Quote:
Originally Posted by
holymadness 
There were 3-4 racks of suits and sport coats marked down by about 60-70%, but it was fairly unimpressive stuff for the price. Armani jacket for $800, Paul Smith for slightly less. Notice the same 2-3 brands keep popping up? Pretty annoying.
I find this as well. Same brands, same clothes, same prices. Year in, year out. Maybe it's a prairies thing, but Holt/Harry/Henry stick to the same formula every season. Same brands come in, ergo, same brands at the same markdown season after season. One could replace their suits once a year.
Last year they had a bunch of Ralph Lauren Purple Label marked down, but this year they didn't even bring any in. It was badly ignored, IMO, last year. Sticking the Purple Label in the far corner by the change rooms does really feature it all that well.
I'll give props for Holt bringing in some of those wacky Prada cummerbunds and ties from Fall. I'd never wear any of it (personally, I thought the look wasn't particularly that interesting) but kudos on bringing in something vaguely different. Too bad they didn't bring in the whole line, just bits and pieces making the whole thing rather pointless.
I've yet to see anyone wearing any of it, but I don't get out much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SeriousBusiness 
Thanks for the heads up sir. I'll have to make a stop into WEM to check HR. I can't usually bring myself to walk into Holt, but I'll definitely head downtown and check out Singer. I always find the people there to be head and shoulders above Holt.
For service, I've found Singer to be the best. Helpful if needed, leave you alone if not. The streetwear oriented store, Henry's, is pretty much right up there too. Great service. Still nothing I'm overly thrilled about what's in the store (I mean, how many stores need to be selling that much Diesel and Hugo Boss?), but there's a few bits and pieces that are nice.
I avoid Harry Rosen based on the sales people alone. I know they work on commission, but I'd like to take more than two steps in before being asked if I need any help. (Let me look first, dammit.)
Holt's seems to take the opposite approach to Henry Singer. SA's are crawling over you when you're just trying to pick out a nice pair of gloves, and far too busy flipping through the catalog to let you know if they have a pair of shoes in your size.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stazy 
I prefer Holt to Singer solely on the fact that they carry a nice selection of Paul Smith.
I don't know what Edmonton's Holt stocks, but Calgary's rarely if ever carries any of the mainline. Which is a little disappointing as that's the interesting stuff.