What are your favourite / least favourite physical stores and why?

[nationalsalt]

In terms of decor and aesthetics, customer service, stock variety, fitting rooms etc. - which stores left a good impression and which have been less than positive?

 

[MulletProof]

I'm kind of immune to most spaces if I don't like their products or plan to get them..

That being said, I feel really understood at the Margaret Howell/MHL stores in Paris, it's just so relaxing 🍃 and their staff is the sweetest, always efficient, knowledgeable without being obnoxious, good sense of humor.. I'm kind of intrigued on their recruitment process because.. howdoyouachievethatinparis!! 🗣️ 🫢

Many years ago when I was still a student, I walked into a stunning-looking and now-closed Yohji Yamamoto store in NY, the one he had on Gansevoort, and an SA immediately approached me with a 'GET OUT' attitude looking at me up and down. I don't recall what I was wearing (and not trying to!), but definitely something plain, nothing 'very Yohji', and I always figured that was her beef lol, these were the years of the stylezeitgeist types, peak insufferable millennial elitism. I can't even remember what I asked, maybe something about a velvet piece I wanted to see in person and I remember she didn't even let me finish the sentence before saying 'NOPE'. Before leaving I asked if I could take a pic from the store (the sunset was happening and it looked cool from inside the store- no clothes involved), and she again said 'NOPE'. Anyway, I hope she's doing ok now and doing something she actually enjoys (Rikers officer, checking tickets on trains, uniform enforcer, who knows).

 

[runner]

when you see salespersons (who used to be excellent) being sh*tty laying bare their ego, it's a sign the company is shaky.

yohji talking about agnes b store on the rue du jour in les halles as his ideal

"I also liked the atmosphere of the store. A thick pillar standing in the middle, the products placed messily on the floor. The staff would smoke as they chatted among themselves. They did not show too much enthusiasm in helping customers. Loving this relaxed atmosphere, I incorporated it into the design and the operation of my flagship store in Minami Aoyama, which opened in 1984."

and he actually mentioned how he expect them to behave like.
the wording is subtle. in case one gets the wrong idea due to my poor english skill, I'd like to put that as it is:

WWD：「ヨウジヤマモト」の販売員に期待する接客はあるか？

Yohji：あったし、今でもあるけど、実現していない。青山店を作ったときのコンセプトは「できるだけ入りにくい店」。販売員はタバコを吸っていたりして、いらっしゃいませ、も言わずに感じが悪いのが理想。だって、客はもてなしてくれない方が楽じゃない？入りにくい店だから、ドアを開けて入ったときに勝負が決まっている、という感じにしたい。

 

[MulletProof]

^ I wonder if for someone raised in an extremely polite society that values manners and good etiquette, the opposite comes across as a little punk and refreshing. Enough time in NY or LA teaches you that just a 'good morning' is not to be taken for granted!

At the time, because I was younger and shy, and had never worked in customer service myself and was years away from hiring people who represent a business, let alone from working in fine art (where there really is no dress code OR AGE on potential buyers), I just figured that type of approach when working at a designer store had to come from some kind of strategy that had to be successful in some way (as in, you are strict about how people dress and look so that.. similar types walk in...?). Now I look back and.. no wonder the store closed shortly after! these interactions are never personal so it mostly speaks of poor management.

I cannot stand the queen treatment just so you can finalise the purchase either. Just.. be normal!

 

[runner]

^ yes, the agnes b style must have worked when you were tired of the excess of hospitality.

softgrey was telling me that the shop and salespersons had been cold.
it was an unfortunate shop. when it first opened, the original YY inc should already have been on the verge of bankrupcy.

anyway there has been no dress code ( and no age of course, because I have been checking his clothes in his shops since junior high school student. I had never bought anything though) when the ragged hat is the designer's hallmark and especially pour homme has been officially for "those you cannot categorize".

 

[blueorchid]

I think it's because I just like being a bit ~invisible~ when I shop, so my favourite stores are generally "nicer" department stores. I love visiting them in each country I've visited. I still have fond memories of Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm and I was there aaages ago. Generally, no one is watching you too closely, but employees aren't too hard to find. Honestly, my idea of heaven would be a nice department store... everything is clean, organized and in the right place!!!

I hate everything about people having relationships with their "SAs" it creeps me out.

