Saks used to have the best men’s fashions in SF. Good tailors. Great luxury brand sweaters that went on sale at huge discounts. The pandemic ruined it. Salespeople who were helpful and knew what they were talking about. If you befriended them they could always find affordable stuff for you. During the pandemic and after It became a designer’s reject closet. Versace’s trash room.
Saks hasn’t even had a customer service department for several years. They don’t have a chance in hell of this new policy succeeding. Thanks for posting your experience
Nancy, you are the queen of retail rabbit-holes. I enjoy your pieces about stores and shopping centers, even though I seldom think about such things anymore. I was going to say that I couldn't imagine shopping with a "guide," but I just remembered that my most recent offline purchase was a pair of nice black shoes (for a wedding) in a geezer "slip-in" style by the high-end designers at Sketchers. I bought them at Dillard's, one of the few remaining department stores (with JC Penney and Target) in this area. I was helped by a guy who was working the shoe department by himself (the men's side, at least), and clearly had been for a long time. (It was the opposite of the "Best Buy" electronics experience, where your salesclerk's last job might have been flogging pots and pans.)
This guy took one look at me and my Crocs, and realized that my left foot was a size larger than my right. I love my Sketchers.
wow, I can't imagine a less pleasant way to shop. But then again, I'm at the opposite end from their target customer. I do note that many of the stores I passed along lower Grant and environs all had the aforementioned beefy fellow in front of locked doors, so they've all been (literally) in gatekeeping mode for a while. I did talk my way past the guard at the Leica store, in spite of being dressed like I just fell off a cruise ship. (I am sometimes cognizant of how I am able to leverage my privilege.)
Retail feels like it's in a kind of death spiral — the less traffic they get, the less they offer in terms of either goods or services, the less they can fulfill a shopper's goals. All of which drives the customer online. At least at Saks they have knowledgeable retail assistants; that is, mmm, not necessarily the norm. I've whined about this before:
I did find one! I have occasionally forgotten to bring it along for swimming, and boy, does the cap-less experience ever underscore why they're useful.
Thanks for this vivid, Monday morning mini flash back in time to the Saks in Stamford, CT where I got my hair cut once (yes, they had a hair salon). The woman I thought my father was having an affair with said she got her hair cut there. Needless to say, it was an expensive mistake. Happier memories are of going to Bloomingdale's, also in Stamford, with my grandmother for lunch. We ordered Welsh Rarebit. To this day I have no idea what that is.
During my childhood visits to LA, a visit to Bullock's was akin to Dorothy entering Oz, and from then on, I've loved grand department stores. So sad about Union Square and Saks. I'd hoped SF would be innovative and wealthy enough for this retail model to succeed despite COVID and shrinkage. I guess I'd better make a point of visiting the large stores near me, Dillard's being the best in my area. On another note, where Cece's advice is concerned, I just read an article announcing large totes are in for this fall. Ah well, the arbiters of fashion are sometimes dissonant. Thanks for this excellent piece, Nancy.
This story made me sad. Have you read my friend Julie Satow's book, When Women Ruled Fifth Avenue? There's a section on the role of Jews in retail, the role of African Americans in retail and *I think* the role of SF in retail although this may be a sub-section of Jews in retail because there were so many Jews in retail in SF. Retail used to be a great profession for women who wanted high-achieving, hard-driving careers - the only profession other than magazines or Hollywood (I'm kind of paraphrasing Edna Woolman Chase here, who said in her intro to the first Prix de Paris in 1930-something that outside Hollywood fashion was the only viable profession for women). And even in my day signing up as a sales clerk was a great way to make a quick buck with maybe some possibility of career advancement. But now that option is gone. J.D. Vance must be gleeful - more women signed up for the baby factory.
The larger point of mentioning Julie's book (which I forgot as I went down my sadness rabbit hole) is that whenever I've been to one of her talks the audience is full of people who want to reminisce about their uncle who worked in the shoe department of this, or their aunt who worked in the hat department of that, or their grandmother's hat that they have in the original box from some local department store in X, or how they used to go with their mother to have lunch in Y - there are people in TEARS! That's why it's a bestseller. It's fascinating.
I haven't read it yet, but I just finished "Empresses of Seventh Avenue," which overlaps a bit with your book. No mention of the twins, but Louise Dahl-Wolfe is an important character.
Saks used to have the best men’s fashions in SF. Good tailors. Great luxury brand sweaters that went on sale at huge discounts. The pandemic ruined it. Salespeople who were helpful and knew what they were talking about. If you befriended them they could always find affordable stuff for you. During the pandemic and after It became a designer’s reject closet. Versace’s trash room.
Saks hasn’t even had a customer service department for several years. They don’t have a chance in hell of this new policy succeeding. Thanks for posting your experience
Well, maybe not *quite* as good as Wilkes Bashford, but I agree -- a pretty stellar menswear department back in the day.
