between the two, there is no need for comments (by a tall fellow with a bowtie) like "Oh, Charles Tyrwhitt, I bet business is slow over there" and, as I was leaving, "Please come back and see us the next time you want to buy some real clothes". That really turned me off and I will certainly never buy anything from him if I even go back to the store.

I don't like J. Press's New York store very much. The clothes are wonderful, but the atmosphere looks like a bad '80s department store.

Hey those are neat Converse sneakers. At least the shoe lady at Neiman's last week liked them.

Perry

Per a thread over on AAAC's trad forum (I'm too lazy to go looking for it right now), I believe they're moving sometime soon.

I find the staff at Wilkes Bashford to be pretty rude most of the time. I went in once wearing jeans and a sweater, and the salesman almost had a heart attack when I tried on a Brioni sportcoat. I'm fairly young (27), and they definitely tend to look at me suspiciously unless I'm in a suit and tie (which is about half the time). I usually try to offset their snobbery by asking informed questions about suit construction, high-end shoes, etc.

I've tried this at Neiman only to have the salesman smugly attempt to correct me with incorrect information.

You've gotta love when people spout ignorance with such confidence and arrogance...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Jon.

I really loved going to the stores GEMCO or FEDCO back in the 70s and 80s when I was a child.