One of my most confusing shopping experiences happened in at two Chanel stores in NYC though. I was a messy, sweaty tourist (I'm not USED TO humidity) when I visited the Madison Ave store and was treated like... just decently as a human (lol, not the queen treatment) and the SA was fine about "assisting" me with what I wanted. Then a few days later I went to the SoHo store, after I adjusted to the humidity and looked normal, and it was all so rude and felt so uptight!!! I was lowkey shocked because of how nice the other store was!!!

 

[Drusilla_]

Worst: I don't like being in the SA's crosshairs which is how most stores around me behave, but funnily enough no fashion store has been as outright snobbish as the local 'gourmet food' one, I once had to turn around and say to the SA 'please stop following me', it was a small store and I was easily visible from the cash register but I HATE those places where people are breathing down your neck treating you like a shoplifter-to-be.

Best: the local Paul Smith store (before it closed), I was actually in the mall to catch a movie and was in sweatpants, caught sight of the SALE sign at PS and walked in, the SAs couldn't have been nicer and more welcoming if I'd been a VIP client despite my scruffy exterior (frizzy hair, no manicure, no makeup). Ended up buying a jacket, the card reader wouldn't take my card so they actually held it for me until I could hop it to the ATM several floors up and bring back cash. Oh and they gave me free alterations too! One of the SAs moved to a different store in that mall a little while later, and for years afterwards if I walked past that store during his shift and he saw me, he'd smile and wave.

Runner-up: the McQueen store on Old Bond Street, loved it when they had the Roses exhibitions on I'm still 0_0 @ the fact that we got to see all those legendary dresses up close like that!!

Best for ambience: loved Liberty and Selfridges, the Liberty basement c. 2015 felt like being in a v cosy hobbit hole in the best way

 

[nationalsalt]

Worst: I don't like being in the SA's crosshairs which is how most stores around me behave, but funnily enough no fashion store has been as outright snobbish as the local 'gourmet food' one, I once had to turn around and say to the SA 'please stop following me', it was a small store and I was easily visible from the cash register but I HATE those places where people are breathing down your neck treating you like a shoplifter-to-be.

Best: the local Paul Smith store (before it closed), I was actually in the mall to catch a movie and was in sweatpants, caught sight of the SALE sign at PS and walked in, the SAs couldn't have been nicer and more welcoming if I'd been a VIP client despite my scruffy exterior (frizzy hair, no manicure, no makeup). Ended up buying a jacket, the card reader wouldn't take my card so they actually held it for me until I could hop it to the ATM several floors up and bring back cash. Oh and they gave me free alterations too! One of the SAs moved to a different store in that mall a little while later, and for years afterwards if I walked past that store during his shift and he saw me, he'd smile and wave.

Runner-up: the McQueen store on Old Bond Street, loved it when they had the Roses exhibitions on I'm still 0_0 @ the fact that we got to see all those legendary dresses up close like that!!

Best for ambience: loved Liberty and Selfridges, the Liberty basement c. 2015 felt like being in a v cosy hobbit hole in the best way

The McQueen exhibit was great! As well as the beautiful pieces, I saw Eddie Redmayne looking around when I visited which made it doubly rewarding 😄

It's a shame they haven't updated it with any new exhibits since then, the top floor is just closed off now :/

 

[proseccotabis]

Hiii! What a cool thread!
The worst: of course Chanel in general but in particular the Milan Montenapoleone one. It’s like their SA are deliberately arrogant. I very much have fondness for Dior on new bond street, the Rick Owens Paris store. I also like how Italians approach VM in particular

 

[nationalsalt]

Hiii! What a cool thread!
The worst: of course Chanel in general but in particular the Milan Montenapoleone one. It’s like their SA are deliberately arrogant. I very much have fondness for Dior on new bond street, the Rick Owens Paris store. I also like how Italians approach VM in particular

How do they approach it?

 

[Drusilla_]

The McQueen exhibit was great! As well as the beautiful pieces, I saw Eddie Redmayne looking around when I visited which made it doubly rewarding 😄

It's a shame they haven't updated it with any new exhibits since then, the top floor is just closed off now :/

I get why they don't want to make it a running exhibit, that was a pre-pandemic one and those pieces are maybe a bit too delicate to have us perpetually breathing on them all day with no security even if they rotate out, they left me ALONE in there (I was practically hyperventilating when I realised just how close you could get to the dresses and the mockup toile, that narrow staircase really felt like entering a different world)
but I feel enormously fortunate to have seen it all up close, especially the Sarabande dress with the original hydrangeas still in, and the Widows of Culloden black dress. Definitely not a retail experience in the classic sense and not quite a museum either.
I wouldn't be surprised at Eddie being a McQueen shopper! (was he shopping or looking around the exhibition?)