Nancy, you are the queen of retail rabbit-holes. I enjoy your pieces about stores and shopping centers, even though I seldom think about such things anymore. I was going to say that I couldn't imagine shopping with a "guide," but I just remembered that my most recent offline purchase was a pair of nice black shoes (for a wedding) in a geezer "slip-in" style by the high-end designers at Sketchers. I bought them at Dillard's, one of the few remaining department stores (with JC Penney and Target) in this area. I was helped by a guy who was working the shoe department by himself (the men's side, at least), and clearly had been for a long time. (It was the opposite of the "Best Buy" electronics experience, where your salesclerk's last job might have been flogging pots and pans.)
This guy took one look at me and my Crocs, and realized that my left foot was a size larger than my right. I love my Sketchers.
"Queen of retail rabbit-holes" is my new bio.
This makes me sad - what are experts like that going to do?
There's always Costco!
Ha ha ha, I hope.
wow, I can't imagine a less pleasant way to shop. But then again, I'm at the opposite end from their target customer. I do note that many of the stores I passed along lower Grant and environs all had the aforementioned beefy fellow in front of locked doors, so they've all been (literally) in gatekeeping mode for a while. I did talk my way past the guard at the Leica store, in spite of being dressed like I just fell off a cruise ship. (I am sometimes cognizant of how I am able to leverage my privilege.)
Retail feels like it's in a kind of death spiral — the less traffic they get, the less they offer in terms of either goods or services, the less they can fulfill a shopper's goals. All of which drives the customer online. At least at Saks they have knowledgeable retail assistants; that is, mmm, not necessarily the norm. I've whined about this before:
https://www.mikepope.com/blog/DisplayBlog.aspx?permalink=2754
I remember that post of yours, Mike. It's a fine whine!
Did you ever find a swim cap for long hair? They're not just for buns, you know. Here, for example, is Soul Cap: https://soulcap.com/products/large-swim-cap
I did find one! I have occasionally forgotten to bring it along for swimming, and boy, does the cap-less experience ever underscore why they're useful.
PS I'm not being inundated on social media with ads for swim caps 🙄
Thank you for the tour. I really enjoy going along with you!
My flashbacks take me to stores in Chicago, particularly around the holidays. Gaping in awe at Marshall Fields and others. Bittersweet for sure.
Kudos to you for being nice to your guide. When I encounter down market versions of that in hardware stores, I fear it never ends well.
Thanks for this vivid, Monday morning mini flash back in time to the Saks in Stamford, CT where I got my hair cut once (yes, they had a hair salon). The woman I thought my father was having an affair with said she got her hair cut there. Needless to say, it was an expensive mistake. Happier memories are of going to Bloomingdale's, also in Stamford, with my grandmother for lunch. We ordered Welsh Rarebit. To this day I have no idea what that is.
During my childhood visits to LA, a visit to Bullock's was akin to Dorothy entering Oz, and from then on, I've loved grand department stores. So sad about Union Square and Saks. I'd hoped SF would be innovative and wealthy enough for this retail model to succeed despite COVID and shrinkage. I guess I'd better make a point of visiting the large stores near me, Dillard's being the best in my area. On another note, where Cece's advice is concerned, I just read an article announcing large totes are in for this fall. Ah well, the arbiters of fashion are sometimes dissonant. Thanks for this excellent piece, Nancy.
This story made me sad. Have you read my friend Julie Satow's book, When Women Ruled Fifth Avenue? There's a section on the role of Jews in retail, the role of African Americans in retail and *I think* the role of SF in retail although this may be a sub-section of Jews in retail because there were so many Jews in retail in SF. Retail used to be a great profession for women who wanted high-achieving, hard-driving careers - the only profession other than magazines or Hollywood (I'm kind of paraphrasing Edna Woolman Chase here, who said in her intro to the first Prix de Paris in 1930-something that outside Hollywood fashion was the only viable profession for women). And even in my day signing up as a sales clerk was a great way to make a quick buck with maybe some possibility of career advancement. But now that option is gone. J.D. Vance must be gleeful - more women signed up for the baby factory.
The larger point of mentioning Julie's book (which I forgot as I went down my sadness rabbit hole) is that whenever I've been to one of her talks the audience is full of people who want to reminisce about their uncle who worked in the shoe department of this, or their aunt who worked in the hat department of that, or their grandmother's hat that they have in the original box from some local department store in X, or how they used to go with their mother to have lunch in Y - there are people in TEARS! That's why it's a bestseller. It's fascinating.
I haven't read it yet, but I just finished "Empresses of Seventh Avenue," which overlaps a bit with your book. No mention of the twins, but Louise Dahl-Wolfe is an important character.
I just got a review copy but haven't had time to look.