Quote:
Originally Posted by
ac_slater 
Yeah I can empathize with the OP. My situation is a little different though.
I have lived in or near the Atlanta area all my life. A sad reality of our city is that we are culturally near bankrupt, particularly when it comes to fashion/style. The highest common denominator of "fashionable people" in this city consists of a group that thinks J Crew and Bloomingdales are the most luxurious options available. Our city is pretty much the epitome of cheap and disposable American style.
A few years ago, we got a Barney's Co-op. I was pretty excited. The selection wasn't amazing, but the raw denim choices in Atlanta are literally non-existent. The staff unfortunately is pretty terrible. No employee lasts longer than 4-5 months for whatever reason, and they will basically tell you whatever they think you need to hear to purchase. I am a small guy, around 5'8 and 135. So a lot of stuff in the store is simply too big for me. But the employees will insist a shirt or pair of pants "looks great" when I'm clearly swimming in it.
Anyway, Barney's closed early this year. No one shopped there. And the employees/selection were honestly not the whole problem. People in the Atlanta area simply don't see the value in higher priced clothing. "Why pay $400 for that jacket when I can get one like it at Macy's for $80?" Nobody around here can understand simple concepts like "superior fit" or "country of origin." Atlanta was a graveyard for Barneys.
That Co-op is gone? I used to be able to pick up Thom Browne stuff there for super cheap, but yeah, the selection was terrible. Theory, Rag and Bone, NiCo, Paul Smith, Shipley, just this random hodgepodge of the blandest, worst shit a store could buy. It was sad, and not to mention that the atmosphere in that entire shopping center is just awful. There was a really cute and sweet girl with an owl tattoo that worked there though, and she was always super nice and cheery and helpful, but there was also this dude who pretty much dressed just like Kanye who was a massive and pretentious dick, complete with eye rolls and snarky smirks. I pretty much stopped going because that guy was such a pain in the ass to deal with.
The problem with Atlanta is H&M. Pretty much any “well dressed” Atlantan will be wearing something from H&M at any given time, and if you’ve ever stepped in the Atlantic Station one anytime from Fri-Sun you’d think that they were releasing a new big-name collab every weekend. There is the RRL store though, and I’m wondering if they’re having more success than Barneys.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LA Guy
A friend of the forum tried to open a pretty decent store in Atlanta, and ultimately failed. Part of the problem is that she was from NYC, and tried to translate something (a cool store in an alley location) that works in pedestrian dominated NYC, and does not work at all in Atlanta. She went on to Barneys, and I think that she was frustrated with the buy. She has since moved back to NYC, and I believe is doing well there. But yeah, I've been through ATL a few times, and I am not sure that the NYC hipster look, which is very Barney's Co-op, translates very well to Atlanta. Bummer about Barneys LA though. I literally have not been there for about 5 years, but I remember that they had a really nice mens floor back in the early 2000s, though I liked Maxfield more, in a similar category, and Fred Segal/Ron Herman, at least back then.
I think I remember that store. Was it called Dresscodes or something like that? I think the remnants of the website might still be floating around. But yeah, you can’t do anything on foot around here, which sucks.