 

[proseccotabis]

How do they approach it?

very creative,out of this world

 

[runner]

jil sander in kioichou, tokyo. everything felt natural.
I wanted to check every single piece from her (or menichetti's) first mens collection that was to be delivered there.
so I went to the shop soon after watching the show on TV and asked them to let me know once they arrived.
it was the dawn of internet. sending the notice by post was what most brands was doing unless you specifically neede to be called. I received the cards handwritten a week before arrivals. with some message not just businesslike, however not too long.
there must have been considerable thoughtfullness behind seemingly being natural.

 

[blueorchid]

For physical stores, I actually genuinely hate browsing in higher-end vintage stores that specialize in clothing (so not strictly, antiques, etc.). I somehow get very secretive about what I actually want when I'm in those stores. I don't WANT to let them know what I'm after for some reason, I'm convinced they'll raise the price if they get those items in the future and I'll ruin it for myself. I know just as much about fashion as you do, Ms TERF Bangs... out of my way!! Also, half of their dusty and crusty sh*t is overpriced.

 

[MulletProof]

softgrey was telling me that the shop and salespersons had been cold.
it was an unfortunate shop. when it first opened, the original YY inc should already have been on the verge of bankrupcy.

I can kind of imagine what was partly happening there ('took this SA job but it actually feels beneath me and I hate all of you!!'), very typical, especially with bad management, but the fact that she gave softgrey a similar treatment, when she did look the part plus was an actual adult.. it kind of debunks my theory from years ago but also.. how disheartening. I’ve never seen any footage of Yohji interacting with people (from fans to press) that doesn’t exude humility, openness and non-judgmental demeanor, especially with people that are from lifestyles completely different than what his work embodies. Having the right staff, properly trained, really makes a world of difference even if a business is doomed, it can prolong its life for quite a bit.

@blueorchid sometimes some SAs are the one enforcing the mildly creepy exchanges haha I do associate it with odd behavior just from tfs tbh, when I read someone ‘I called my SA and asked her ‘hey is the Director of Global Communications being poached or not? what do YOU think?’’.. it’s like, are you serious? that’s your best shot? what the f would the SA know! same for the going all the way to the store just to feel the fabric or settle a debate on cut.. whyyy, you obnoxious little fan. But anyway, some SAs won’t get off your back, they really develop this art of crawling into your life lol, I’ve mostly seen it in fine art (not fashion but same let-me-wipe-your-feet-sir dynamic) but I know that if they see potential or if you spent a respectable amount.. they’re now besties with your lowest desires and know it’s in you to do it again. 🤣

 

[blueorchid]

@MulletProof It's too much for me even when a barista remembers my order. "The regular?" is enough to make me don a wig and visit a different café. So the idea of having a "relationship" with an SA sends shivers down my spine.

 

[nationalsalt]

@MulletProof It's too much for me even when a barista remembers my order. "The regular?" is enough to make me don a wig and visit a different café. So the idea of having a "relationship" with an SA sends shivers down my spine.

I used to see regulars coming from across the street and have their orders ready by the time they reached the counter. I fear I would have sent you into cardiac arrest 😆

 

[nationalsalt]

I get why they don't want to make it a running exhibit, that was a pre-pandemic one and those pieces are maybe a bit too delicate to have us perpetually breathing on them all day with no security even if they rotate out, they left me ALONE in there (I was practically hyperventilating when I realised just how close you could get to the dresses and the mockup toile, that narrow staircase really felt like entering a different world)
but I feel enormously fortunate to have seen it all up close, especially the Sarabande dress with the original hydrangeas still in, and the Widows of Culloden black dress. Definitely not a retail experience in the classic sense and not quite a museum either.
I wouldn't be surprised at Eddie being a McQueen shopper! (was he shopping or looking around the exhibition?)

Yes I was so surprised at how up-close-and-personal we were allowed to get - I was also left unsupervised the whole time. Tried to upload some pictures here, but they're too large :/

Eddie was perusing the exhibit...unfortunately with his wife haha. But he was taller and even more handsome in person.