Friday, March 10, 2006

Barneys New York's Boston store is open!

The store is renovated from an old movie theatre and they take advantage of the existing structure to introduce sky light to the two-floor space. The entire store was full of sun light on this sunny Friday.

I checked out the store during lunch hour. I am very impressed. For the past years I have shopped in the New York store for many times (including calling them for certain items that I couldn't find elsewhere). Now, the store in Boston will totally save my to New York. The first floor looks like a fashion museum. It features Rochas, Alaia (!!!), Ann Demeulemeester, Lanvin, Rick Owens, Martin Margiela (line 1 and line 4), Yohji Yamamoto, Junya Watanabe, Tao, Comme des Garcons, and so on. They are the most original designers in this world but not covered by adjacent Saks or Neiman Marcus for a long period of time (what a shame!). I also have to say that Barney's buyers did a great job to pick the most gorgeous pieces from the spring collections.

The men's department and Co-op are located on the second floor. Only a few designers are featured in the Co-op department, but they are the best ones in that tier.

Service is very nice. My SA was very helpful looking for sizes for me, and customers can put things on hold for up to 72 hours. Sales are not pushy, which is consistent with their culture in the New York store.

All in all, I give it 4.5 out of 5. The half point deduction is from the lack of Balenciaga ready-to-wear. I understand that there might be distribution restrictions on that brand, but for a department store like Barneys, the selection is not complete without it.

9 comments:

Caffeine said...

let me know how you like it =)

Anonymous said...

I like your blog. I found it totally randomly following the trail from my stats to a search for "minimalism in fashion design" which turned up me a few times (i have a blog and a website) and you. funny, i just moved from boston just when they put up the and the barney's coming soon signs in the mall. glad it is a good store.

Anonymous said...

Hi there!

I just came across your website when searching for Bon & Ging! Your blog is awesome!

Hearts,
www.shopmycloset.com

Caffeine said...

Hi Elaine,
Thanks for the comments, and welcome to Boston! I visited your website and it was very impressive! "Minimalism in fashion design" is a very interesting topic, and let me know what you find from your research =)

Jing

Caffeine said...

Shopmycloset:
I saw Bon & Ging's design in Surface magazine last year and I was amazed. I loved the "mood" of their design. Louis Boston still buys their collections, which is a great thing for this young brand. I think that they've got a great niche. How do you like it?

Jing

Anonymous said...

Hi Jing,
So nice of you to respond! Glad you liked my site, thanks very much. I actually moved from Boston to NYC. after living there for 14 years and running my company.

Caffeine said...

Elaine, it's very impressive that you've been running your own company for 14 years. Good luck on your business!

Unknown said...

wow a new site found for fashion.

Anonymous said...

I like your blog too. It is pretty cool to have individual high-quality dress shop in your city/town.